I'm in the market for a digital camera. I used my friends for a drift compitition and the only negative aspect of it is that the thing ran out of batteries in like 20 minutes, so I had to keep turning it off and turning it back on when I wanted to take a pic, and even then the screen didnt work as a view finder, so what I need is a good camera for action pics that can zoom in somewhat close and doesnt run out of batteries before the ricer twelve-year-old behind me can say "woah!!! Check out that sweet honda S13!!!"(yes that actually happened, and no I couldnt help my self from kindly showing him the gate and telling him to play a nice game of hide and go fuck yourself)
anyone know of a good digital camera?
- Thread starter Mr.SelfDestruct
- Start date
All depends on budget!
I have a Nikon 8800VR as it's fast for point and shoot whereas my old Olympus is too damn slow.
I have a Nikon 8800VR as it's fast for point and shoot whereas my old Olympus is too damn slow.
Budget is a big consideration. Other than that, for fast action shots, like catching the wheels in mid spin without much blur, if any at all, get a camera with a lot of glass - the bigger the lens is out front, the more light you can get into the camera, and the less motion blur you will get.
What else do you want - zoom level, how many shots per second, do you take photos of anything other than cars that's difficult to shoot? Low light, fast action style stuff?
There is a fantastic site for digital camera reviews that I use all the time. http://www.dpreview.com. They seem to be offline at the moment, but hopefully that won't last very long.
What else do you want - zoom level, how many shots per second, do you take photos of anything other than cars that's difficult to shoot? Low light, fast action style stuff?
There is a fantastic site for digital camera reviews that I use all the time. http://www.dpreview.com. They seem to be offline at the moment, but hopefully that won't last very long.
mostly I only take pics of my friends driving/drifting, so yeah, mostly fastaction stuff, thanks for the advice and website,
I love my Minolta Dimage Z1
Not 100% sure if they still make it because I bought it last year, but even if they did, there may be some still being sold.
I got it for less than $300USD
40X zoom, 10X optical though and 4X digital
3.2 mega pixels
here you go -- read up
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/Z1/Z1A.HTM
If you like it, I will find the receipt since I paid about $100 less than what Wal Mart was charging for it -- so I got ahellofadeal at $270ish
Not 100% sure if they still make it because I bought it last year, but even if they did, there may be some still being sold.
I got it for less than $300USD
40X zoom, 10X optical though and 4X digital
3.2 mega pixels
here you go -- read up
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/Z1/Z1A.HTM
If you like it, I will find the receipt since I paid about $100 less than what Wal Mart was charging for it -- so I got ahellofadeal at $270ish
A good tip: Digital Zoom is useless, do NOT even consider it as a feature when buying a camera. If you want zoom, get optical.
Decide what you want to spend, what you want the camera to do, etc. If you're posting stuff on a PC, high resolution isn't all your looking at. Sensor quality and lens quality are the main points to consider as well as camera firmware.
Get a camera that uses Li-Ion batteries, don't bother with ones that use AA batteries IMO, you're going to power through them.
I agree with GrimJack, check www.dpreview.com.
(I'm pretty partial to Canon products, and I'd go with a camera company if I were you, they usually know what's up when it comes to the Digital Cameras).
Good luck.
Decide what you want to spend, what you want the camera to do, etc. If you're posting stuff on a PC, high resolution isn't all your looking at. Sensor quality and lens quality are the main points to consider as well as camera firmware.
Get a camera that uses Li-Ion batteries, don't bother with ones that use AA batteries IMO, you're going to power through them.
I agree with GrimJack, check www.dpreview.com.
(I'm pretty partial to Canon products, and I'd go with a camera company if I were you, they usually know what's up when it comes to the Digital Cameras).
Good luck.
Tony Mawad said:
Damn staight! Digital zoom is garbage. I only used that so-called feature just to test it -- won't ever again. Digital zooming is about as great as taking a pic in MS Paint and stretching it out.Jeff Lange said:
I only mentioned it to clarify the zoom of the camera. If I just said 10X, it would not have been clear what that meant; it could have been perceived as possibly 3X digital and 3.3X optical. So I mentioned it just to avoid confusion, not to say it was a feature worth having.
Jeff is right on the money, digitial zoom is useless. You can do a better job blowing the picture up on your PC after you download the image.
I am also partial to Canon, I've had the G2 for 2.5 years now, I take it with me mountain bike riding several times a week, and it's been great.
I am also partial to Canon, I've had the G2 for 2.5 years now, I take it with me mountain bike riding several times a week, and it's been great.
GrimJack said:
Yup, I've got a G2 as well.
(As well as an SD300. )May pick up a Digital Rebel XT in a few months, dunno yet. The Digital Rebel's (non-XT) are really cheap now, even new... and they're going to drop even lower soon, and the refurbished ones are even less than that.. (I work at Canon, lol, what can I say
)Long optical zoom is useless if it doesn't have some sort of anti vibration feature if you're using the camera handheld!
This is the same shot using 10x handheld.
This is the same shot using 10x handheld.
Ive always been partial to the rebel series since I was a kid, I just thought it was out of my pricerange by a few hundred bucks. Whats the difference between XT and non-XT? and what would you say the average price on the non-XT is? Ill try dpreview.com and the cannon website, see what I can find.
I just checked dpreviews.com, and the digital rebel is still like $600-700, have they not updated it, because thats close to how much I saw it for a costco when it first came out, I remember because I was checking it out and they asked me to leave the department and told me that kids shouldnt be playing with such expensive things :madfawk: damn age discrimination
supraman2251 said:
XT is 8.0 megapixels. Original is 6. XT is smaller and faster, with longer battery life, etc. Read up on it. The XT replaced the Digital Rebel.
As far as pricing goes, I'm not entirely sure on retail, I work at Canon, so I only know our pricing.
In digital cameras, you'll need to know what your going to use it for.
If you're going to make hard copy pictures, e-mail, or desk top stuff.... ? That will determine the number of pixels you'll need. 3 megapixels (MP) is good enough for up to 4X6 hard copies. But if you want a 8X10 you'll need 6MP or more. Although I did make a 8X10 on a 3.3 MP camera and it came out great. But thay's not the general rule.
Is it going to be a pocket camera (which most are) or can you go with one that's not small enough to fit in your pocket? If you need a camera with a long lense, larger than 3X (or about 120 mm) you'll proably have to go with one that's not pocket size.
And as Jeff Lange said, digital zoom is useless. You can crop your picture and get the same results as a digital zoom.
And long lenses are not that hard to use. You just need to keep it steady. Hold the camera in your hand and support your hand on something fixed like a rail or siton the ground and use your knees, or just use a tripod. That's where good technique comes into play. There is no substitute for a long lense if you need to take a close up or a photo at a distance. Lense quality is also important, but in a $300 camera, you're not going to get much choice.
A good website to look at cameras is:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
or http://www.17photo.com/
They're not the cheapest, but they have competitive prices and they are legit on line photo sites.
If your really on a tight budget, try to find a camera that uses Secure Digial (SD) or Compact Flash (CF) memory cards. Your going to need to get larger memory cards and the CF and SD cards are cheaper than the tiny XD some of the others. Also look at the batteries. If you can find a camera that uses AA batteries instead of the special battery packs you'll be better off. You can get real advanced rechargeable AA batteries that will by far out last the battery packs at a reasonable price and still have backup batteries. You should always have a backup battery.
Thats my take on digital cameras.
If you're going to make hard copy pictures, e-mail, or desk top stuff.... ? That will determine the number of pixels you'll need. 3 megapixels (MP) is good enough for up to 4X6 hard copies. But if you want a 8X10 you'll need 6MP or more. Although I did make a 8X10 on a 3.3 MP camera and it came out great. But thay's not the general rule.
Is it going to be a pocket camera (which most are) or can you go with one that's not small enough to fit in your pocket? If you need a camera with a long lense, larger than 3X (or about 120 mm) you'll proably have to go with one that's not pocket size.
And as Jeff Lange said, digital zoom is useless. You can crop your picture and get the same results as a digital zoom.
And long lenses are not that hard to use. You just need to keep it steady. Hold the camera in your hand and support your hand on something fixed like a rail or siton the ground and use your knees, or just use a tripod. That's where good technique comes into play. There is no substitute for a long lense if you need to take a close up or a photo at a distance. Lense quality is also important, but in a $300 camera, you're not going to get much choice.
A good website to look at cameras is:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
or http://www.17photo.com/
They're not the cheapest, but they have competitive prices and they are legit on line photo sites.
If your really on a tight budget, try to find a camera that uses Secure Digial (SD) or Compact Flash (CF) memory cards. Your going to need to get larger memory cards and the CF and SD cards are cheaper than the tiny XD some of the others. Also look at the batteries. If you can find a camera that uses AA batteries instead of the special battery packs you'll be better off. You can get real advanced rechargeable AA batteries that will by far out last the battery packs at a reasonable price and still have backup batteries. You should always have a backup battery.
Thats my take on digital cameras.
hey jeff, you wouldnt know where I can get an origional digital rebel, would you , could I get one straight from canon? no one seems to have them.
If you're looking for a used digital SLR, I'd get the Canon 10D before you get the Canon Digital Rebel. The 10D is built like a professional camera and has a lot more functions than the Rebel and even though the pixel count is the same, uses a different CMOS. The Rebel is all plastic, I beleive even the body is plastic. The 10D has a magnesiom frame covered with plastic parts. Used, it shouldn't cost a lot more than the Rebel, but the cost is well worth it. The 10D takes pictures almost as good as the top of the line professional digital SLR cameras.
All of the current Canon digital SLRs use the same Canon AF lenses.
With the introduction of the new Canon 20D to replace the 10D, the cost should be lower.
If you can afford a new camera, the new Canon SLRs have more advanced electronics which have lower noise. It could make a big difference if you're shooting in low light situations where you have to up the ISO settings.
Good Luck.
All of the current Canon digital SLRs use the same Canon AF lenses.
With the introduction of the new Canon 20D to replace the 10D, the cost should be lower.
If you can afford a new camera, the new Canon SLRs have more advanced electronics which have lower noise. It could make a big difference if you're shooting in low light situations where you have to up the ISO settings.
Good Luck.
GrimJack said:ebay is your friend.
whats that comerical where they are like
EEEE BBBAYYYY.
yea grim right again. and %99 of the time you get ur stuff, just watch out for the usual signs of scamers. thye are everywhere no matter where u go.