| Mr. Scully 13.09.2006 09:12 |
I'm about to buy a digital photo camera. I will use it not only for holidays but also for taking photos are various kinds of rock concerts so I need good results at night. Now I need your advice. I have already limited my choice to two or three cameras but I won't reveal them yet, first I want to hear what YOU use for taking photos at gigs. Supposing that the results are excellent, of course! I don't need to know that some crap camera XY makes bad blurred photos :-) I'm looking for a small compact digital camera but it has to be very good. Around 300 euros (= 400 US dollars or so). Thanks in advance :-) |
| pow wow 13.09.2006 10:47 |
You could do a lot worse than the Olympus MJU 810. Friend of mine used it at a gig recently and I couldnt believe the quality - and I'm not easily pleased! I didnt think such a small lense would take such a good low light shot. Virtually no 'noise' at all. It's also a Best Buy in the Which magazine. I'm still using my Olympus Camedia 4000 which I used to great effect at the last tour - bit bulky now though. Hope that helps. |
| pcgenius9 13.09.2006 11:02 |
Olympus cameras in general seem to have a good flash that doesn't blur! |
| Mr. Scully 13.09.2006 11:06 |
I'm surprised by that - my father does have an Olympus and it's not bad at all but the best photo cameras - according to many reviews and tests - seem to be Canon or Fujifilm, no sign of any Olympus. I was looking mainly at: Fujifilm FinePix F30 Canon A710 Kodak C875 What's necessary for concerts is high ISO (800) with little "noise" (Panasonic sucks in this aspect) - it means less time AND less light is needed for the photo. Also the size of the sensor - 1/2.5" is quite unusable, 1/1.7" is much better. Zoom with optical stabilisation would be nice but again, not many cameras have it. |
| Lester Burnham 13.09.2006 11:52 |
I have a Canon SD550, and I'm pleased as hell with it - best camera I've ever had. My previous one was a Canon, and all my friends who even dabble remotely in amateur photography have Canons. I would go with the Canon, personally. |
| Janet 13.09.2006 12:12 |
Have to agree with Lester. We have the same Canon make as he does, and we love it. |
| Mr. Scully 13.09.2006 12:47 |
Yes, Canon SD550 is I think the same as IXUS 750 in Europe - and IXUS 800 is on my list. So I have to agree with that. 3-4x zoom is not much though. But we can't talk about brands because every brand does manufacture SOME good photocameras. Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Kodak, Sony, Olympus... all are good. But some are good for night (ISO), some are ultrazooms, some for holiday (Olympus photos have a high contrast) etc. |
| Peta 13.09.2006 12:53 |
I have got only Sony Cyber-shot but I am satisfied with it. But it´s a true that my last photos were not ok much. |
| write your letters in the sand 13.09.2006 19:10 |
I got some great concert shots with my Kodak X740 on full auto. You are at the mercy of the lighting and autofocus gods in that mode though. It's compact, but not flat and has a 10x digital zoom, which is nice. In Paris I was able to get clear shots from the ground of gargoyles that were very high up. I'd be happier if the camera if it adjusted to changing lighting conditions faster while on full auto, but have no real complaints. New models probably perform better. I got some good shots (as opposed to great shots) with my Nikon Coolpix 4500. One-gig (or better) cards are a godsend. I hope this helps you Mr Scully! |
| user name 14.09.2006 13:51 |
Despite being the Nikon guy that I am, I cannot recommend their point and shoots even half as much as I would their line of entry-level digital SLRs. For instance, if you want the best bang for your buck, you can't beat the Nikon D50 with any of its competition. Although it is cheaper, it can arguably outperform its Canon and Olympus counterparts, like the Canon Rebel XT. However, when it comes to point and shoot, might I recommend the Casio Exilim Zoom line. For under or around $400 dollars you can get the EX-Z1000. 10.1 megapixels might be too high for your tastes (and your printer), but then again you can go for one of the lesser models (although I highly recommend this one). This AMAZING camera is truly a steal. |
| pma 14.09.2006 13:58 |
I have a Fuji Finepix F10 and can highly recommend it. Although it would benefit from additional zoom. link link |
| Sherwood Forest 14.09.2006 14:45 |
i reccomend mine,a sony DSC T1 link great quiality, amazing zoom, 12x |
| Mr. Scully 14.09.2006 14:58 |
Thanks for the replies. How important is zoom at rock concerts? Stupid question but in most cases I record audio and in the few cases that I also took photos, I don't remember if I used the zoom much or not. Is the 3x zoom sufficient? Supposing we stand 50m or less from the stage... Canon cameras have more noise than Fuji (for higher ISO - when there's not enough light and/or time) but that's because Fuji cameras remove it with their software. I can do that myself :) So from this point of view I'd probably take the Canon A710 IS... |
| pma 14.09.2006 15:11 |
3x zoom is IMO not enough for anything really, that I can say from my experience of trying to photograph wild birds with my Fuji ;-) You have to really sneak up on them to get proper pics. And that doesn't really work :) 12X zoom sounds more like it, as long as the quality remains solid. |
| Mr. Scully 14.09.2006 15:24 |
The ultrazooms are worse in other aspects. Panasonic cameras are shit in dark - the noise is really bad. My boss has a Panasonic TZ1 and although the camera looks great and it's an ultrazoom, the photos look bad. The Canon A710 has a 6x zoom with stabilization which might be enough. The only question left is how the photos would look in dark. The sensor is too small (only 1/2.5") for so many megapixels. |
| YourValentine 14.09.2006 15:24 |
I have a Kodak with a 10 x optical zoom and I am quite okay with it. For a concert you need a small compact camera with automatic functions, for example the Canon Ixus. For any other purpose I would buy a reflex camera. I have take photos all my life and I miss the quality of a reflex camera. Now that the prices are going down it's worthwhile to check digital reflex cameras, for example the Canon EOS 300D. |
| Mr. Scully 14.09.2006 15:29 |
There's no doubt a reflex camera would be far better but that's a different price and above all size :) I don't know if "automatic setting" is the best for concerts. A manual setting is in most cases useful, the concerts are no exceptions. The question of course is, if there's enough time for manual settings at a rock concert... Btw. I am checking all the cameras you guys suggested. But for example the Casio has only 3x zoom and the Sony has really bad results (noise) for high ISO, look at this and that's only ISO 400: link |
| Sherwood Forest 14.09.2006 15:39 |
the IOS is supposed to be great there is that new sony that looks like mine that has when someone moves it still takes a perfect picture thats good for the lights and people on stage who are always moving |
| YourValentine 14.09.2006 15:40 |
Casio? Don't they make calculators? I think it's always good to buy from a camera manufacturer. That was an advice I took when I bought my last camera :) |
| user name 14.09.2006 17:11 |
YourValentine wrote: Casio? Don't they make calculators? I think it's always good to buy from a camera manufacturer. That was an advice I took when I bought my last camera :)That's not necessarily true. For instance, last I checked, Kodak wasn't exactly a big leader in the dynamic digital market. While Nikon has taken big advances toward digital, even eliminating most of their world-famous film SLR lines, their quality still lies in their high-end, expensive equipment, with their superior glass and digital SLRs. Of course, when you consider point and shoot cameras, if the camera you purchase has the zoom and resolution you like, you can't really go wrong with any well-known brand... |
| Mr.Jingles 14.09.2006 18:50 |
I've always been a Canon person, but I've had quite a let down with my PowerShot (more like PowerShit!) My camera craped out during the Queen and Paul Rodgers concert this past October in New Jersey. As I was covered with a guarantee, I sent it to have it repaired and apparently seemed to worked perfectly when I got it back. A couple of months ago, I started to have the same problems again, and once again I had to send it back to have it repaired. Then the fuckers tell me that they would have my camera repaired, but they would charge me 110 bucks to get it fixed. They made me an offer to sell me a camera with 12x zoom and 6 megapixels for half the price. I asked if I would get my other camera back, and they said... "No". So I said: "give me my fuckin' camera back then". Basically my camera works. The only problem is that it craps out after taking too many video shots. Then I have to let it rest for many hours in order to use it again. |
| write your letters in the sand 14.09.2006 19:01 |
My 10X zoom served me very well at the concerts. Even if you're already up close, the zoom lets you get some amazing shots. |
