Choosing a P&S camera

Discussion in 'Badminton Photography' started by tracyleesy, Oct 5, 2006.

  1. tracyleesy

    tracyleesy Regular Member

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    Haha....since you all are great photographer, can you pls giv me some opinion of the ways to choose a good digi-cam for new user???? Haha..... like what brand is good? How many megapixel is required to take a good photo?...and so on.... cos I really have no idea to choose a good digi-cam for myself...haha...thanks!!!!
     
  2. DinkAlot

    DinkAlot dcbadminton
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    For Point & Shoot cameras, I like Canon, Nikon and Sony. For D-SLRs, Canon and Nikon are the way to go.

    If just posting on the web and sharing photos with family and friends, it's not a big deal which brand you buy. I prefer ease-of-use and portability. For me, Sony is the most intuitive and easiest to use.
     
  3. tracyleesy

    tracyleesy Regular Member

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    Thanks Dink! May I know whether olympus is a good brand? :)
     
  4. morewood

    morewood Regular Member

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    Olympus is an OK brand they will however just be screwing other peoples components onto a chassis, basics to look for in any camera;
    -quality of the lens & viewfinder
    -how it feels in your hand (also will it be a chore to carry it around all day)
    -the options to shoot on auto or to change its setting to manual (if you want to get creative)
    -quality of the image sensor (3mp is fine upto a4, 12mp is ok upto billboard)
    -battery life, nothing worse than running out of battery half way up a mountain
     
  5. azabaz_ipoh

    azabaz_ipoh Regular Member

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    anyway, i was just wondering, can you guys suggest a digital camera. i want it to be not so expensive since i am practically a beginner but at least it must have the things that i need to experiment with like diff shutter speed, diff lighting, exposure and such. any suggestions?
     
  6. red00ecstrat

    red00ecstrat Regular Member

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    Try this--->http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41195
     
  7. azabaz_ipoh

    azabaz_ipoh Regular Member

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    i tried that site you suggested but i think they are talking about very expensive camera. DSLR i think. however, i am looking for something cheap for beginner. something with just 5MP is good enough for me. i did some research and there's some that is within my budget (RM 700) that looked good but i dont know if they are really good. i saw this olympus 5MP camera and sony. canon a bit expensive but i guess it comes with a lot of functions. i just want to experiment with different settings. mostly shutter speed. to create night shots, moving objects shot and so on. you know, dabbling here and there. any site catering to this?
     
  8. viver

    viver Regular Member

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    I bought a few months ago my first digital camera - a P&S digital camera, Canon A710IS. It has 6x optical zoom and image stabilization which were the features I was looking for. At that time I bought it for CAD $400 which was a good price then. Now it should be cheaper, which may fall into your budget.

    But don't expect this machine to do the same things as a DSLR does. The focus is slower, say I tried to capture my son's images during a soccer game and was not quite successful. Other situations is when taking pictures in situations where light is not ideal, the flash just isn't powerful enough if the subjects are further away. Guess that is we get what we pay for :eek:

    This Canon machine also have other features which might be of interest like the shutter priority/aperture priority. There are other newer models with similar features but 4x zoom, which could be cheaper.

    I have not tried other brands. Some of my friends that have P&S cameras - Sony DSC W5/Casio ? mentioned that images were not as good as the Canon. Another colleague bought a Olympus 5mp camera (sale price CAD $190) returned the camera after a week because he felt the image quality not good enough. He exchanged for a Nikon L3 (?) which cost CAD $230 and is much more satisfied with the image quality.

    You may try this link http://www.dpreview.com/ and see if they are helpful - on the left hand side there is a tab - cameras, and you can find the reviews on different brands.

    Hope this helps.
     
  9. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    the choice of a P&S or not totally depends on the expectation from the camera. for snapshots during family/friends gathering, traveling, etc, they are very sufficient. they will capture the memories of the moment.

    i just recent bought a Fujifilm F30 for Janet as she wants a small camera to keep in her handbag. the Fujifilm F30 series is well known for the image quality, and high ISO/low light ability. she is able to capture a lot of indoor shots without flash with it. overall, i think she really like it.

    but will i ever attempt to take badminton picture with it? never. i won't even bother trying.
     
  10. ctjcad

    ctjcad Regular Member

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    Speaking of which...

    ...there are several of them out there...But depending on what purpose you want to use it for, i concur with what kwun wrote, esp. using it to take badminton action pics...For those interested in a P&S camera, and want a good bargain, you guys might want to try this Canon Powershot A560..One of the key feature it has is the abilitiy to shoot at 1600 ISO, which is a rarity in P&S cameras...Also the zoom factor is not bad, as it can go from 35mm-140mm(4x)...
    The link that viver provided is a very good one, very complete..:cool:
    *Btw, kwun, that Fuji F30 is a nice one. Has very high ISO range as well:cool:
     
    #10 ctjcad, Mar 24, 2007
    Last edited: Mar 24, 2007
  11. viver

    viver Regular Member

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    Very good point. Actually I am quite happy with my P&S camera and it has worked really well for the gatherings/vacations and some other occasions. For action pictures, don't bother about badminton which is indoors (normally). In my case, soccer is played outside and on a nice sunny day the camera may not be fast enough to capture the action when using higher zoom.


    Not sure if the 1600 ISO setting would be useful with the A560. Well, if the difference not too much, might pay a bit extra to get the A570, that has image stabilization. You know, when age catch up, your eyes get a bit blurry and your hands shaky.... :eek::(
     
  12. Yogi

    Yogi Regular Member

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    The most important is for you to get one which does not emit multiple flashes. If you are ever going to use a slave and a 20$ flash mounted on it, you better buy the ones which emit just one flash.

    A flash mounted on a slave lets you do many things (bounce and swivel)

    Cheers
     
  13. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    I, myself was thinking of getting a P&S.

    Kwun, what features made you decide on the F30? I was looking at the G7. With the hotshoe, I can put my Canon flash on it. Even thought the flash will be bigger than the camera!

    The other option is the Olympus - the one that can withstand falls and go underwater. I haven't had a chance to handle one yet, though.
     
  14. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    the features that was requested was:

    - one as small as <insert co-worker's name>'s camera
    - one with a big LCD

    among all the ones that fits the size requirement, the Fuji has the best high iso quality, by a far margin. others might have things like image stabilization, etc. but i think 50% (or more) of the shooting will be done in low light situation so high iso quality wins out.

    besides, it was close to valentine's day, solved that problem too (abeit being more of an expensive solution)
     
  15. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    Pretty simple! The requirements I've been given are short shutter lag and night shots.
     
  16. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    give the Fuji a look. besides good high iso quality, shutter lag is also among the lowest for P&S of its class.

    it is also quite small which is always a plus and the cost should be reasonable too.
     
  17. chehsi

    chehsi Regular Member

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    I'm not really an expert in photography or cameras. I dunno about this but whenever someone asked me what camera to get, I always recommend Casio. But somehow, they'll end up buying something else.. anything but Casio :p Maybe cuz' ppl think of Casio as calculators.. or watches but not camera (but pssst... when they got their cameras of other brands, they'll then come to me and said things like... why the colour of your pictures look nicer? etc..etc..).

    I'm using a Casio myself and I simply love it. I've bought one about 3 years ago and never regret getting it (tho' now they got more models with better functions). I've shot a lot of amazing photos with it. Some photos look like you've shot it with DSLR. I was told the lens are from Pentax (which I later realised that the function of a casio is similar to the Pentax Optio).

    Casio cameras are normally very user friendly. The usuals that I know will have this lil' knob that you can adjust depending on what shot that you want to shoot. Casio doesn't have that knob thing. Instead, it has a lot of pre-sets in it. eg. if you want to snap a pic of sunset, instead of adjusting the white balance, light, etc manually... you just need to choose the preset that is for sunset shots. From the latest models that I've checked out recently, it has over 30 presets (which is cool!). The macro function is esp good, and the colours for landscape is very sharp and nice.

    Well, I'll normally tell my friends that.. whatever model or brand you're buying, the best thing is go to the shop. Have a feel of the camera. You can always ask those people to do a demo for you and you give it a try by yourself. Long as you're comfortable with it, meeting your budget and needs.
     
  18. azabaz_ipoh

    azabaz_ipoh Regular Member

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    thanks viver. i'll look more into it. and chehsi, what you said interests me since i am an owner of a PENTAX camera. the analog one. i am very satisfied with it. i can take night shots and still see the background landscap thanks to the shutter speed function. the only thing is, with analog camera i cant afford to experiment too much. it costs a lot to buy and develope negatives and you cant see the result right after you took the picture. with digital camera i can shoot away and just delete the ones i am not satisfied with. which gives me the freedom to take crappy shots. he he he. just to see what it would look like with different settings. that's why i want a digital with shutter speed option. a lot of point and shoot cameras just give you presets. i want to be able to choose different settings. but my problem is i dont have the budget. har har har. maybe i should stop picking hobbies that needs me to spend too much. :D
     
  19. Whoopty

    Whoopty Regular Member

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    The G7 takes quality photos:
    http://www.mycanong7.com/244701/index.html

    But the F30 wins hands down in high ISO situations, although I prefer the G7 for everyday shooting with all its manual controls and whatnot.
     
  20. chehsi

    chehsi Regular Member

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    I used to have an analog Pentax too... and it was like an ever lasting thing ahahah.. but there're a lot of stuff that you can't do with analog cameras. That's when i've decided to really 'invest' for a digital camera. Spent more on it but never regret.

    I never have problems taking pictures in dark area using a casio. All those presets will take care of it. eg. There's a preset for nightview + human portrait. With that, you can still see the background and the human face clearly and sometimes, don't even need flash for it. You can count on the shutter speed of a casio. When I bought mine, it was the fastest in the market! (not anymore with so many newer models now). But of course, when you're taking shots like this, you gotta have steady hands/use tripod.

    Tho' with all those presets, you can still adjust the settings manually if you want. And once you've made that setting, you can even save it and use it next time for similar shots.

    I still suggest you go check it out in the shop. Try it yourself. While I got mine for like RM1.3k last time for a 4mp (now worth a few hundreds only). .. now you can get a 6mp, with anti shake,..etc.. for below 1k. how's that?? I sometimes got the urge to upgrade it actually.. but er.. i'll probably save it for a DSLR later :p And I still love my Casio 4mp dearly :)

    Here's a photo that I took with my good ol' 4mp Casio. Didn't use flash for it.

    [​IMG]



     
    #20 chehsi, Mar 26, 2007
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2007

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