What sort of Camera does my wife need?
Discussion
My wife has been to a few conventions where she's taken photos (on her samsung phone) of the people on stage, and they generally look terrible if you zoom in.
I had a look and found her phone was set to 12mp so showed her how to set it to 64mp. We did a few test shots in the garden but frankly I was totally underwhelmed. Zoom into a person about 50-60 feet away and it's doesn’t seem to be any sharper than similar photos taken 20 years ago with a 2mp digital ixus in the same garden.
She attended another convention and used her phone on the new settings and its was just as bad.
She's thinking of upgrading to an iPhone 15 Pro which someone has convinced her will be much better. I'm not convinced as it's still a phone camera.
I've suggested getting a second hand bridge camera but she doesn’t like the bulk.
What sort of camera would be good enough to get sharp picture of someone on stage if say you were 20-25 rows back?
I had a look and found her phone was set to 12mp so showed her how to set it to 64mp. We did a few test shots in the garden but frankly I was totally underwhelmed. Zoom into a person about 50-60 feet away and it's doesn’t seem to be any sharper than similar photos taken 20 years ago with a 2mp digital ixus in the same garden.
She attended another convention and used her phone on the new settings and its was just as bad.
She's thinking of upgrading to an iPhone 15 Pro which someone has convinced her will be much better. I'm not convinced as it's still a phone camera.
I've suggested getting a second hand bridge camera but she doesn’t like the bulk.
What sort of camera would be good enough to get sharp picture of someone on stage if say you were 20-25 rows back?
GetCarter said:
All phones have tiny sensors, so can't do this sort of stuff well.
Get a camera, rather than a phone.
Hundreds to choose from depending on price and size.
Some great compacts out there from Sony and Canon - and they'll fit in a pocket.
What will they look like when you crop to a person in stage from some distance though?Get a camera, rather than a phone.
Hundreds to choose from depending on price and size.
Some great compacts out there from Sony and Canon - and they'll fit in a pocket.
That's the problem she is having with her phone, and we had a similar problem with a 5x optical zoom camera in tests. The images look fuzzy when cropped down to the person on stage only.
What we need to know is what zoom do we need to get a clear picture when cropped.
Derek Smith said:
I bought a Panasonic Tz years ago. I take it everywhere I go. I know compacts are, they say, falling out of favour, but they are remarkable. I have all Panasonic gear, but I'm not suggesting you only look at their compacts. Go to a camera shop, get your wife to play with them.
The only problem is that if she takes to photography, it'll cost, because everyone wants something better.
I have a GH2 and 2 x G9s, but really like my compact.
She's won't get into photography! She simply wants to take a photo in this scenario and it not be fuzzy. She thinks spending g £1000 on an iPhone will fix it, yet she already has a 1 year old Samsung that cost £1000!The only problem is that if she takes to photography, it'll cost, because everyone wants something better.
I have a GH2 and 2 x G9s, but really like my compact.
I think a simple camera with a decent optical zoom is the solution. I just need to prove it to her.
isaldiri said:
98elise said:
She's thinking of upgrading to an iPhone 15 Pro which someone has convinced her will be much better. I'm not convinced as it's still a phone camera.
I've suggested getting a second hand bridge camera but she doesn’t like the bulk.
What sort of camera would be good enough to get sharp picture of someone on stage if say you were 20-25 rows back?
The iPhone 15 pro (and some of the similar spec phones like a pixel 8 pro) does offer optical zoom so you’re not just dependent on digital zoom which should help. Ultimately you still are talking about a camera with a small sensor so it’s not obviously going to deliver the picture quality you might be after though. Some of the pocket cameras (rx100 mk6+) have a 1” sensor and some decent zoom though so might be a better bet.I've suggested getting a second hand bridge camera but she doesn’t like the bulk.
What sort of camera would be good enough to get sharp picture of someone on stage if say you were 20-25 rows back?
This will probably be a one time use (at a convention later in the year) so I'm thinking of picking up a second hand camera on ebay then reselling it afterwards
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