Digital Photography and Cars

Digital Photography and Cars

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Discussion

loserkid

Original Poster:

1,672 posts

263 months

Wednesday 4th December 2002
quotequote all
I'm looking to buy a Digital Camera for work but I also want one that will take decent photos of moving stuff like cars.

Hi resolution is a must but I think a Digital SLR would be too much.

Any one got any reccomendations?

Don

28,377 posts

283 months

Wednesday 4th December 2002
quotequote all
Canon Powershot S20/S30. I have the S10 - previous model. Brilliant. Its shaped like a brick with nothing to break off. Its small enough and light enough to carry wherever you need it. Takes GREAT digital pictures. Can't recommend it highly enough.

Podie

46,630 posts

274 months

Wednesday 4th December 2002
quotequote all
I've got a Fuji 6800... does me. 3 megapixel jobbie with a 6 megapixel output. Will try and dig out a photo or two...

Close up pic...



A car pic...



Both were taken at 3megapixel (true) - and the camera can go to 6megapixel output using software to "fill in the gaps" (it guesses basically!).

It's the third Fuji I've had, and after some poor experiences with some other brands, I wouldn't change.



>> Edited by Podie on Wednesday 4th December 14:50

moleamol

15,887 posts

262 months

Wednesday 4th December 2002
quotequote all
I've just got a Konica Digital Revio 310-Z. 3.2 true megapixels, not software enhanced pap. The pictures are brilliant, the menu systems excellent and the camera itself is lovely. Small, stainless finish. Looks like a Canon IXUS but it is actually a really good camera. The screen is very good quality too, no software as such with the camera as it just acts as a removeable drive when connected to the USB. Didn't like this at first but it makes lots of sense now. The other factor is Konica have been photography maestros for years and the lens is very good quality. I would post some pics but the only ones I have are of my girlfriend and I don't fancy posting them on here

Edited to add: My Konica cost 330 and it will also take SD memory and a memory stick at the same time. It is easily good nough for A4 printouts on a decent printer (many people print digital photos on crap printers and blame the camera).

Also, stop it raceboy

>> Edited by moleamol on Wednesday 4th December 14:57

raceboy

13,081 posts

279 months

Wednesday 4th December 2002
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moleamol said:I would post some pics but the only ones I have are of my girlfriend and I don't fancy posting them on here

Digital Cameras = the new Polorid
Go on bang um up, complete with black letterboxes

joospeed

4,473 posts

277 months

Wednesday 4th December 2002
quotequote all
I've got a fuji 2800 .. 6 times optical zoom, no "best guess" 6 mp outputs .. it's 2mp but it's great for pics on your screen just don't print over 10 by 8 inch. it's also a steal at 295 squids. bargain.

Beano1197

20,854 posts

274 months

Wednesday 4th December 2002
quotequote all
I wouldn't hesitate but go for a Nikon - 5700 if you're not going SLR route - the best optics and good electronics combined with the fact that (most) Nikon items are good for dragging through wars......

(F90X,F100 user but use a cheap Fuji for digitals )

pete_w

646 posts

262 months

Wednesday 4th December 2002
quotequote all

Don said: Canon Powershot S20/S30. I have the S10 - previous model. Brilliant. Its shaped like a brick with nothing to break off. Its small enough and light enough to carry wherever you need it. Takes GREAT digital pictures. Can't recommend it highly enough.


Have an S30 -agreed, nice camera, but not very quick. If you want decent 'action' shots of cars then you're going to need something a lot quicker. If digital is your thing, I think an SLR will be required to get the speed. Even then you're nowhere near approaching the speed of a mid-range analogue SLR....how about mid-range 35mm SLR and a decent scanner?

moleamol

15,887 posts

262 months

Wednesday 4th December 2002
quotequote all

pete_w said:Have an S30 -agreed, nice camera, but not very quick. If you want decent 'action' shots of cars then you're going to need something a lot quicker. If digital is your thing, I think an SLR will be required to get the speed. Even then you're nowhere near approaching the speed of a mid-range analogue SLR....how about mid-range 35mm SLR and a decent scanner?
I certainly agree with this. The Konica is used virtually all the ime but I've got an analogue Nikon SLR for the serious stuff.

loserkid

Original Poster:

1,672 posts

263 months

Wednesday 4th December 2002
quotequote all
I'm getting an SLR for myself soon but I wanted to be able to use the Digital for the more scrap book type stuff - karting days, driving experiences, nights out etc.

I'll then be looking for a Photography night course or something - a lot of my lcients are wanting more photography for their websites etc these days and I'm getting bored of shelling out for photographers who generally don't seem to be that good these days - except the ones who are really excellent but charge accordingly!

incorrigible

13,668 posts

260 months

Wednesday 4th December 2002
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got a Fuji 6900 (that's 100 better than Podie's, right ?) takes good photos, see profile (these are low res though), haven't done many action shots but it does have this handy feature where it'll take 5 high res pictures in a second (takes anbout 15 secs to then write this to the card though)

three minutes of M-peg recording too

Podie

46,630 posts

274 months

Wednesday 4th December 2002
quotequote all

incorrigible said: got a Fuji 6900 (that's 100 better than Podie's, right ?)



probably...



...it does have this handy feature where it'll take 5 high res pictures in a second (takes anbout 15 secs to then write this to the card though)



Crap card then mate. Shouldn't take that long. Even on 6MP mine only takes around 4 - 5 seconds!

plotloss

67,280 posts

269 months

Wednesday 4th December 2002
quotequote all
If you've got a mate in the states ask him to get it for you!

Minolta Dimage 7i - Best UK price £799, I paid £378 in Atlanta.

Matt.

hansgerd

1,274 posts

283 months

Wednesday 4th December 2002
quotequote all
I use an Olympus E100 RS (for rapid shot not racing sport). The resolution is a bit low at 1360 x 1024 but good enough for the normal photo print. It has a 10x optical zoom plus a 3x digital (which I don't use). The photochip is ultra quick. You can take endless sequence shots. See www.pistonheads.com/motorsport/news.asp?s=18&storyId=4729 for examples. Picture no 3 is one of a 5 picture sequence. Picture no 6 was made from the opposite side of the track some 30 meters away from the podium. The camera is very robust, energy consumption is reasonable and the weight is ok too.
Olys E100's aren't produced any more but are available for around 500 Euros on Ebay. See www.steves-digicams.com/2001_reviews/e100rs.html for a review of the camera. BTW, www.steves-digicams.com is a good resource for camera reviews.

>> Edited by hansgerd on Wednesday 4th December 15:18

incorrigible

13,668 posts

260 months

Wednesday 4th December 2002
quotequote all
Forgot to add great site

pete

1,586 posts

283 months

Wednesday 4th December 2002
quotequote all
Here's my 2p's worth. If you can't afford a digital SLR, buy a digital point-and-shoot for parties and holidays, and a secondhand 35mm SLR for cars and moving things.

If you predominantly want to shoot high speed subjects like motorsport you won't even need autofocus. Even a new Canon EOS D1 won't keep up with a car accelerating out of a corner at 100mph, so you'll end up pre-focusing on a fixed spot and squeezing the shutter just before the car reaches it. Buy something from Canon or Nikon and you'll have a choice of some of the best optics ever made at bargain secondhand prices.

I can testify to the quality of modern film scanners. I use a few-years-old Nikon Coolscan III, which scans a full frame 35mm neg or slide to about 10 megapixels in 45 seconds. Use a fine-grained film like Kodak Supra and the quality is astonishing. The only snag is it's a bit laborious for holiday snaps, but great when you're photographing for photography's sake.

Pete

juliantaylor

27 posts

263 months

Wednesday 4th December 2002
quotequote all
Do you want a lot of camera for not too much money? I recently bought an Olympus Camedia c2 from www.digitaldepot.com for £125. 2 megapixel camera (ie - well sufficient) which uses smartmedia memory cards - handy as a 64mb one costs only £18. Get a set of rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries for it though as it eats batteries!

daved

234 posts

283 months

Wednesday 4th December 2002
quotequote all
Just been down the same road. Ended up buying an Olympus digital for a couple of hundred £s and a second hand Canon EOS 5. The guy in the shop reckons everybody is going digital these days and non-digital SLRs are moving slowly. Should be able to get a good deal on a used SLR if you look around. I made the guy a resonable offer on the Canon and he took it.

Beano1197

20,854 posts

274 months

Wednesday 4th December 2002
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Used stuff at www.mxv.co.uk - reputable people, much better than your high street Jesters - they've even got some Nikon Digital stuff!

mervynP

366 posts

260 months

Wednesday 4th December 2002
quotequote all
Bought a Sony DSCP9 recently. Very pleased with the results so far, 4MP, 3x optical zoom and will also take MPGs with sound. Memory stick and USB as standard, hunt around for some good web deals and you should get it for less than £400