Which camera?

[dinkel]

Everyone asks this off course, but now it's my turn.

I use a nice Pentax for over 10 years now. Before that a Ricoh KR10 with Pentax lenses: the 1983 2.8 135 mm is yummie. My bro uses it to archive the tattoos he's made . . . and that's a lot.

At work (graphic designer) I use a D70 Nikon. My first digital setup was an ugly Canon some 4 years ago . . .

I want to go digital but the D70 is too big for what I need. 5 mp will do nicely and a turning screen would be nice. Enough capacity in dark churches to do some 1/4 sec work: steady hands and control over breathing: I'm an amateur for over 20 years.
But I'm gonna join a photoclub soon and I'm thinking about costs. Analog albums cost a lot. The digital work only cost diskspace and of that I have enough.

And you guys expect some decent quality pics posted when I have a website - soon.

I saw some handy Canons / but a lady in the shop showed me a nice Pentax whit good printed pics to match.

Please give me some advice for a fixed lens, one hand, Apple ready cam. Thanx

[simpo two]

I have a hunch that in 12 months time you'll be looking to get a DSLR and flog the compact...

[LongQ]

dinkel said:

I saw some handy Canons / but a lady in the shop showed me a nice Pentax whit good printed pics to match. Please give me some advice for a fixed lens, one hand, Apple ready cam. Thanx

Which Pentax did you see?

Why fixed lens? I assume you are thinking permanent lens rather than changeable but a zoom would be OK?

You also mention churches - my Optio S5i has a specific program for "Museum" which, I assume, is a similar sort of thing. Not sure what it really does. The manual says;

"Lets you take pictures of works of art in museums and art galleries".

Perhaps it is some sort of licence?

The main effect seems to be +.3 on the F stop compensation and it automatically switches off the flash. Sitting in a darkened room - just about enout light to read by next to the window with the sun obscured by cloud - you know the sort of thing, time to put the lights on really - it selected ISO200, set 1/4 second and max lens aperture and produced a result that looks like it was taken in somewhat brighter light.

So the EV has worked well. The results are not too bad given I was hand holding and pressing the button with one hand (left hand though I am right handed) for the 1/4 second exposure.

I assume that most of the Pentax range have pretty much the same quality of metering and 'special' functions if they are recent models.

Hope this helps.

[pmanson]

LongQ said:

dinkel said: I saw some handy Canons / but a lady in the shop showed me a nice Pentax whit good printed pics to match. Please give me some advice for a fixed lens, one hand, Apple ready cam. Thanx Which Pentax did you see? Why fixed lens? I assume you are thinking permanent lens rather than changeable but a zoom would be OK? You also mention churches - my Optio S5i has a specific program for "Museum" which, I assume, is a similar sort of thing. Not sure what it really does. The manual says; "Lets you take pictures of works of art in museums and art galleries". Perhaps it is some sort of licence? The main effect seems to be +.3 on the F stop compensation and it automatically switches off the flash. Sitting in a darkened room - just about enout light to read by next to the window with the sun obscured by cloud - you know the sort of thing, time to put the lights on really - it selected ISO200, set 1/4 second and max lens aperture and produced a result that looks like it was taken in somewhat brighter light. So the EV has worked well. The results are not too bad given I was hand holding and pressing the button with one hand (left hand though I am right handed) for the 1/4 second exposure. I assume that most of the Pentax range have pretty much the same quality of metering and 'special' functions if they are recent models. Hope this helps.

LongQ How do you find the Pentax? It's one of two cameras on my shortlist for my next camera. (the other one being the ixus 11)

Thanks,

Phill

[simpo two]

LongQ said:

You also mention churches - my Optio S5i has a specific program for "Museum" which, I assume, is a similar sort of thing. Not sure what it really does. The manual says; "Lets you take pictures of works of art in museums and art galleries".

'Museum' setting won't work in churches. You need to find a camera with 'Church' mode. This uses an optimised sharpening algorithm to minimise artefacts between stone blocks. It's especially effective with Portland stone fixed with mortar joints 8-10mm thick.

[LongQ]

simpo two said:

LongQ said: You also mention churches - my Optio S5i has a specific program for "Museum" which, I assume, is a similar sort of thing. Not sure what it really does. The manual says; "Lets you take pictures of works of art in museums and art galleries". 'Museum' setting won't work in churches. You need to find a camera with 'Church' mode. This uses an optimised sharpening algorithm to minimise artefacts between stone blocks. It's especially effective with Portland stone fixed with mortar joints 8-10mm thick.

Damn.

I'm sure this is the UK market model as well!

But dinkel lives in Nederlands where I would imagine many churches are wooden - certianly not Portland Stone surely?

In which case the museum/library mode would probably work quite well.

Panorama Assist and 3D mode might be quite interesting in such a setting, though I fear the flash and EV compensation would need to be manually achieved ... well actually flash probably not an issue.

[simpo two]

LongQ said:

Damn. I'm sure this is the UK market model as well! But dinkel lives in Nederlands where I would imagine many churches are wooden - certianly not Portland Stone surely?

If he gets the camera in Holland then it should be configured to that market - ie the camera will be shipped with a Church mode featuring an alternative algorithm taking into account the national building materials. In this case it would probably be programmed with a woodgrain pattern in mind. Whether it would work with cedar shingles is another matter... perhaps a letter to the manufacturers would clear this matter up?

[V6GTO]

simpo two said:

LongQ said: Damn. I'm sure this is the UK market model as well! But dinkel lives in Nederlands where I would imagine many churches are wooden - certianly not Portland Stone surely? If he gets the camera in Holland then it should be configured to that market - ie the camera will be shipped with a Church mode featuring an alternative algorithm taking into account the national building materials. In this case it would probably be programmed with a woodgrain pattern in mind. Whether it would work with cedar shingles is another matter... perhaps a letter to the manufacturers would clear this matter up?

Surely it would have windmill mode as well?

Martin.

[LongQ]

pmanson said:

LongQ How do you find the Pentax? It's one of two cameras on my shortlist for my next camera. (the other one being the ixus 11) Thanks, Phill

I love it. I will confess I bought it for it's size as much as anything and as you might imagine there can be compromises and it is possible to push it beyond its intended capabilities.

Panning off the pit wall on a dull day operating at ISO 400 will produce some noise - guaranteed. And the pics won't be likely to be pin sharp. But you can get some usable shots (which I was not really expecting tbh). I dark 'pub' type environments I have, once in a while, got a 'arty' result through a combination of flash AND a long exposure. Really not sure why. But mostly the results are good to excellent. Just a few shouts where the centre of the frame seems to be a bit soft compared to the areas just around it. One day I may take the opportunity to compare my camera with another to see if it is typical. In all honesting the effect is not very noticable unless being critical.

Can't comment on the Canons. I have old 35mm Canon stuff which I like. The compact digitals seem variable and many had (have?) only digital zoom. Whan I first cam across the Optio S series they were the smallest quality camera on the market. There are others now in that space, but I sort of stuck with the original idea (via a Sony DSC-U30, 2 Megapixel, no zoom which I also still use) so didn't really look at the others very closely. I think one of the Casio's is pretty much the same camera.

In a practical sense it seems to offer good battery life and a relatively fast start up and shutter response, both aspects I was also seeking.

In the end it depends what you are planning to do with it and what sort of shots you want to take. But I can voush for it's portability. It normally travels with me these days whenever I go out. (doesn't often get used though!)

And they are quite a bit cheaper now than they were back in November when I got mine.

You would need a proper SD card though, not much storage on board.

Send me a mail through my profile and provide a email address and I will send on a few sample files if you are interested. Give me a clue about what you are likely to use it for most.

I haven't used the video feature other than as an experiment but it looks OK for what it is meant to be - i.e. nothing special, just a throw in feature but with sound.

[dinkel]

Optio Pentax has a fixed lens . . . The Canon also has that but the quality seems better. Am I right?

Hey guys: I do travel . . . I may even visit UK this summer . . .

[LongQ]

dinkel said:

Optio Pentax has a fixed lens . . . The Canon also has that but the quality seems better. Am I right? Hey guys: I do travel . . . I may even visit UK this summer . . .

Optio is a range of cameras with many ever changing models - 4 or 5 bnew versions every 6 months or so recently.

The lenses are not interchangable but AFAIK most of them are zooms - certainly the ones I had seen at 5Mpix resolution.

Of course it could be a requirement for Church mode that a quiet fixed lenght lens is required ...

If you are likely to travel then you should consider either getting separate cameras for each country/region you are going to visit (to benefit from the localised special features) or pay a little more for the International version which comes with various country options on a CD and allows you to download the settings for the country of choice via a PC/MAC connection.

Can't offer an opinion on the lenses. It's partly a matter of preference BUT I don't think any manufacturer has a reputation (according to test results) for completely consistent lens performance across their range so you have to consider it on a model by model basis. I like the S5i which seems to give realistic colours. I have not tried the small
Canons.

[dinkel]

www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/g6.html

I was thinking this one or the A95. What do you think

[dinkel]

Saw the IST Pentax which is really nice: small, 6mp, my Pentax lenses do fit . . . Just the body

http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/cameras/0,39023820,39117977,00.htm

About a 1000 euros . . . Anyone has some experience with this piece of kit? Will it work with my iMac OSX? The raw Nikon Nef-format is pc only . . . Also I think the D70 is too big to work with. I have a weak spot for this IST D which is a ridiculous name . . .