Digital cameras

[Techsan]

I'm always snapping photos when I'm on the road, and have come to the realization that my digital camera sucks arse. Anyone here have any recommendations for a quality digital camera for under $300. I'm a big fan of the compact point and shoot camera (fits nicely in the flight suit), however the pictures don't seem to come out as good.

Feel free to post a picture you've taken with your camera.

Techsan

[Guest RJacobs]

Ive got a Canon SD800IS. Its a point and shoot with image stabilization, lens stabilization which is far superior to electronic(digital) stabilization. It takes great shots. Heres an example going to PVR(not the greatest shot, but from fl370 it shows the detail the camera is capable of).

It looks like the 800 was replaced with the 850, but should be the same great camera. Looks like it changed from a 7 to an 8 megapixel.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1172881524792

Edited August 20, 2007 by RJacobs

[Bluto]

I have a Sony Cybershot DSC-P200 which is a decent small size camera and easy to use.

Mt Ranier

Nashville

Morning of Talladega

[UPT-hopeful]

Whatever you do, don't get the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W100 8.1 Megapixel point & shoot. I bought it a few years ago and have been completely disappointed in it's photo quality in almost any condition.

[Hacker]

I just purchased a Nikon D80 and have been very happy with it. It is my first DSLR, and it was quite a bit more expensive than any P&S camera.

BUT, the title of this thread is "aviation photography". You're never going to really enter into that sport with a $300 camera.

[Steve Davies]

I just purchased a Nikon D80 and have been very happy with it. It is my first DSLR, and it was quite a bit more expensive than any P&S camera.

BUT, the title of this thread is "aviation photography". You're never going to really enter into that sport with a $300 camera.

You went Nikon? I wish you'd talked to me before you did that.

[Steve Davies]

I'm always snapping photos when I'm on the road, and have come to the realization that my digital camera sucks arse. Anyone here have any recommendations for a quality digital camera for under $300. I'm a big fan of the compact point and shoot camera (fits nicely in the flight suit), however the pictures don't seem to come out as good.

Feel free to post a picture you've taken with your camera.

Techsan

Techsan

There's always going to be a compromise between price, compactness and size. I am sure you know all of this, so i won't bang on about it.

Since I use kit that costs more than $300, I don't have a good handle on what's competitive at the moment. However, I would offer a couple of pearls of wisdom that you may choose to follow when selecting a new camera:

1) Stick to a recognised camera manufacturer with a heritage of photography behind them (Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Fuji, Ricoh and Leica are the ones that spring to mind). Personally, i would avoid the likes of Sony, Samsung, Panasonic etc. (although these companies make the PCBs that go inside almost all of the P&S digital cameras!)

2) Don't be sold on the number of megapixels the camera offers - more megapixels in no way equates to better image quality, and the two are largely unrelated! I'd rather have a 6MP camera that takes clean, sharp and vibrant images than a 12MP camera that does not. Remember, 6MP is plenty big enough to get a whopping A3 print, which is bigger than most people will usually want

3) Remember that cameras offering 10x zooms and the like are probably going to be asking so much of the lens that it's simply not going to be that great across its entire focal length. As with the megapixel advice, i would rather have a 4x optical zoom that takes sharp and contrasty images without the aberrations and softness, than a 10x optical zoom that doesn't

4) Finally, remember that if you want your digital images to look good, it's worth investing in a cheap programme like Photoshop Elements to do some minor tweaking on the computer. Post processing is a necessary evil in the world of digital photography, and even casual enthusiasts can learn to really make their images shine with only the smallest of time and effort

And, since you offered, here's some I shot earlier!

[Guest JorryFright21]

You went Nikon? I wish you'd talked to me before you did that.

No, he did okay. I've made quite a bit of money with my D70 over the past 4 years. Don't start that lame argument here :) Canon, Nikon, whatever, they're all good cameras.

EDIT: Just saw your last post. I wasn't trying to be a punk anyway.

[ClearedHot]

I use the Canon D30 and have had "Great Success".

[Steve Davies]

I use the Canon D30 and have had "Great Success".

Nice shot. So, when you gonna' join the big boys and leave Sports mode on your 30D behind ;)

[Steve Davies]

No, he did okay. I've made quite a bit of money with my D70 over the past 4 years. Don't start that lame argument here :) Canon, Nikon, whatever, they're all good cameras.

Jorryt

As a professional aviation photographer, I honestly don't think that the argument is lame: it's more often he case that the people who get into debates end up being childish and immature. FWIW, I thought that the D70 looked like an excellent camera, and I am sure that the D80 is, too.

The truth is that there are some things that Canon does better than Nikon, and some things that Nikon does better than Canon. I happen to believe that Canon's strengths are well suited to action/sports photography, and that includes aviation photography. That's why i use Canon. Not because I am blindly loyal to one brand over the other.

On a separate level, Hacker and I know each other and he has expressed an interest in taking my kit with him on various TDYs. With him now using Nikon and me being a Canon bloke, that's now going to be even less likely to happen!

EDIT: Just saw your last post. I wasn't trying to be a punk anyway.

I know you weren't. Nor am I.

[ClearedHot]

Nice shot. So, when you gonna' join the big boys and leave Sports mode on your 30D behind ;)

I have enough trouble remembering that pushing the yoke forward makes the houses get bigger...

[Steve Davies]

I have enough trouble remembering that pushing the yoke forward makes the houses get bigger...

Damn! I need to send you some flight gloves with instructions painted on them:

push forward: trees get bigger

slow shutter speed: props and rotors get blurrier

pull back: trees get smaller

fast shutter speed: props and rotors get frozen

[ClearedHot]

Damn! I need to send you some flight gloves with instructions painted on them:

push forward: trees get bigger

slow shutter speed: props and rotors get blurrier

pull back: trees get smaller

fast shutter speed: props and rotors get frozen

A very close friend is a very good freelance photographer here in the US.

He gave me the same speech about shutter speed and motion on the rotor.

When I have a chance I will set the program to slow the shutter speed and hopefully do a better job next time.

[ClearedHot]

Damn! I need to send you some flight gloves with instructions painted on them:

push forward: trees get bigger

slow shutter speed: props and rotors get blurrier

pull back: trees get smaller

fast shutter speed: props and rotors get frozen

A very close friend is a very good freelance photographer here in the US.

He gave me the same speech about shutter speed and motion on the rotor.

When I have a chance I will set the program to slow the shutter speed and hopefully do a better job next time.

[Guest Charles Doty]

Jorryt

As a professional aviation photographer, I honestly don't think that the argument is lame: it's more often he case that the people who get into debates end up being childish and immature. FWIW, I thought that the D70 looked like an excellent camera, and I am sure that the D80 is, too.

The truth is that there are some things that Canon does better than Nikon, and some things that Nikon does better than Canon. I happen to believe that Canon's strengths are well suited to action/sports photography, and that includes aviation photography. That's why i use Canon. Not because I am blindly loyal to one brand over the other.

On a separate level, Hacker and I know each other and he has expressed an interest in taking my kit with him on various TDYs. With him now using Nikon and me being a Canon bloke, that's now going to be even less likely to happen!

I know you weren't. Nor am I.

the sets you buy from Nikon, like the D80 that I have, usually come with excellent lenses; while canon sets come with cheap lenses that you will ulitmatly discard in the future, costing you more money. But the cameras are all good, its all about the lens.

Doty

[DeHavilland]

I just bought a Canon Rebel XTI and am very happy with it. It is my first digital camera. Like it has been said though, the lense that came with the kit was generic and nothing to get excited about and I am looking to upgrade to a better lense.

[Steve Davies]

the sets you buy from Nikon, like the D80 that I have, usually come with excellent lenses; while canon sets come with cheap lenses that you will ulitmatly discard in the future, costing you more money. But the cameras are all good, its all about the lens.

Doty

It is indeed true that Canon's EFS kit lenses are crap and that Nikon's are way superior.

But that wasn't quite what I was getting at: the quality of the glass you use is of course important, but there are other things at play in the body (metering algorithms, accuracy and zoning; dynamic range; autofocus points and cross-type points; pixel quality; burst rate; custom functions etc.) that also influence which camera and which make best suits a particular kind of photography. With wet film it was all about the glass; with digital, that's no longer true.

[Guest Boom]

I love my Canon SD630.

[Hacker]

You went Nikon? I wish you'd talked to me before you did that.

Yeah, yeah, I know. I have been bracing for your verbal beratement of my camera choice ever since I decided to go for a Nikon!

For me, the reality for me as a non-pro photographer is that the whole Nikon/Canon debate is the same as Ford vs Chevy, ketchup vs mustard, Pepsi vs Coke, you name it. They're both excellent cameras, and as you've mentioned, each of them have strengths and weaknesses.

Honestly for me it went like this: There is a Crew Chief in the squadron with the EOS Rebel XTi and another pilot who as a D80. I took them both flying with me and tested them out. The one I liked better in terms of how easy it was to use with my flight gloves on, ease to grip, balance, weight, etc, was the Nikon. They both were good quality cameras at close to the same price point, so it came down to ease of use for me.

Steve, I'm still more than happy to take some of your Canon stuff with me TDY -- I'm not a snob. :)

[Hacker]

Boom, what "Dude" was that in your photo?

I have a couple cool shots I took yesterday of Shell 96 "extending" Whistler 87 (although I labeled the photos "hot barely-legal XXX tanker-on-tanker action" because both the pilots were female and the KC-10 was a 1985 model)

[Steve Davies]

Yeah, yeah, I know. I have been bracing for your verbal beratement of my camera choice ever since I decided to go for a Nikon!

Actually, Nikon are the second best maker of DSLRs in the world, so I won't bust your balls over it. You did pretty well.

Honestly for me it went like this: There is a Crew Chief in the squadron with the EOS Rebel XTi and another pilot who as a D80. I took them both flying with me and tested them out. The one I liked better in terms of how easy it was to use with my flight gloves on, ease to grip, balance, weight, etc, was the Nikon. They both were good quality cameras at close to the same price point, so it came down to ease of use for me.

That's an excellent way of selecting your kit. And at that price point, the Nikon is definitely the nicer of the two cameras to operate and has a much more reasuring build quality.

Steve, I'm still more than happy to take some of your Canon stuff with me TDY -- I'm not a snob. :)

It'd only confuse you, as we both well know.

So, when are you going to post some shots?

[JP84U2]

Boom, what "Dude" was that in your photo?

I have a couple cool shots I took yesterday of Shell 96 "extending" Whistler 87 (although I labeled the photos "hot barely-legal ### tanker-on-tanker action" because both the pilots were female and the KC-10 was a 1985 model)

Hacker, you made coffee come out my nose with the "hot barely-legal ### tanker-on-tanker action"!

The Boom formerly known as HUMPS

[Guest Boom]

Boom, what "Dude" was that in your photo?

I have a couple cool shots I took yesterday of Shell 96 "extending" Whistler 87 (although I labeled the photos "hot barely-legal ### tanker-on-tanker action" because both the pilots were female and the KC-10 was a 1985 model)

I can't remember. I've poked so many "Dudes" over here I just forget them. PM me the pic, gotta see it.

[Guest yoss]

Steve-

I'm currently looking to buy a 30D - should I wait and pick up the 40D? I know the body alone won't make the difference, but is it worth spending the money now? My thought is to get a solid body with one competent lens and acquire more lenses in time. And if you had to recommend one standard lens to go with the body, what would it be? I'm not a complete newbie, but I haven't spent much money on gear since my Canon 35mm about a decade or so ago.

Cheers