General Cycling Discussion - OT: Digital Cams

Sorry for this OT thread.



i see a lot of you have pictures of your bikes/riding/trails, and i'm looking into a digicam purchase. do any of you have suggestions for a good cam? i'd like to keep it on the cheaper side of things.. 300 or so tops. I dont know if any cams are more durable than others and would be better to take on a long ride.



thanks.

Hi Jasbike.
Any big department store, such as Wal Mart, Target, Office Depot etc..., has the latest versions of digital cameras.
For $299 there are VERY good cameras, from most manufacturers: canon, sony, nikon, minolta, olympus etc...

For 300$ you can expect it to be 3.x Megapixels resolution, 64 or more memory card included... and lots of standard features: macro mode, timer, image effects, LCD screen etc...

Look into the canon powershot A70, its a VERY nice camera for 300 bucks.

Nikon Coolpix 3100 $319-349 3.2 Megapixel, awesome features.

Nikon is good, as is that powershot, as are sonys, imo. Goto www.dpreview.com (http://www.dpreview.com/) for all the reviews, there are other review 'shops', check google (http://www.google.com)

thanks guys.




any suggestions for transporting them on the trails? just put them in a padded bag in a backpack?

I just got the Canon A70 as well, and am very happy with it. Best for $300 I've found. The Nikon Coolpix is also very comparable. Either of these are perfect for taking on rides... I don't really see any need for more than 3 megapixels unless you are planning on printing out a lot of large pictures.

Some things I really like about the A70:
-Very good video abilities (3 resolution settings, lowest being 3 minute videos at a time, highest being 30 seconds.)
-Fairly compact size
-Durable
-Good manual options
-Ability to add wide angle and telephoto lenses

i think i'll go semi-impulse buy the A70.




what does the lowest quality video look like? 640x480 res?

Originally posted by JasBike
thanks guys.




any suggestions for transporting them on the trails? just put them in a padded bag in a backpack?

yeah, I keep it in my camelback in a soft camera case lined with foam padding...

how is the vid quality on lowest? whats the rez?

Originally posted by JasBike
i think i'll go semi-impulse buy the A70.




what does the lowest quality video look like? 640x480 res?

The lowest quality is 160X120, middle is 320X240, and highest is 640X480.

The highest quality is pretty nice, not quite as good as a real video camera, but close. the middle is fairly good quality, as long as you don't view it at a large size. the smallest is kinda the same way--
look at it like a thumbnale picture-- looks good small, but when you try to view it at a larger size it gets pixelated. but it isn't a camera issue.. they all have about the same quality low setting. This one has 3 settings, though, where most (i think the coolpix included) has only 2).

one thing-- plan on spending a little more than the cost of the camera for almost any of them, because the memory card is really small. about $45 for a 128MB memory card.... also, any digital camera eats through batteries pretty quick, so it's a good idea to get rechargeables.

The A70 does NOT eat thorugh batteries. I have an A40 and Energizers last around 3-5 days...that was when I was in France on vacation and I was using it all teh time. Pretty good if you ask me. Gotta love the stitch feature too!

True, compared to most cameras, it doesn't "eat" through batteries, but with 4 AA batteries, replacing them every 3-5 days can get expensive and wasteful. NiMH rechargeables last forever, so make a lot of sense. Anyways, I don't think you could go wrong with the A70

can it record sound?

yes. the sound records well at any resolution.

I strapped the camera on to the front of my camelback and wore it in front of me down a trail, and it made some awesome video. what i do is record at high resolution, and then hit play again after the 30 seconds is up, etc. With the 128MB card you can do that for about 6 times before it gets full. With the medium and low resolution you can record a lot of 3 minute videos on a 128MB card.

Expanding on Gonesh's comment: I bought my Canon S200 a year ago, and at the time it only came with an 8mb memory card which is kind of useless. So I had to get a 128 card which ran about 50 bucks. Also, a spare battery cost another 30 or so. BTW, I am very happy with the S200, except that is has a lot of trouble focusing in low light. Does anybody else have this problem?

Yeah, I think the A70 only comes with a 16MB card, which is pretty useless...

Originally posted by JasBike
any suggestions for transporting them on the trails? just put them in a padded bag in a backpack?

I carry my Pentax Optio S in an empty Altoids tin in my jersey pocket.
It's always there when I want to take a shot.
3.2 mpixels;$329 at bayphoto.

what sort of video capabilities does it have?

Like other cams mentioned, it does video in 30-second clips. Records sound, panorama shots - even 3-D. That's right! It comes with a pair of plastic 3-D glasses and will shoot a shifted over-image that appears like 3D when printed out and viewed with the glasses. The camera has a lot of other features - one of the most full-featured micro digicams out there. Check the reviews.

Don't forget to look into mini tripods......I have a table top unit which is like the size of a mini-pump. Really comes in handy when you want a pic of yourself.

Wow, didn't know about the 3D... Yeah, the Optio is a very nice camera in that range as well.

Originally posted by bentrox!
I carry my Pentax Optio S in an empty Altoids tin in my jersey pocket.
It's always there when I want to take a shot.
3.2 mpixels;$329 at bayphoto.





could i see some pics taken by that cam? or a video segment?



its got my attention..

i would suggest Canon g2/g3 depending on which is cheaper.

One of the best reasons to get a Canon is its "stitch" feature.

Originally posted by Altwegg
One of the best reasons to get a Canon is its "stitch" feature.






which does... what?

I think all Canon models do that. The A series and the S series I'm pretty sure.

Originally posted by JasBike
could i see some pics taken by that cam? or a video segment?

There are several websites that review the Optio S with picture
samples. Here's a good one (no video segment):

http://www.ephotozine.com/equipment/tests/testdetail.cfm?test_id=185

Check out user reviews at the other websites noted in earlier posts.

Heres a great site that will help you make an informed purchase.

DP Review (http://www.dpreview.com/)

Here's a pic I took of my neighborhood/park/wife with me riding bike:) with a Sony DSC-P92 5 megapixel cam. Print up to 8x10 or larger on the new photo printers with fantastic quality.

http://www.mindspring.com/~ls1417/bike2.jpg