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.
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Nikon Coolpix 3100 $319-349 3.2 Megapixel, awesome features.
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Nikon is good, as is that powershot, as are sonys, imo. Goto www.dpreview.com for all the reviews, there are other review 'shops', check google
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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? |
how is the vid quality on lowest? whats the rez?
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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 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.
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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!
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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
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can it record sound?
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yes. the sound records well at any resolution.
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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.
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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?
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Yeah, I think the A70 only comes with a 16MB card, which is pretty useless...
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Originally posted by JasBike any suggestions for transporting them on the trails? just put them in a padded bag in a backpack? 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?
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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.
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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.
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Wow, didn't know about the 3D... Yeah, the Optio is a very nice camera in that range as well.
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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.. |
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