Digital camera

[SteveC]

Has anyone used the Nikon Coolpix 5700? My parents are in the market for a new camera, and that's the one they're looking at.

Steve

 

[Dozer]

Have you tried to resize the clusters with Partition Magic?

Hehe...maybe you could partition and run Linux on it (Hey, it works on the Xbox)

 

[Cliptin]

I just bought a Canon A20. Not that it helps you any.

 

[James]

Excellent timing : I've got to go to HK on business for the week of the 13th. So I can probably get more camera for my money - I'm going to sell my Sun box to cover it (the things I do!).

So what's a good, midpriced digital camera? I'll probably spend about A$800 or so (about HK$4K I guess). Maybe the A40?

James, Curious to know what you ended up with.

Canon Powershot A40. Nice camera.

 

[Mercutio]

Hehe...maybe you could partition and run Linux on it (Hey, it works on the Xbox)

Don't laugh too loud. I can play Doom on my old Kodak DC290.

 

[time]

I just bought a Canon A20.

Where did you find it? I thought it had been long superseded by the A40.

It's a while since James was looking. Since then Nikon released the 2500 and 2000 two megapixel cameras. They would have been preferable for his original intention, considering their superior macro capability, and in Oz anyway, lower price.

But the A40/A20 is still a good camera. BTW, the A40 adds audio to the movie recording mode, which is quarter size and half frame rate. How useful is that additional feature to people here? I'm curious.

 

[Cliptin]

I just bought a Canon A20.

Where did you find it? I thought it had been long superseded by the A40.

Ebay. $236 for camera, 2x 8MB CF chips, 4 NIMH batteries and charger shipped. I was looking for a starter camera that still took decent pictures and I did not want to spend very much.

 

[James]

It's a while since James was looking. Since then Nikon released the 2500 and 2000 two megapixel cameras. They would have been preferable for his original intention, considering their superior macro capability, and in Oz anyway, lower price.

I only paid about AUD580 in the end, buying it new in Singapore. It's a very nice camera, far better than what I need indeed.

But the A40/A20 is still a good camera. BTW, the A40 adds audio to the movie recording mode, which is quarter size and half frame rate. How useful is that additional feature to people here? I'm curious.

Not much use at all, really. The movie mode is a bit of a novelty, and you can get a respectable amount of video into a 128MB memory card. But what practical use is it? Not much.

 

[adriel]

Wait a minute. How rugged are consumer grade Compact Flash memory modules? Can they be dropped on cement without risk of data loss and/or corruption? How well do they handle environmental extremes of hot and cold? Humidity and altitude? Has anyone here ever had a CF stick loose its data retention?

Also, how sturdy are the CF memory module insertion mechanisms? Do they grasp CF modules tightly, and if so, is the grip mechanically and/or structurally weak?

 

[Mercutio]

I've sat on CF modules - and I'm a substantial guy - and they've continued to work. Dropped them... ditto. The retention method for CF is fairly idiot proof. Like most computer stuff, you'd have to be very stupid and very strong to actually put on in the wrong way.

 

[i]

Wait a minute. How rugged are consumer grade Compact Flash memory modules? Can they be dropped on cement without risk of data loss and/or corruption? How well do they handle environmental extremes of hot and cold? Humidity and altitude? Has anyone here ever had a CF stick loose its data retention?

Also, how sturdy are the CF memory module insertion mechanisms? Do they grasp CF modules tightly, and if so, is the grip mechanically and/or structurally weak?

From http://www.compactflash.org/:

Connector – The connector used with CompactFlash is similar to the PCMCIA Card connector, but with 50 pins. Years of field experience in portable devices have proven the reliability and durability of this connector in applications where frequent insertions and ejections of the card are required. Other small form factor flash cards use connector technology that is not reliable or durable in these applications .

Shock – CF cards have an operating shock rating of 2,000 Gs, which is equivalent to a 10-foot drop. With typical usage, a CF card can be used for more than 100 years with no loss or deterioration of data.

 

[Pradeep]

Of course Microdrive is a fair bit more fragile, mine lives on a velvet cushion when not in the camera

 

[NickWild]

I think the canon A40 might be the best all around deal for a digital camera....$299 and it has interchangable lenses...shoots 30 sec movies with sound...very compact......Maximum aperture ranges from f/2.8 at full wide angle to f/4.8 at full telephoto, and can be manually adjusted or left under automatic control.

just my opinion because I bought one and love it....I got 256meg compact flash disc for it which will allow me to take 259 pictures at the highest resolution which is 1,600 x 1,200.....great for any vacation and not having to buy film

 

[time]

Wow, you're right. I had no idea you could get interchangeable lenses for this level of camera. I don't think you can even get them for the S30/S40.

However, I'd like to pick a bone with Canon over their claims for movie recording (no offense to you). Whereas other manufacturers such as Olympus, Nikon and Sony quote the maximum movie length at QVGA resolution (320x240), Canon quotes it at 160x120!

So the A40 can actually manage only 10 seconds of Quarter VGA footage. At least that's what I've heard, and that's what the manual says.

 

[NickWild]

However, I'd like to pick a bone with Canon over their claims for movie recording (no offense to you). Whereas other manufacturers such as Olympus, Nikon and Sony quote the maximum movie length at QVGA resolution (320x240), Canon quotes it at 160x120!

So the A40 can actually manage only 10 seconds of Quarter VGA footage. At least that's what I've heard, and that's what the manual says.

yes I agree that was a little lame on there part

 

[NickWild]

However, I'd like to pick a bone with Canon over their claims for movie recording (no offense to you). Whereas other manufacturers such as Olympus, Nikon and Sony quote the maximum movie length at QVGA resolution (320x240), Canon quotes it at 160x120!

So the A40 can actually manage only 10 seconds of Quarter VGA footage. At least that's what I've heard, and that's what the manual says.

yes I agree that was a little lame on there part

accually I think its 15 sec at 320x240

 

[time]

Check the manual. Page 65 says:

The maximum length of movie clips (approximately 20 frames/second) is about 10 seconds at the (320x240) setting and about 30 seconds at the (160x120) setting.

Have you found yours is different?

 

[Tea]

Tannin and I have been on holiday, and now that Belinda has finally got herself a camera of her own, we got to play with our Sony again for a while. Of the various and many things we pointed it at, here is my favourite.

That's the thumbnail. For the convenience of people with pixel-challenged screens, I've put the real thing in a seperate thread over here.

 

[Tea]

Having become a little bored with computers of late, my main interest in photography is wildlife, in particular, birds. There are no two ways about it: this means getting lots of magnification.

So, the other week, I almost bought a Leica digital camera and scope set, to give me 60X magnification and a camera that didn't inflict that dreadful damn wait after you push the button before the shutter triggers that nearly all digital cameras are afflicted with.

The Leica didn't seem perfect, but closer than anything else bar a Panasonic-badged version of the same thing. (The two camers have optics by Leica and electronics by Panasonic.)

As luck would have it, however, they had stopped making that particular model. So I saved quite a lot of money in the short term, and I still don't have a digiscoping set-up. But I aim to go that way just the same.

The only other alternative is to go back to a film-based SLR and a big telephoto lens, and that ain't a realistic option: the initial cost is astronomical - in the order of 15G - and then there is the running cost and processing delay involved with film rather than digital media.

Anyway, I'm keeping my eyes open for a good quality scope, and a camera to match it.

 

[Tea]

Here is another one I'm fond of. Full-size image in the same place.

 

[blakerwry]

wow, their heads seem much larger than I had expected.

 

[Tea]

Errr ... do upu ean the kangaroos? Or the pelicans?

 

[CougTek]

Errr ... do upu ean the kangaroos? Or the pelicans?

Hmm...

Tea's dislectic disease is getting worse.

 

[Pradeep]

wow, their heads seem much larger than I had expected.

All the better to hit them with a high velocity projectile.

 

[Tea]

I do nnt have a lexdixic dsease!