Any photography buffs in the club???

[James]

Re: Any photography buffs in the club???

My pops just picked up a cannon pro1 (the one billip was refering to) and it is ****** intense. He had a regular cannon w/ all the lenses so it made alot of sense to pick that one up (the older lenses fit).

It takes some crazy ass pictures. But 8mp is alot, more than you'll probably ever need IMO (although gates did say that a computer would never need more than 256kb or ram....

[Derick]

Re: Any photography buffs in the club???

Well... for comparison... the Digital Rebel has a sensor size of 22.7 mm x 15.1 mm... so you can see that it is MUCH bigger than the Olympus. However, the Olympus has the same sensor size as the Canon PowerShot Pro1. The Canon S1IS is 5.27 x 3.96 mm (but it's only 3 MP).

WTF Bill? How can the descrepancy be so much? I wonder if Olympus has integrated software/algorythms to counter the negative effects of the smaller sensor size? It seems that to enter the prosumer segment of the market, knowing the specs of its competitors, Olympus would not allow its C-8080 to fall short. Maybe I just have too much faith in engineering and corporate hype I'm gonna search around for example pics from both the C-8080 and Digital Rebel and post them up later. Since you guys have a better eye for quality, you can tell me if you see any major shortcomings.

[Kor]

Re: Any photography buffs in the club???

You guys are spending quite a lot on these cameras. Do you think that you need to spend that much to get a decent digital camera? I know I'd like a good one (I have a crappy 2MP that I hate) but I also know I can't afford anything like the Digital Rebel...

[Derick]

Re: Any photography buffs in the club???

You guys are spending quite a lot on these cameras. Do you think that you need to spend that much to get a decent digital camera? I know I'd like a good one (I have a crappy 2MP that I hate) but I also know I can't afford anything like the Digital Rebel...

Haha, cameras are like anything else.... We don't NEED to spend that much, but its nice to have toys Do we NEED to spend $3000+ on wheels, body kits, and go-fast goodies? No, but we do anyways. I guess cameras are no different for some of us. My 2mp camera is decent, but these cameras go waaay beyond decent. Just look at some of the photos on this web site for a digital photography contest. There is no way my current camera can even come close to getting these kind of pics.....

http://www.dpchallenge.com/

I also want to get into photography as sort of a side hobby. In doing so, I want a camera that is capable of taking more than just birthday party pictures. When I was in Las Vegas, I took 30+ pictures of the Belagio Hotel, and of those pics, only 3 or 4 of them turned out how I wanted them to. There's nothing more frustrating then a camera that doesn't have the capabilites to capture a shot when/how you want it.

[Derick]

Re: Any photography buffs in the club???

Bill, Here's some sample shots from both the Cannon and Olympus. I know they've been re-sized and the settings were probably different on each camera, but is there any major flaws you can see???

Cannon Powershot





Olympus C-8080

[R_Ethug]

Re: Any photography buffs in the club???

both look good but the canon seems to have better color IMO

[Kor]

Re: Any photography buffs in the club???

Bill, Here's some sample shots from both the Cannon and Olympus. I know they've been re-sized and the settings were probably different on each camera, but is there any major flaws you can see???

I don't know jack about digital cam's... but those photos look great. Part of the reason they look great is probably because they were taken in ideal lighting conditions on a perfect day, and the subject material shows excellent contrast etc... wouldn't it be better to compare photos taken in the worst of conditions, with reflections, poor lighting, fast moving objects, etc?

[Derick]

Re: Any photography buffs in the club???

I don't know jack about digital cam's... but those photos look great. Part of the reason they look great is probably because they were taken in ideal lighting conditions on a perfect day, and the subject material shows excellent contrast etc... wouldn't it be better to compare photos taken in the worst of conditions, with reflections, poor lighting, fast moving objects, etc?

I'm still starting out here too, so I'm by no means an expert. But from my own experiences and from what I've researched, these pictures pose their own sets of challenges. Mid-afternoon sun and macro shots for one. I do agree with the poor lighting and action shots for comparison. But, it's hard to find similar pics from both cameras....especially since the Olympus is fairly new. I'll post more if I come across any.

[18TWolf]

Re: Any photography buffs in the club???

Most of the pro-sumer cameras out there will take similar quality photographs. Find one that is going to suit your needs!!

Do you need the wide angle or are you going to need a telephoto? It is certainly hard to get both with good quality on both ends of zoom, that's why you change lenses on SLRs.

Are you going to do a lot of digital manipulation? Are you going to enlarge any of the images past 8x10 or are you just going to use it for web use and printing 4x6 pictures? This will determine how many megapixels you need.

You also want a "fast" lense ie. smaller f/stop (maximum aperature). The smaller the number the smaller the depth of field and the less light you need to take a picture. On most zooms you will notice a range (eg 2.8-3.5) this means at widest angel your aperature is 2.8 and at the telephoto zoom end it is 3.5. You can always compansate for a slower lens with a higher ISO value but you tend to get more noise in the image at higher ISO values (just like film you get more grain in your pictures).

Other features like how fast it turns on, how long between the time you press the button to the time it takes the picture, how many frames per second and total frames buffer will determine how usable it is for sports and high speed events.

Lots to think about and lots of money to spend on any of the top end cameras out there... just make sure you get one that suits your needs best.

Cheers,

Chris Gauld
www.gauldphoto.com

[Derick]

Re: Any photography buffs in the club???

Yes, all very good points. I definitely feel that the Olympus is the best for my needs in terms of...

1) features I'm looking for
2) and price

I'm gonna see if I can get one around the $800USD mark. If I can't find one at that price, then I might start looking at the 5mp range again the Sony 717

[Billip]

Re: Any photography buffs in the club???

Yes, all very good points. I definitely feel that the Olympus is the best for my needs in terms of...

1) features I'm looking for
2) and price

I'm gonna see if I can get one around the $800USD mark. If I can't find one at that price, then I might start looking at the 5mp range again the Sony 717

Chris just posted everything that I was going to say... and it's spot on. It all depends on what you want to do... however... reading what you were saying about wanting to get into photography as a serious hobby, why don't you get a Digital Rebel or Nikon D70? I know they are slightly more money, but not that much. If you're prepared to drop $800USD on a camera, I think the Digital Rebel is $100 or $200 more. Once you get into a camera like that, the floodgates open as to what you can do with it. Change lenses. Completely manipulate everything with the exposure. MUCH faster shutter lag time and continuous shooting... I could go on forever. I know that it might be more camera than you need right now, but as you continue to learn more and gain experience, you will grow into it.

I'm not trying to sell you a Digital Rebel or anything, just judging from your comments you want to get serious about it. There is nothing worse than having equipment limit you from your potential - in whatever it is you do... driving, music, photography, etc.

Just my thoughts.

[Kor]

Re: Any photography buffs in the club???

I know they are slightly more money, but not that much. If you're prepared to drop $800USD on a camera, I think the Digital Rebel is $100 or $200 more.

I did a search, the cheapest online place I could find the digital rebel was $780 US and the highest price I found was $1200 US, the average price was $850-$900. Assuming that some places charge more for shipping (thats often why they price lower than the competition) you can easilly pick one up.

[Derick]

Re: Any photography buffs in the club???

Chris just posted everything that I was going to say... and it's spot on. It all depends on what you want to do... however... reading what you were saying about wanting to get into photography as a serious hobby, why don't you get a Digital Rebel or Nikon D70? I know they are slightly more money, but not that much. If you're prepared to drop $800USD on a camera, I think the Digital Rebel is $100 or $200 more. Once you get into a camera like that, the floodgates open as to what you can do with it. Change lenses. Completely manipulate everything with the exposure. MUCH faster shutter lag time and continuous shooting... I could go on forever. I know that it might be more camera than you need right now, but as you continue to learn more and gain experience, you will grow into it.

I'm not trying to sell you a Digital Rebel or anything, just judging from your comments you want to get serious about it. There is nothing worse than having equipment limit you from your potential - in whatever it is you do... driving, music, photography, etc.

Just my thoughts.

I completely agree Bill. Unfortunately, I'm stretching to afford the $800USD as it is My tax return this year sucked ass, plus I still need to finish a couple small projects with the car. I really wish I could get into the higher level of equipment, so I'm also considering just holding off till I can afford it.

I did a search, the cheapest online place I could find the digital rebel was $780 US and the highest price I found was $1200 US, the average price was $850-$900. Assuming that some places charge more for shipping (thats often why they price lower than the competition) you can easilly pick one up.

My searching yielded pretty much the same results. There's some places in the U.S. that have very competitive pricing. One thing I noticed though is that alot of the places that have lower prices are on the East coast. If you add up the shipping costs, plus duty, they are really not much cheaper. I'm going back to SoCal next week and I was hoping to buy one and carry it back to avoid shipping and duty. The challenge lies in finding a place in California that can/will match the east coast pricing. I don't think there's anything left to do but hit the pavement once I'm there and do some serious haggling. If I can't hit the price I want, I'll probably just hold off for a while.

[bart]

Re: Any photography buffs in the club???

here ya go, digital camera for $10.99! lol



review: http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/336/C1871/

AHAHAHA

[Kor]

Re: Any photography buffs in the club???

After some research, if I was gonna buy a camera right now, I think it would be the Powershot A80.