pianoplayer88key
07-11-2008, 08:34 PM
Edit #2: Why are my posts always so lengthy? Am I trying to say too much in one post? Am I using too many words to say what could be said in 1/10th the space? Is posting between 12am and 4am while having only gotten 3 (or fewer) hours of sleep the previous night not a good idea? What gives?
Hi, all. My Canon S1 IS is having problems again. I've already had the CCD issue fixed, but now the lens isn't extending and I can't review pictures on the LCD screen. I can review them in the viewfinder, so long as I start the camera in review mode. I hear some people are sending S1s in and getting S5s for them, but does that only apply to the CCD issue? If I'm going to have to pay any more than $50-75 (or possibly ANYTHING) (including shipping, tax, etc) to get my camera fixed, then I should probably look at buying a newer camera. A few I might consider include the Canon S5 (unless an S6 is announced SOON), the Fuji S100fs, Olympus SP-570 UZ, or Casio EX-F1.
I like the Canon S5's high quality movie sound and that it can zoom and focus while shooting a movie, its super macro, movable LCD and AA batteries, but it's way too noisy at ISO 1600. On the Casio EX-F1, I like its 1080p movies, 60fps burst, 1/40k” shutter speed available, but it's only 6mp and I don't think it has stereo audio nor can zoom/focus during movies. As for the Fuji S100fs, 11mp to give more room for cropping is nice, and a decent high ISO performance helps, especially with the larger sensor. I can live with the camera being larger (since that seems to mean better image quality which is very important to me), but I really want to pay somewhat LESS than the cheapest body-only dSLR on the market. I like the Olmpus SP-570 UZ's zoom range (26-520mm), but xD cards are a turnoff for me. A few cameras I've researched (don't know if I've named one here) can use a 60” shutter speed, and I believe the Olympus can do 8 minutes in bulb mode (according to imaging-resource). As for the Sony DSC-H50, nightshot would be nice, but I don't want to use memory sticks, and I would like to KEEP my full manual controls while doing IR photography (but the Fuji IS-1 seems to like to play hard to get).
I too am watching intently for the Canon S6 announcement, often checking dpreview, imaging-resource and dcresource a few times a day each. I just really hope it's a big step up from the S5 (like Windows 95 was from Windows 3.1) and not just a baby step (like a weekly windows update patch). At minimum, I'd like one that has all the features/quality/etc I've noted of several cameras rolled into one camera, without the cons (all of which are deal breakers, preventing me from deciding on a camera). I may be able to wait till early December to buy a camera, but I REALLY hope to get one ASAP, like by early August for example. Chances are I'll probably be keeping this for a few years. I'm not one to jump and upgrade as SOON as a new baby-step comes out, except when my current unit breaks and isn't cost effective to repair. Unfortunately, due to financial issues, I may have to wait till near the end of my timeline to even be able to scrap together $250-350 on a camera, and I really don't want to get a piece of **** which is what I'd basically get at that price. :( A dedicated video camera (1080p HD, 28-1000mm F/1.4-2.8 zoom, 36 hours highest-quality recording at a time, as low noise as a Nikon D3) and a dSLR+lens kit (12mp on 1.6x or 20mp on FF, in-body IS, movable screen like Oly E-3, low noise like D300/D3/D700 + 18-50 F/2.8 macro, 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, 150-500mm f/5-6.3 IS, ~50mm (equivalent) F/1.8 or F/2) are way out of reach, probably for at least another couple years.
Also, missing from my arsenal for the past few years, since my Canon A70 broke (which happened BEFORE I got my S1), is a good pocketable cam. I'd be able to live with something as large as a Panasonic TZ series, but I'd want the high ISO performance of the Fuji F series, a good wide-angle to moderate telephoto (28-140mm is fine like Fuji F100fd), a flip-out-and-twist LCD, a fast lens (F/2-3 like older Canon G series or F/1.8-F/2.6 like older Olympus C-X0X0 series), and full manual controls. While the next Fuji F series isn't likely to have the movable LCD or super fast lens, is it likely to have manual controls and still have decent high ISO performance?
Another thing... I often have difficulty taking candids. Seems that people ALWAYS look away from the camera. I have yet to find something with which I can take pictures, with my subjects looking straight at the camera, without them being able to see it. (2 examples: in daylight, they're so far away from me that I can't see THEM at all (even with an unobstructed view) with my unaided eyesight ; or in closer quarters (subject 5-30 feet away), it's so dark that I can't see my hand in front of my face (even though I'm more well lit than the subject). In either case, I'd want at least 12mp, with the subject's portrait being a 3/4 to full-length framed, fast enough shutter speed to freeze any action made by a living person/animal/etc, low noise (like ISO 100 on a Nikon D3), and good depth of field (like F/32 at 35mm on a dSLR). Since I won't likely find a camera (or two) with specs like that for a long time, is there anything I can do to get people to be more comfortable with me taking pics of them? Note: a few have told me they don't like it cause they think I take too many (for example, more than a pro photographer might take at a wedding). I only do that because in my experience my pics are so bad that I have to take a few thousand to have hope of finding ONE halfway-decent picture. Maybe I'm trying to take too many action shots in low i-can't-see-my-hand-in-front-of-my-face light without flash? Natural lighting is very important, as well as having it be candid and not posed, hence my aversion to using flash even when it's extremely dark.
Hi, all. My Canon S1 IS is having problems again. I've already had the CCD issue fixed, but now the lens isn't extending and I can't review pictures on the LCD screen. I can review them in the viewfinder, so long as I start the camera in review mode. I hear some people are sending S1s in and getting S5s for them, but does that only apply to the CCD issue? If I'm going to have to pay any more than $50-75 (or possibly ANYTHING) (including shipping, tax, etc) to get my camera fixed, then I should probably look at buying a newer camera. A few I might consider include the Canon S5 (unless an S6 is announced SOON), the Fuji S100fs, Olympus SP-570 UZ, or Casio EX-F1.
I like the Canon S5's high quality movie sound and that it can zoom and focus while shooting a movie, its super macro, movable LCD and AA batteries, but it's way too noisy at ISO 1600. On the Casio EX-F1, I like its 1080p movies, 60fps burst, 1/40k” shutter speed available, but it's only 6mp and I don't think it has stereo audio nor can zoom/focus during movies. As for the Fuji S100fs, 11mp to give more room for cropping is nice, and a decent high ISO performance helps, especially with the larger sensor. I can live with the camera being larger (since that seems to mean better image quality which is very important to me), but I really want to pay somewhat LESS than the cheapest body-only dSLR on the market. I like the Olmpus SP-570 UZ's zoom range (26-520mm), but xD cards are a turnoff for me. A few cameras I've researched (don't know if I've named one here) can use a 60” shutter speed, and I believe the Olympus can do 8 minutes in bulb mode (according to imaging-resource). As for the Sony DSC-H50, nightshot would be nice, but I don't want to use memory sticks, and I would like to KEEP my full manual controls while doing IR photography (but the Fuji IS-1 seems to like to play hard to get).
I too am watching intently for the Canon S6 announcement, often checking dpreview, imaging-resource and dcresource a few times a day each. I just really hope it's a big step up from the S5 (like Windows 95 was from Windows 3.1) and not just a baby step (like a weekly windows update patch). At minimum, I'd like one that has all the features/quality/etc I've noted of several cameras rolled into one camera, without the cons (all of which are deal breakers, preventing me from deciding on a camera). I may be able to wait till early December to buy a camera, but I REALLY hope to get one ASAP, like by early August for example. Chances are I'll probably be keeping this for a few years. I'm not one to jump and upgrade as SOON as a new baby-step comes out, except when my current unit breaks and isn't cost effective to repair. Unfortunately, due to financial issues, I may have to wait till near the end of my timeline to even be able to scrap together $250-350 on a camera, and I really don't want to get a piece of **** which is what I'd basically get at that price. :( A dedicated video camera (1080p HD, 28-1000mm F/1.4-2.8 zoom, 36 hours highest-quality recording at a time, as low noise as a Nikon D3) and a dSLR+lens kit (12mp on 1.6x or 20mp on FF, in-body IS, movable screen like Oly E-3, low noise like D300/D3/D700 + 18-50 F/2.8 macro, 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, 150-500mm f/5-6.3 IS, ~50mm (equivalent) F/1.8 or F/2) are way out of reach, probably for at least another couple years.
Also, missing from my arsenal for the past few years, since my Canon A70 broke (which happened BEFORE I got my S1), is a good pocketable cam. I'd be able to live with something as large as a Panasonic TZ series, but I'd want the high ISO performance of the Fuji F series, a good wide-angle to moderate telephoto (28-140mm is fine like Fuji F100fd), a flip-out-and-twist LCD, a fast lens (F/2-3 like older Canon G series or F/1.8-F/2.6 like older Olympus C-X0X0 series), and full manual controls. While the next Fuji F series isn't likely to have the movable LCD or super fast lens, is it likely to have manual controls and still have decent high ISO performance?
Another thing... I often have difficulty taking candids. Seems that people ALWAYS look away from the camera. I have yet to find something with which I can take pictures, with my subjects looking straight at the camera, without them being able to see it. (2 examples: in daylight, they're so far away from me that I can't see THEM at all (even with an unobstructed view) with my unaided eyesight ; or in closer quarters (subject 5-30 feet away), it's so dark that I can't see my hand in front of my face (even though I'm more well lit than the subject). In either case, I'd want at least 12mp, with the subject's portrait being a 3/4 to full-length framed, fast enough shutter speed to freeze any action made by a living person/animal/etc, low noise (like ISO 100 on a Nikon D3), and good depth of field (like F/32 at 35mm on a dSLR). Since I won't likely find a camera (or two) with specs like that for a long time, is there anything I can do to get people to be more comfortable with me taking pics of them? Note: a few have told me they don't like it cause they think I take too many (for example, more than a pro photographer might take at a wedding). I only do that because in my experience my pics are so bad that I have to take a few thousand to have hope of finding ONE halfway-decent picture. Maybe I'm trying to take too many action shots in low i-can't-see-my-hand-in-front-of-my-face light without flash? Natural lighting is very important, as well as having it be candid and not posed, hence my aversion to using flash even when it's extremely dark.