Need advice on digital cameras

[Chris H.]

Hello, I'm looking to purchase a digital camera. I'd like something that I can take up close photos with (engine pads) and something with a wide enough angle so I can get the whole / most of chassis when up on a lift.

My understanding is that cameras are priced by pixel resolution (meg pixels). So, any recomendations out there?

Thanks, Chris

[Michael K.]

Re: Need advice on digital cameras

Chris, I can't tell you which one is good, but I can tell you what to look for. I purchased an Olympus C-50 (I think this model has been replaced). It has a megapixel rating of 5 which is high. That allows you to enlarge or crop your pictures and still maintain the clarity. I took a picture of my car and enlarged it to 12 X 18 with perfect results. It also has a macro feature that allows for close-up shots, such as an engine pad. My camera has a lens cover that slides open to allow the lens to open. Bad idea! A little over the 1 year warranty period, the plastic slider track cracked and the lens would not extend to take pictures. I was able to fix it, but it still does not work perfectly. It also is very bad for red eye when using the flash. Make sure it has some type of red-eye reduction (flash). Date imprinting on the picture is another good feature. The guys at Best Buy are good because they do not work on commission. Go in a few times and get different opinions. Look for consistency in there respones.

[Steve Antonucci]

Re: Need advice on digital cameras

Chris,

Look for a digital camera with as high mega-pixel rating as you can afford.
4.x to 5.x mega-pixels would be more than sufficient. Also, try to find a
camera that has a macro feature. This refers to taking images up close to
the lense ( within 1 inch or so ). For engine pads, carb. ID numbers, etc,
a macro feature is essential.

I would suggest taking an item with you when you look at the cameras. Now,
an engine block is probably a litle too bulky to take around, but think about
a coin like a dime. Small, lots of detail. Take images with & without flash
of the dime and review them for detail captured.

Hope that points you in the right direction.

Steve

[Jack H.]

Re: Need advice on digital cameras

There are a number of feature considerations to wrestle with and you can spend from $200 to over $10K.

Cameras are rougly divided into three groups:

(1) Amature utility: these will have fixed captive lens with an LCD display to let you compose with. Most will have some built-in flash capability, a limited wide/tele range, and on-board feature functions including selectable macro mode.

(2) Advanced amature/entry pro: these 'may' have interchangeable lens but generally have a pretty healthy zoom/wide range (8-10x optical) and let you compose through the lens. Most give some limited degree of continuous shooting capability (2-3 frames/second in 'burst' mode for a burst duration of maybe ten shots).

(3) Professional: prices here start at $1-2K and you DEFINITELY have interchangeable lens and through the lens composure/control. You get some level of continuous shooting capability (2 frames/second and up) which means the camera's ability put PUSH pixels through it and onto the digital film makes it a high bandwidth system.

The advantages of group one, are low cost and little else to buy. Drawbacks are the stupid LCD display. No serious photographer in his right mind wants to hold the camera in front of his face, look in an LCD and shoot! When outdoors the sun is almost always over your back illuminating the subject AND 'washing' the LCD display....

In the second group, the low end cameras allow you to work through the lens by letting you look at an LCD image of what you're shooting. The high end of the group lets you look directly through the lens with analog optics and a digital border (shutter speed, lens speed, image capture density, Etc.). In either case, these cameras usually have an on-board adjustable diopter correction, so you can run through-the-lens photo tasks and leave your glasses (if you need/use vision correction) off!

The high end of the second group and the third group are going to BITE your wallet because you're buying a basic digital camera body only and have to make additional investment(s) in your lens repertoire, Etc.

Just like your Corvette, the decision is one of what's the end game? Do you want a museum piece? Do you want a weekend warrior? Do you want an SCCAA license and go run 'er at Watkins Glen? The different end objectives dictate different cost structures for the appropriate equipment....

[Dixon Green]

[Dennis McGill]

[Tom R.]

Sony 717

Another option for your considertion is the Sony 717...the mid-range group. I can shoot part numbers, date codes, etc by targeting the area than zoom in on the captured image to zoom and crop, thus creating a close-up of exactly what I'm identifying. I've seen several being used on the judging field.

[John H.]

Re: Sony 717

Tough to argue with the mid- and high-range Sonys for all-around use, at least in our house. I have a 3-year-old 3.3MP DSC-S70 with a Zeiss lens and 3X optical plus 2X digital zoom, macro (focuses down to 1-5/8") , mpeg movies with sound, internal copy, rotate, crop and re-size, and a bunch of other bells and whistles I don't use. My wife has a new DSC-W5 (5.1MP, cost about $400, $200 less than my DSC-S70 did three years ago) with a Zeiss lens and even more features (including TIFF image capability, which she needs for ultra-high resolution reproduction and 4-color printing), macro, and it has 32MB of built-in flash memory in case your Memory Stick fills up, you forgot your spare, or forgot to put the Memory Stick in the camera in the first place. Precision stuff, and it's dead-reliable.

[Jack H.]

Re: Sony 717

For 'toy' work (eBay photos and general vacation), I'll use my Nikon 5700 or 8700 due to the all-in-one compact silhouette. In macro mode, they'll focus down to 5/8-inch from the subject. That's good enough.

On assignment (Reuters, European Pressphoto Agency, Etc.), I haul out the really big end professional equipment like a couple of Canon 1-D bodies and the lens repertorie to match the job. But, now we're working on payroll: results demanded, excuses rejected.... This is OVERKILL for the average Joe Blow; he's not going to spend $20-50K on camera equipment!

[Brian Monticello]

Re: Need advice on digital cameras

I have a Cannor Power Shot Digital Elpg S230. You can probably find one like this these days for about $250 --- probably less. It is 3.2Mega pixel and has a 3x optical zoom and a macro lens. It is great for taking close up or normal pictures. Has a auto focus light beam for taking focused picutres in low light areas. Also has MPEG video with sound. Unless you plan on enlarging your photos anything greater than 3 MP is pretty much overkill. Some of the previous comments are true but really only apply to preofessional photographers.

If you want something to snap pictures of your vette and parts, don't spend more than $300. If you want to go professional and make poster size pics go for big mega pixel cameras. Otherwise, you're just wasting disk space and $$$$.

IGnore digital zoom... infact, disable it.

Brian

[Robert C.]

Re: Nikon 5700/ digital cameras/ perfect auto *NM*

[John M.]

Digital Camera Suggestions

I'm very happy with the Nikon D70 SLR - I used it for photos for our newsletter and has yet to let me down. About $1300, with pretty good zoom lens included; I think it's about the perfect camera for taking pictures of our beloved Corvettes. See the link below (scroll down) for some examples.




Del Val Pictures