[samsag12]

Originally Posted by samsag12

Need inputs on hows the Nikon Coolpix L310 bridge cam. Is it a good purchase for Rs. 11500 or do i have any more options.

Have shortlisted 2 Cameras falling within my budget & would like to know from fellow members which one is a better option.

Nikon Coolpix L310

Fujifilm Finepix S2980

Please do share your opinion.

[lambuhere1]

Sony SDHC SF-16NX or SF 16UX ? Confusion


Hello Guys
Need your help in upgrading the memory card of my sony DSC H55. Default memory card supplied of 2GB Fills up pretty quickly.

Planning to upgrade it to 16GB.

As per the list mentioned in the link below,
http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/sup...590&mdl=DSCH55

SF-16NX and SF - 16UX are compatible with H55.

Need your help in understanding the differences in both of them. My intention is puery photographs, but wifely takes a lot of movies. Hence need space for the same.

Any reliable websites where we can buy the same

Thanks a ton for help

[Zenster]

Hey Friends, after enjoying it for 2 years I am now looking to sell my Panny FZ100 and get my first DSLR. Have learnt a lot on the FZ100 given its manual controls and have anaged some good shots too. I had bought it from USA in Oct 2010, it was bought for about Rs.22,000 and is out of waranty. So, other than team-bhp classifieds, where else can i get a good deal of the camera.
Incase anyone is interested let me know, camera is in pristine condition has all original accessories it came it, has been used single handedly with utmost care and has no scratches or bumps anywhere. Will give away the Lowerpro camera bag with it that preserves it now.
http://www.dpreview.com/news/2010/7/...asonicdmcfz100

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by navin

I got the S110. Anything else was too big. I wanted something that easily fit in a jeans or pant pocket.

Originally Posted by Ricci

it seems the RX100 is your best bet. The RX100 is closest in width and height, but 1cm thicker. So is the thickness the issue preventing fitting in the pocket or length ? For similar size, the RX100 has a bigger sensor than the LX5 and XZ-1 .

Originally Posted by Ricci

Otherwise the S95/100/110 are the next best advanced compacts around, as you write.

Does the S110 or similarly LX5 etc (the enthusiast's P&S cameras) really offer a better picture quality?

Reading through extensively, I got a few advantage of these "enthusiast cams":
1. Manual/semi-manual modes
2. Specific Controls (read as lens ring) for the above
3. Small size (actually only canon s110 is small)
4. Bright lens

As such they have only slightly larger sensors, compared to P&S genre - and thus don't offer any significantly better IQ.
And points (1) and (3) are already met by a lot of P&S.

Isn't the price (of an enthusiast camera) too steep to pay for points (2) and (4)??

[navin]

Originally Posted by alpha1

Does the S110 or similarly LX5 etc (the enthusiast's P&S cameras) really offer a better picture quality?

I dont label my cameras as "enthusiast" or "beginner" etc.. These labels are too generic.

Work backwards.

For interchangeable lens cameras...

• What do you shoot 80% of the time?
• What lens (in your budget) will do that job best?
• If there are multiple lenses that fit then which has better dynamic range, colour, contrast etc.. (trust me all glass lends some colour and affect contrast). This part is subjective so what's good for the goose might not be good for the gander.
• Now you can pick the body that fits your lens.

For P&S...

1. Dont listen to the techies magazines or ezines. Get the camera that takes the best pics out of the box. For 95% of your time you will not need or use RAW or M. Can my S110 camera shoot RAW (I dont know). Does it have manual (yes but I rarely got there, and I have not read the manual either (pun intneded)). Experts can do magical things with RAW or Manual, if we used RAW or M, I will most likely bugger the result (give a monkey a long rope and he will hang himself).
2. Choose the top 3 requirments (maybe 2) and live with the rest. I wanted a camera that shoots acceptable images out of the box, works well in indoor light and fits in my pant pocket. Canon's software engine (the converts the image to JPG) suits my eye. It might not suit yours - yes it's the goose-gander theory all over again.

I dont know enough to understand pixels or their density. In 1999 I got a Canon G2 which was 4 mega pixels. Using enough light (bounce flash, sunlight, etc..) I took some nice pictures and even printed a few to 5x7" with no oberservable degradation. I believe anything more than 10 Mega pixels is simply posturing by the camera companies. You can all sorts of mega pixels and density (or lack there of) but unless you have quality glass between the subject and the sensor those pixels might was well be pixie dust.

Photography in my simple view is about light. We start with X amont of light coming from the subject. Then we stuff it through 6-24 pieces of glass (depending on the lens) then we try to capture what remains of this light on a sensor that is 1/2" diagonal (about 50mm2 for most P&S cameras, the afore mentioned RX100's sensor is 100mm2 and a FF is about 800mm2). At every stage, every piece of glass, every pixel we loose some light. The rest is processing, some damn good processing.

We (ordinary folk) are damn lucky to get anything that resembles reality.

[VW2010]

I dont know enough to understand pixels or their density. In 1999 I got a Canon G2 which was 4 mega pixels. Using enough light (bounce flash, sunlight, etc..) I took some nice pictures and even printed a few to 5x7" with no oberservable degradation

The 4MP is more than enough to print an A2 size picture. Its the distance from which we view the picture changes with respect to Pixel density.

Regarding cameras being compared and discussed over the last few years we have gone into the mode of nit picking than understanding what a camera offers. I forgot the name of the fashion photographer who shoots with a simple minolta film camera that does not even offer manual functions. In fact its such a simple point and shoot in reality that he says its the light that matter to him more than the equipment.

There is a wildlife photographer who uses a D300 and 50-500 Sigma. This combination is kind of slow if you consider people using the 500Ls and 600Ls.

This WL photographers belts out pictures that are usually observed in our treks and trips on the far side of the mountain.

The equipment tries to make your job simple. As navin pointed out if you can pick the light and how you can manipulate the light you are in the right direction.

another friend of mine till date uses a canon 450d, an 18-55 and 55-250. His world is spectacular with this set up and he sees things which we cannot percieve as being there at that spot.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by navin

I dont label my cameras as "enthusiast" or "beginner" etc.. These labels are too generic.

Work backwards.

For interchangeable lens cameras...

• What do you shoot 80% of the time?
• What lens (in your budget) will do that job best?
• If there are multiple lenses that fit then which has better dynamic range, colour, contrast etc.. (trust me all glass lends some colour and affect contrast). This part is subjective so what's good for the goose might not be good for the gander.
• Now you can pick the body that fits your lens.

For P&S...

1. Dont listen to the techies magazines or ezines. Get the camera that takes the best pics out of the box. For 95% of your time you will not need or use RAW or M. Can my S110 camera shoot RAW (I dont know). Does it have manual (yes but I rarely got there, and I have not read the manual either (pun intneded)). Experts can do magical things with RAW or Manual, if we used RAW or M, I will most likely bugger the result (give a monkey a long rope and he will hang himself).
2. Choose the top 3 requirments (maybe 2) and live with the rest. I wanted a camera that shoots acceptable images out of the box, works well in indoor light and fits in my pant pocket. Canon's software engine (the converts the image to JPG) suits my eye. It might not suit yours - yes it's the goose-gander theory all over again.

I dont know enough to understand pixels or their density. In 1999 I got a Canon G2 which was 4 mega pixels. Using enough light (bounce flash, sunlight, etc..) I took some nice pictures and even printed a few to 5x7" with no oberservable degradation. I believe anything more than 10 Mega pixels is simply posturing by the camera companies. You can all sorts of mega pixels and density (or lack there of) but unless you have quality glass between the subject and the sensor those pixels might was well be pixie dust.

Photography in my simple view is about light. We start with X amont of light coming from the subject. Then we stuff it through 6-24 pieces of glass (depending on the lens) then we try to capture what remains of this light on a sensor that is 1/2" diagonal (about 50mm2 for most P&S cameras, the afore mentioned RX100's sensor is 100mm2 and a FF is about 800mm2). At every stage, every piece of glass, every pixel we loose some light. The rest is processing, some damn good processing.

We (ordinary folk) are damn lucky to get anything that resembles reality.

Yes of course, I agree with almost everything there
I had a compact zoom with 14x, and the ONLY time I used that 14x was when I wanted to shoot setting sun at large size compared to the person at beach (in same frame). (I bought it after getting carried away by the "reviews" and 14x)

Similarly, the only time I used Manual mode was when I wanted to (again) capture the setting sun. (Manual mode in my cam used to show me the 'exact' exposure the way it would be captured).

But my question was more with respect to price - cameras which offer the following:
1. Manual/semi-manual modes
2. Specific Controls (read as lens ring etc) for the above
3. Bright lens

Isn't the price of these cameras too steep compared to the "bottom rung" P&S cameras. And another funny thing I realized after checking out is that most of the higher priced fixed lens cams actually offer bright lens only at wide open, the moment we start zooming, the aperture drops off at alarming rate!

[download2live]

Originally Posted by alpha1

But my question was more with respect to price - cameras which offer the following:
1. Manual/semi-manual modes
2. Specific Controls (read as lens ring etc) for the above
3. Bright lens

Isn't the price of these cameras too steep compared to the "bottom rung" P&S cameras. And another funny thing I realized after checking out is that most of the higher priced fixed lens cams actually offer bright lens only at wide open, the moment we start zooming, the aperture drops off at alarming rate!

The high price these camera command is mainly due to bright lens.
It is a feat of engineering really to cram a lens of f1.8 or less on a small body. Laws of physics stand in the way.

Regarding Aperture dropping off with zoom, I will say try out Olympus XZ-1.
Or Lx7. They give out very little even when zoomed.

[navin]

Originally Posted by alpha1

Isn't the price of these cameras too steep compared to the "bottom rung" P&S cameras. And another funny thing I realized after checking out is that most of the higher priced fixed lens cams actually offer bright lens only at wide open, the moment we start zooming, the aperture drops off at alarming rate!

Not all cameras are like that. The Nikon 7700 only drops 2 stops over a 7x zoom range and still pretty fast (f/4) at 200mm.
http://www.dpreview.com/products/nik.../specification

The Panasonic FZ200 retains it's f/2.8 speed across a 24x range from 25mm to 600mm!
http://www.dpreview.com/products/pan.../specification

Compare the S110 to say my son's Ixus 220HS. Same focal range (24-100) and zoom (5x). Same lens apature at tele (f/5.9). and you can go on. So why did I get the S110. I dont know. It fit in my jeans maybe?

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by download2live

The high price these camera command is mainly due to bright lens.
It is a feat of engineering really to cram a lens of f1.8 or less on a small body. Laws of physics stand in the way.

Regarding Aperture dropping off with zoom, I will say try out Olympus XZ-1.
Or Lx7. They give out very little even when zoomed.

Read that Olympus XZ-1 has high noise suppression built-in that reduces the image quality severely (in JPEG). Though I have yet to come across an example - after checking up the samples on Flickr, looks like only the pixel peepers can see the reduced IQ.

Originally Posted by navin

Not all cameras are like that. The Nikon 7700 only drops 2 stops over a 7x zoom range and still pretty fast (f/4) at 200mm.
http://www.dpreview.com/products/nik.../specification

The Panasonic FZ200 retains it's f/2.8 speed across a 24x range from 25mm to 600mm!
http://www.dpreview.com/products/pan.../specification

Compare the S110 to say my son's Ixus 220HS. Same focal range (24-100) and zoom (5x). Same lens apature at tele (f/5.9). and you can go on. So why did I get the S110. I dont know. It fit in my jeans maybe?

LOL, but I would really want to know the reason ...


***
Also in general, have you people observed that Nikon P310 (with a slightly smaller sensor - and I don't believe that leads to considerable low quality, but bright lens) appears out of focus in DPreview comparison pix?

[navin]

Originally Posted by alpha1

LOL, but I would really want to know the reason ...

To be honest I dont analyse these things too much. It often leads to anaysis-paralysis.

I figured if a 10 yr old boy can have a 220HS a greying old man should have something that looks and feels nicer. LOL.

[neil.jericho]

The reviews of the Panasonic Lumix FZ200 are very good but I just cant seem to find it anywhere in Bangalore. All the large retailers say that they usually dont deal with Panasonic cameras except maybe a few low end models and even the Panasonic showroom in Koramangala says that they dont have stock and have no clue when they will get it.

Does anyone know where I can find it? I want to check the camera first before buying. The fallback option is the Canon SX50 which is widely available.

[JLS]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

The reviews of the Panasonic Lumix FZ200 are very good but I just cant seem to find it anywhere in Bangalore. All the large retailers say that they usually dont deal with Panasonic cameras except maybe a few low end models and even the Panasonic showroom in Koramangala says that they dont have stock and have no clue when they will get it.

Does anyone know where I can find it? I want to check the camera first before buying. The fallback option is the Canon SX50 which is widely available.

You can also check if FZ150 is available - I am pretty happy with it. Fz200 has a slightly faster lens, rest every thing is same. However I had to ask Panasonic showroom to order it specially for me.
Little tweaking with RAW image and you get clean images at high ISO, no hunting for focus ven at the long end of zoom, fast lens and good ergonomic controls - I recommend FZ150 if FZ200 is not available yet.

JLS

[W.A.G.7]

My Canon Powershot S5 IS (5 years old) has started producing slightly black images. It's as if the exposure compensation has been set to -1.7 or -2 EV. Pictures looked dull on the LCD, so I thought that maybe the LCD has a problem. But the same picture looks blackened even on a PC. Any pointers on what could be the problem? I also did reset the camera to it's factory settings but still pictures are dull. See this sample photo attached. Also, the flash doesn't work (loose connection), unless it's held popped up and some force is applied with your left index finger.

[rajismine]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

My Canon Powershot S5 IS (5 years old) has started producing slightly black images. It's as if the exposure compensation has been set to -1.7 or -2 EV. Pictures looked dull on the LCD, so I thought that maybe the LCD has a problem. But the same picture looks blackened even on a PC. Any pointers on what could be the problem? I also did reset the camera to it's factory settings but still pictures are dull. See this sample photo attached. Also, the flash doesn't work (loose connection), unless it's held popped up and some force is applied with your left index finger.

Attachment 1027600

Aperture seems to have started malfunctioning. Common issue with this series of camera. The whole optical unit might need to be replaced i.e. lens with sensor. With Canon, it will cost you about 11k for unit and 1-2K for labour. And you may buy this from ebay.com china as used part and may cost you only Rs 3000 for the whole unit and another Rs 500 for labour.

I can advise a quick test to see if its the aperture. Click a pic and see exif info to see aperture and shutter value. Now put camera in Manual mode - keep shutter value same and change aperture to largest i.e f2.8 or 3.5 etc. The output, if over-exposed then it means aperture is fine.