I know rcu is a rc forum first and foremost, but i think maybe there should be some reviews done on some digital camera's, or video cameras etc...

i mean, its hard to go into a camera store and tell them what your looking to do, then they try to help, but when u get home it can't handle what your looking to do, the zoom is bad, no sound poor video to much money for too little quality, something that can handle getting banged around, handle fast action shots, do video, and handle macro for those part shots on build threads, etc....

i see guys at these races i got to or my friends flying field, and the people taking pictures have these 1000+ dollar cameras, that they have to have on a stand cause either there so big or they don't want to drop, and yet i have seen smaller cheaper cameras do the same thing and a more use friendly price.

so this is why i was thinking if rcu could maybe do some camera reviews, so that the hobbyist can pick up a decent camera for a reasonable price, and not paying for stuff he will never use.

Posers mate with their big zooms, showing off.. Digital cameras have come along way. I know what you mean by little 10mp credit card cameras. I got the Mrs one for Chrissy and I can say this because she does not read r/c forums.
But, when it comes to ZOOM & SPEED the D-SLR is the best. You can change the lens etc. They are not that expensive as you think and are pretty user friendly too. This is a good thread Pythonfan, and I shall follow it with interest.
I love photography, always have. I have a Pentax K10D and would be happy to give you a report how it handles r/c photography if you are interested.
I am sure plenty of people will chime in here with reports of camera setups. Check out Minolta D-SLRs too, they are very cool. Me, I have fat digits and need a man camera - thats it.

See ya

Peter

Your best bet is to go to sites such as:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/
You will get a much more in depth review of many different cameras

I took the following photo of an R/C turbine powered jet--one was clocked at 200mph. I didn't use a monopod or a tripod. However, I'd like to know what "point and shoot" camera can take such high quality photos or at least what "smaller cheaper cameras do the same thing". Of course, photos would be required.

10x8..

Nice to see another Pentax user on the board..

I have a K100D.. Not as nice as the K10D but it gets the job done.

sscherin,
Thanks mate
I went to purchase your camera but came home with the 10 model.[X(] Your shots are great, as with the other post of the turbine plane. 2008 will be exciting times for the DSLR!

Peter

I'm really happy with the K100D.. My dad liked it so much he went home and bought a K10D with a Sigma 18-50 F2.8 lens..
That Sigma has incredible depth of field..

I have the 18-50 kit lens and a 100-300 Takumar..
The flying shots were with the Takumar at 300mm (450mm effective on the DSLR)
The static was with the 18-50

Thanks. I try.

Yep, dpreview is the place to go.

Man, that could not be farther from the truth.
There is just no way to emulate the results you get by using high quality glass (lens) versus a point and shoot.
You really have to "pay to play" for lack of a better phrase.

Ive got about 2 gees in my digital slr which I use for RCU reviews and the pic quality shows. I could have never gotten equal results from my non-slr digital camera.

Not busting on you, just setting the record straight[8D]

I won't disagree with the SLR comment... lenses are key and I'm a novice.

I used DPREVIEW as well to find my camera.

I got a Fuji F-31 FD for my wife as a "purse" camera and we have been VERY pleased with it. If you go pixel peeping you'll see some problems, but it's pretty impressive. For less than $250 I like it and it can go anywhere. I'm not looking to publish my photo's in a magazine. Here are some examples.
They are reduced to 800 x 600 to match TBN's sizes. I didn't to any cropping, just straight out of the camera.

The one of the motorcycle with the flag is a 15 second exposure in the dark outside at night.

Obviously there are limitations to what this can do and big zooms are not in the cards for a 3x lens.

Especially, when it comes to quality action shots in low lighting situations. For example, I took the following shot at night without a flash:



For the following shot, I had an SB800 speedlight flash mounted on my camera. Two work lights were also lying on the floor in the back area inside the warehouse.



Big time. That's why I gear toward F/2.8 lenses and faster (after starting out with the "slower" lenses). That's also a wild looking cat photo you took.

For this photo of one of my cats, I used the built-in on camera flash to trigger the SB800 off-camera and had some luck to capture the moment.



Another KEY problem that most point-and-shoot cameras have when it comes to "action" photos is shutter lag. And yes, I also own a P&S and believe that they have a place and time.

As a matter of fact one of my favorite cat photos was taken with my P&S (before I moved to dSLRs) and Life Magazine even had a two-page photo taken by a "simple little camera" that Patrick Lichfield carried "in his pocket". The photo was of Diana, the Queen, and Winston Churchill's great-granddaughter at Di's wedding. The photographer's "real" cameras were elsewhere--the quotes used are indeed quotes. For more information about the photo and to see the photo itself check out Pages 94-95 and the back cover of Life: Photography Exposed - The Story Behind the Image, copyright 2005, Time, Inc.

We can't see the EXIF data on these pictures but it would be interesting to know what ISO you were running and shutter speed. Your motorcycle photo is more of great camera control and tracking than just the camera.

My P&S only goes to 1/1000 and I try not to push it past 800 ISO, but it will take ok pictures at 1600 and I think 3200, but they would be pretty fuzzy at 3200.

See DPREVIEW for details.

I didn't check all of the pics but the info is available for the cat pic.


- Primary Image
Manufacturer = NIKON CORPORATION
Model = NIKON D200
Orientation = The 0th row is at the visual top of the image and the 0th column is at the visual left-hand side
X Resolution = 300
Y Resolution = 300
Resolution Unit = Inches
Software = Adobe Photoshop CS2 Windows
Last Modification Time = 2007:06:23 21:24:06
- Exif Specific
Exposure Time = 1/60 sec [0.017]
F Number = 71/10 [7.100]
Exposure Program = Aperture priority
ISO Speed Ratings = 100
Exif Version = 0221
Original Create Time = 2007:06:23 20:48:48
Digitalization Time = 2007:06:23 20:48:48
Shutter Speed Value = 5906891/1000000 [5.907]
Aperture Value = 2827819/500000 [5.656]
Exposure Bias Value = 0
Max. Aperture Value = 30/10
Metering mode = Pattern
Light Source = Unknown
Flash = Strobe return light not detected
Focal Length = 175 mm
Sub-Second Time = 00
Original Sub-Second Time = 00
Digitized Sub-Second Time = 00
Color Space = Uncalibrated
X Dimension (Pixel) = 571
Y Dimension (Pixel) = 800
Sensing method = One-chip color area sensor
Image Source = 03
Scene Type = 01
CFA Pattern = 02 00 02 00 01 00 02 01
Rendered by Customer = Normal process
Exposure Mode = Automatic exposure
White Balance = Automatic white balance
Digital Zoom Ratio = 1
Focal Length in 35mm Film = 262 mm
Scene Capture Type = Standard
Gain Control = None
Contrast = Normal
Saturation = Normal
Sharpness = Normal
Subject Distance Range = Unknown
- Thumbnail
Compression = JPEG compression
X Resolution = 72
Y Resolution = 72
Resolution Unit = Inches

Ok I see. I had to save it to my computer to see them.

At 1/80th on the motorcycle you were tracking nicely. The 1600 ISO looks pretty good at this resolution.


I take back what I said earlier about my shutter speed. I just found a picture with a 1/2000th speed and a F8.0 on 100 ISO.

Thanks. ISO 1600 is really pushing it with the Nikon D200. In my opinion, my D200 shots above ISO 1600+ look pretty sad. That's the only reason I've been considering the D300 since the test shots I took at ISO 3200 looked pretty good though I haven't actually printed them out.

The heli photo was shot at 1/60s at F/6.3, ISO 640, using a flash (unlike the MC shot 1/80s at F/2.8, ISO 1600).

well thanks to tigger for giving the link back here cause i forgot about this post.

Ive been looking at this camera and wanted to know what you guys thought about it?
http://www.fujifilmusa.com/digitalca...vBarId=I863590

these are the 2 cams i have now
http://www.polaroid.com/global/detai...bmLocale=en_US

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...52921665171961

my a500 is shot now, so i got the gc1 as my main cam here is one video from it as a test. but it takes way better pics then the video quality.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EvJXl1Ke0L0

some random snap shots.


4x zoom

dad playing with the cam - forgot what zoom setting