Digital Camera Sugestions
 

First of all I am not a camera shooter, I shoot and edit video.

But we need a good camera to back up our 35mm and our video camera...

Anyway. I am told over 4MegaPix is a waste for web work, so where looking for under that, with a PC Box Cable (for lighting control not for computers I have no idea what that means my photo guy just told me to make sure I get it...). Fast write or large buffer so we can rapid fire shots without waiting for the camera to be ready. Takes Lenses would be nice as well...

Any sugestions that wont break the piggy bank?

All our work so far has been 35mm and video...so this digital camera thing is new to me..:)


Thanks in advance.

http://www.dpreview.com

The best place for digital camera reviews and samples from them all.

Im torn between the

Canon G2
Canon G3
CoolPix 5000
CoolPix 5700

Rough decision lies ahead..they all do what I need them to do.
And there are some pretty sweet package deals on new units on ebay....

Hmm...

i have a canon g2.
love it and use it all the time.

Go for the G3 over the G2. Lots of updated features.

Go for the Nikon 5700 over the 5000. More features and better ergonomics.

Both G3 and Nikon 5700 will produce equally great pics.

Usually just a personal preference on Canon V. Nikon. I've always liked Nikon for their incredible lenses. I've had a couple Canons over the years and have had more mechanical probs with them. Nikon's have been more reliable for me.

I bought a Canon G3 about 6 weeks ago and couldn't be happier with it. I use the Nikon D100 at Oliver Klozov studios where I shoot, but the Canon G3 produces a supurb image as well. It will NOT however do rapid-fire shots and will not allow you to change lenses. Although you can buy a lens adapter that will make the lens more telephoto and/or wide-angle.

If you are looking for a point-n-shoot kind of camera I would say the G3 would be a great little camera as it also has manual features for you to use to REALLY get creative. But if your wanting a professional camera that will allow you to shoot without having to wait for the card to write as well as a camera that will allow you to use professional grade lenses - the Nikon D100 is a great little camera. You can get the bodies for about $2000 with lenses being additional.

Dean*

Don't overlook good used cameras. For normal web work, 2 megapixels is adequate and 3 megapixels is extravagant. If you buy a camera of the SLR type, remember that all the money you save on the camera (by buying used) can be invested in lenses, and you'll end up with much more bang for the buck.

First you say this:

And then you come back with this....WTF?

What he said. :thumbsup

The Canon SLR types may also be worth looking into.

for content?

That's what I use for content.

Takes decent enough pics but as far as fast or switchable lenses...No go.

http://www.ampcontent.com/pics/Sample1.jpg
http://www.ampcontent.com/pics/Sample2.jpg
http://www.ampcontent.com/pics/Sample3.jpg
http://www.ampcontent.com/pics/Sample4.jpg

I recommend getting a e-10 some places still sell them and the price is low. It has a great lens on it and for around $800 its hard to beat. By the way great pics Aaron :)

I have the Canon S30 and even though it's small and affordable it's a damn good camera...I take professional photos with it all the time, worth looking into

I have a Nikon Coolpix 5700 and it is great! I also have the same underwear as the girl in the second picture. :1orglaugh

-AC Tracey

G2 or G3 Aaron?

I haven't used my G3 yet for content but I know the quality is there if I wanted to. I may play with it this week and test it a bit. I can put my Pocket Wizard in the flash shoe and shoot manual - you ever done that with yours?

d*

yup. I'm certainly no professional like Aaron, but the G2 is easy enough for me to use, and I get some pretty damn good pics from it.

I was thinking of getting the Canon EOS-10D but I heard Pentax is about to launch a new model that will be a lot better in terms of lenses.

Anyone know about this model or what its called?

Thanks guys for the tips...

AAron I posted those as those where what I found that seemed to do what I was looking for, I also did a search on GFY and saw some sugestions in the past that people had made.

Did I fuck up somehow in my research and chose the totaly wrong class of camera?

Is there anything that has a fast write/buffer in the under 1k price range?

AAron mentioned that rapid shot on the G3 is not possible
In a nut shell I dont want our digital shooter to be waiting for the camera all the time, of course we are shooting video on a 3 chip so we can get desent still work off of that if we miss something.

So far especialy after seeing the pix that AAron posted I am pulled tword the g3...

The kit im looking at comes with a wide angle/ and a telephoto lens as well as the lens tube adaptor and a polorizing/uv and FD filter set. Someone had mentioned that the lens's where a no go on the g3 is that just due to not being able to switch out lenses fast in a shoot?

those were taken with a G2 if i'm not mistaken.

the only big difference between a G2 and a G3 from what i've read is that the G3 doesnt have a 30 second restriction on video.

Just a side question, does using a microdrive speed up the write buffer at all...

I don't think it does. I have a friend with an Olympus e20 and he uses the microdrive and says it doesn't speed up the write process at all from a regular Compact Flash card.

d*

So far there's not alot stopping me from plunking down the money for this package

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...6805 135&rd=1

Just trolling to see if anyone has any more info before I do this.
My biggest concern is the write speed, 1-2 seconds cool 15 seconds ugh...

Unless you are ready to drop some major dollars - your going to have to deal with a little delay in the writing speed. Look at it this way - by forcing you to slow down while you shoot - you'll start REALLY thinking about your work more and thus will be doing less editing on the backend. At least - I found that to be the case when I had my Olympus e10 and e20. Most digital cameras will let you shoot at least "a few" pics before it starts slowing down a bit to write. It will also help to not shoot at the largest picture setting if you don't need pics that big. I shoot all of my pics at the size that I need them for the internet. I crop the images "in-camera" which means...I don't take them into photoshop and re-crop them later. If you plan to do this - you'll need to shoot bigger pictures.

Hope this helps some.........

d*

Yes totaly understand. Again I am not our shooter...
I'm just the CEO and the video guy...

Our photo guy told me some specs to look for but left it open, I was the one who applied the under 1k budget to it.

We where planning on not shooting at the largest image so that should help out a bit. Since we have a video camera and a 35mm running on most shoots at the same time, it should help out with any problems with the camera...

The shots Aaron posted seem pretty good.

:) Killer info in this thread though

The other thing to keep in mind is that when you decide to upgrade to something faster - you can always use that G3 as your backup camera. It does incredible stuff in low-light situations which is why I got this one - to shoot some behind the scenes situations without having to bring in additional lighting.

He should love this little camera!

d*

Funny...So do I...Oh wait.....I have that very pair. Imagine that. :)

Anybody want to buy them? :1orglaugh

Canon PowerShot S50 Rocks:

http://www.innovationdev.com/logos/IMG_0566.jpg

Here are a few more answers:

I own the G2.

It does write within 2 seconds.

The addition lenses for this camera are a joke....IMO. I can honestly say that my opinion is NOT based on experience though...Just an opinion. If you want to have the ability to add or change lenses then get an SLR style of camera.

As for the Microdrive.....I find that if you buy decent CF cards then it is pretty much the same. The MicroDrives are not real stable and they do heat up a lot. The other suggestion I have is to shoot with smaller cards. Buy a card that is big enough to fit your average size set on and when the card is full, your set is done.

If you use a large card and shoot multiple sets with it and then there is a problem with the card then you are fucked.

I have large cards that I use while shooting at parties or shows and so forth but I stick with a 48 or 64mb card for my content.

Overlooked this question....

I only shoot content in manual or portrait mode and yes, I have used the pocket wizards with strobes. The 2nd pic I posted was done with only 2 small soft boxes triggered by the pocket wizard.

stay away from kodak, mine sucks

mainly battery and recharging problems