What digital camera do you like?

[troj]

DO NOT buy any camera unless it is supported by CHDK scripts! https://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK

These software only camera mods are just too cool not to have available.

If you're comfortable with mucking with the firmware of your camera, then by all means use scripts such as this.

But, be warned -- they do come with risks. If something goes awry, things like this can render a camera inoperable! Stuff like this is usually well tested, but it's all a case of "use at your own risk"

-Kevin

 

[bguffer]

I've been using a Casio EX-FH20 at rocket launches:
https://www.rocketryplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2870&highlight=bguff
$600 and versatile, but not SLR quality photos.

 

[Pat_B]

Cameras are quickly becoming a commodity and there are many good ones out there. Just be sure to get one with rechargeable batteries.

I use a Canon digital Rebel and am moderatly pleased with it. The kit lens is known to be lousy at different aperature settings, so some pictures come out out looking great while others look blah. I own some pretty expensive lenses that I use with it and pictures taken with those are better, but not what I'd call great. Biggest problem is that it takes high contrast pictures- so the dark areas seem to fill in while the light areas seem to get blown out. I've seen the same characteristics in pictures taken by other Rebel owners.

I will eventually see this camera on E-Bay and buy a Nikon.

One thing to think about is portability. I use digital cameras in my business and have another six or seven- all different models of the point and shoot type. I'll sometimes use one of them rather than the Rebel simply because it's much easier to carry around. An SLR with a few extra lenses is a big hassle to lug around.

I've seen hi-res versions of pictures that George took at the WSMC in Spain and his camera takes really nice pictures.

 

[BHP]

can[/i] render a camera inoperable! Stuff like this is usually well tested, but it's all a case of "use at your own risk"

-Kevin

Yeah, maybe. In all I've read on that wiki there have been no reported cases of the scripts damaging a camera. And there are many thousands of users. The greatest risk as I see it is simply wearing out your camera because you'll use it so much more with the camera's expanded capabilities with the hack(s)!

As always use and do what you're comfortable doing. I'd have no qualms whatsoever using these scripts in any Canon camera. You simply mod the firmware via the SD card and run it when you want. It's a simple process of removing the batteries to reset the factory firmware.

Every rocket I fly could crash. Like CHDK they are just too cool NOT to use / fly! It's all about the fun factor!

 

[bguffer]

Yeah, maybe. In all I've read on that wiki there have been no reported cases of the scripts damaging a camera. And there are many thousands of users. The greatest risk as I see it is simply wearing out your camera because you'll use it so much more with the camera's expanded capabilities of the hack(s)!

As always use and do what you're comfortable doing. I'd have no qualms whatsoever using these scripts in any Canon camera. You simply mod the firmware via the SD card and run it when you want. It's a simple process of removing the batteries to reset the factory firmware.

Every rocket I fly could crash. Like CHDK they are just too cool NOT to use / fly! It's all about the fun factor!

I don't know about end users, but i do know the hackers/developers of CHDK have ruined cameras. One of the hackers/developers who ported CHDK to Canon SD1100 supposedly ruined a camera by issuing line(s) of code which resulted in the lens trying to protrude from the camera while the camera lens was still closed. Resulted in permanent physical damage to the camera.

 

[WiK]

If you're comfortable with mucking with the firmware of your camera, then by all means use scripts such as this.

But, be warned -- they do come with risks. If something goes awry, things like this can render a camera inoperable! Stuff like this is usually well tested, but it's all a case of "use at your own risk"

-Kevin

Actually, I don't believe the CHDK stuff can permanently screw up your camera. The firmware is loaded from the memory card on startup, nothing is written to the camera at all. To revert to the standard Canon firmware, you just delete the files off the memory card, remove and reinsert the batteries and it should be as it was.

Put me down as another vote for Canon DSLRs - I upgraded from a 350d (Digital Rebel XT) to a 40d after Christmas and love it. There's certainly something to be said for a point and shoot you can stick in a pocket, though. And you can certainly get good results from a P&S with enough practice - https://sara.rocketry.org.uk/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=3140 all those (not my pics) were taken with a Canon S3 IS.

I think the main thing, no matter what sort of camera you get, is being very familiar with it. Knowing exactly what each button will do, how long the shutter delay is likely to be, how to pre-focus etc will save you a lot of hassle.

Phil

 

[n5wd]

What digital camera do you like?

With Circuit City selling off inventory...I was thinking of getting a new one that takes good launch photos, maybe close ups as well...

Let me second the warning to be very aware of the selling prices of what you're interested in BEFORE you walk in to Circuit City. There was an article in one of our local papers comparing prices BEFORE the liquidation and AFTER... guess which one was lower, for most of the higher-priced things?

As far as which camera do I like, I've shot Nikons since the early 70's.

The big thing you want to avoid in a digital camera for shooting action like rocket launches, is something called "shutter lag" - that's the time between when you push the button and when the camera takes the picture. Less shutter lag is better. The old film cameras were almost instantaneous - the better digital cameras have a very short lag - the point and shoots sometimes are up to a second or more. Hard to know what to expect with a long shutter lag.

So try them out before you buy. As far as specific recommendations - you didn't provide enough information to make an informed suggestion, so start hitting your local stores and see what they have. Don't buy mail order unless you like to gamble.

 

[m85476585]

DO NOT buy any camera unless it is supported by CHDK scripts! https://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK

These software only camera mods are just too cool not to have available.

(This is for many of the CANON line of cameras only.)

Thanks for reminding me about CHDK! I just spent the last hour playing with it. This would be a good excuse to buy a bigger SD card to store RAW pictures and high bitrate movies. I might need to get rechargeable batteries too since the extra features (extra processing power) seem to use up the batteries faster.

 

[astrowolf67]

We purchased a Fuji S2000HD a few months ago. While I've not had a chance to use it on launch photo's yet, I am confident it will do a good job. It can take up to 30 frames per second, has full manual control, excellent optical zoom and digital zoom, and great battery life.

If looking to purchase anything from Circuit City's liquidation sales, be careful of what you buy. Ours closed just before Christmas, and the prices were not close outs at all, unless you were buying store fixtures (yes they were selling EVERYTHING). Plus, any warranty issues will have to be through the manufacturer, since there are NO RETURNS.

David

 

[luke strawwalker]

What digital camera do you like?

With Circuit City selling off inventory...I was thinking of getting a new one that takes good launch photos, maybe close ups as well...

Well, that's a good question... Here's what I got...

I got me a Fujifilm Finepix S2000 HD for just over $200 at Best Buy. It's a 10megapixel camera, one of the DSLR-like "prosumer" models, not a point and shoot. Looks like a DSLR but with a non-removable lens. It has a 13.5 frames/sec burst mode at 3 mp, a 33 picture cache for the burst mode, and 50-something megabytes onboard memory (excluding the memory card). It's got all the autofocus goodies on it but can be overridden manually for composing shots if desired. The lens is a 12x optical zoom, which is pretty good considering. It can also record video in HD and display at full HD resolution. I basically wanted a digital version of my old Pentax K-100 manual wind, manual EVERYTHING 35mm SLR, for vacations and family stuff, that could also do rocket launches, and without having to spend a fortune and not having to change lenses all the time. After researching it, this seemed to be a good fit. I'm eagerly awaiting out next launch!

There's also the camera that the Fuji S2000 HD is replacing-- the S1000... you can find them at Walmart for about $150-170. I was looking pretty hard at one. They have a decent burst rate and cache, about 11 frames/second, but can only hold about 15-18 pics instead of 33 like the S2000HD, since it has only about half as much internal memory (excluding the card). I looked at an S700 on closeout, but they are PITIFULLY slow in burst mode (no burst to it, more like a regular 35 mm autowinder, not a FAST one! The memory is pretty bad too, only about 6-7 pics on burst mode before it's full and has to write it to the card. But only a little over $100.

Now, if I won the lottery, I'd get me a Casio EX-F1... 1000 frames/second burst rate... WOW!!! The super-slo-mo 'movies' I've seen from these things are AMAZING!!! But, it's a $1000 camera Definitely above my pay grade. Now they DO make a slightly cheaper version, that can do about 800 frames a second IIRC, but it's still a $500 camera... slightly better

The exciting thing is, that Casio has just come out with a point-n-shoot version with the same high-speed capabilities... but it's not cheap-- $350 which was close but still out of my budget. Plus, I wanted something with a good optical zoom lens, and a point-n-shoot ain't it...

Search on yahoo or google and you can find a LOT of stuff about these cameras, including some amazing slo-mo vids from the EX-F1...

Hope this helps! OL JR

 

[luke strawwalker]

One other thing I noticed about the Fuji's, from reading a LOT of reviews and from playing with them and just about every other camera I could lay my hands on in-store... the Fuji's are probably the easiest to learn how to operate-- they're the most 'intuitive' for noobs like me. The button layouts seemed more logical and just easier to use. I like that there is a button to go instantly to a playback/review and pressing the shutter button takes you instantly back to shooting mode... very handy stuff compared to some cameras that make you sift through a menu just to look at what you shot...
I like intuitive... OL JR

https://www.fujifilm.com/products/digital_cameras/s/finepix_s2000hd/specifications/index.html

https://www.fujifilmfinepixs2000hd.com/

https://www.fujifilm.com/products/digital_cameras/s/finepix_s1000fd/specifications/index.html

https://gizmodo.com/383843/casio-ex...ew-verdict-totally-unique-shockingly-powerful

https://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/casio-exf1.shtml

https://exilim.casio.com/browse_cameras/high_speed_exilim/EX-F1/

https://www.kenrockwell.com/casio/ex-f1.htm

https://www.pcworld.com/reviews/product/31680/review/exilim_pro_exf1.html

https://www.casio.com/products/Cameras/High_Speed_EXILIM/EX-FH20/

 

[rmpitzer]

I like to use the Nikon D2X.

 

[hardinlw]

I second Bsexton's recommendation of Ken Rockwell's web site as a good place for (relatively) unbiased information. I have a Nikon D70 with the 18-70mm lens that came with it and a 70-300mm add-on. The D70 (as with most digital SLRs) has an image sensor that is smaller than 35mm film resulting in a 1.5x magnification, so I can go up to 450mm. I chose this camera based on the fact that the lens focuses quickly and it snaps the picture almost immediately after pressing the shutter release. By partially depressing the shutter release, you can pre-focus. Also, you can set it to manual once you have focused in on the pad. I also have a PowerShot which is my preference for backpacking and canoing trips (weight for the first use and risk of dunking in a river for the second). I get mostly pictures of smoke with it, but it's fine for shooting in the pits.

 

[jadebox]

Now, if I won the lottery, I'd get me a Casio EX-F1... 1000 frames/second burst rate... WOW!!! The super-slo-mo 'movies' I've seen from these things are AMAZING!!! But, it's a $1000 camera Definitely above my pay grade.

The EX-F1 does 6MP stills at 60 frames per second for ... I don't know how many frames in a burst. I've never hit the limit. I scale it back to 15 frames per second for capturing rocket launches since there's usually not much difference from one frame to the next at 60 fps.

It does record high-speed video at up to 1200 fps. The high-speed videos are much smaller (lower-resolution) than the still images. But they are very impressive.

-- Roger

 

[cjl]

I want one of these:
https://www.visionresearch.com/index.cfm?sector=htm/files&page=phantom_v12

 

[jadebox]

I want one of these:
https://www.visionresearch.com/index.cfm?sector=htm/files&page=phantom_v12

Heck, I'd just like to borrow one of those for a day or two.

-- Roger

 

[cls]

another vote for Casio EX-FH20 - EX-F1 is last year's model (maybe 2 years ago?). I've taken a bunch of great slow-motion movies with it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GvHTC2XxLo

it will shoot HD movies with sound, too.

It will shoot a burst of 40 frames at full 9MP resolution.

The pre-programmed modes are all excellent and work as advertised.

The battery life is OK with alkalines and great with lithium rechargeables.

But with plastic lenses, it's not going to replace our Canon DSLRs. lately I've relied on other folks to get the "quality" shots, they are happy with my "slow-motion" shots. nice little ecosystem there.

 

[Bazookadale]

Research the prices before you go to Circuit City. The liquidators reprice all the merchandise to the highest price it's been sold for and then start marking it down. By the time the discounts get good the people who didn't do the research have will have cleaned off the shelves.

I just got back from the local Circuit City - looked a an Olympus e-420 tagged as 30% off regular price. You could see that the regular,everyday price sticker originally said $540 but they had taken a marker and changed the 5 to a 6! Hey guys, you're Circuit City, you have a computer in the store. you could have PRINTED a new sticker and no one would be the wiser.

 

[mperdue]

I like my Nikon D200

Mario