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NihilCredo posted:I just want to check, is there any non-obvious reason to absolutely stay away from it - e.g. this series' sensor is a piece of crap that hides behinds the inflated 12MP resolution, a max of 1600 ISO will be crippling, stuff like that? I have a pretty old P&S so this might not be true for a newer one, but mine takes forever to save a RAW. Literally multiple seconds where the camera is completely unresponsive, screen black, only this obnoxious blue LED (I think it's the "print" button) to indicate that it's writing. Not really a big deal most of the time, since you can still shoot JPEG or even totally de-activate CHDK pretty easily I think, but something to be aware of. Also, the CHDK interface is very open source. A lot of options, not the best-looking or organized menus. Again not a huge deal once you figure out how to do what you want to do, it just might take a bit more trial and error or reading online help pages to get there. And the flip side is it's very customizable, with a ton of stuff you can display on the screen while shooting. It does mean you have to navigate a menu to change settings though (shutter speed, aperture, etc), so it won't ever be as quick to operate as an S95.
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Jul 8, 2011 23:09
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Slimchandi posted:Nice. Just ordered the XZ-1 for myself, spent a good couple of days going through comparative models (plus all of day trying to convince my buddy at work that I *don't* want a 4/3rds interchangable). Looking forward to playing with it, my last camera was a PS A510 so I think things have moved on slightly since! Cool, do let us know how it goes and post some samples - it sounds like a really interesting little camera. Nice to have some competition for the S90/95...
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Jul 8, 2011 23:58
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hairysammoth posted:Cool, do let us know how it goes and post some samples - it sounds like a really interesting little camera. Nice to have some competition for the S90/95... I found this thread last night, some great photos amid the pet snapshots: http://www.seriouscompacts.com/f61/xz-1-image-thread-2277/ Will try and add some pics and thoughts when it arrives.
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Jul 9, 2011 08:57
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So I got the HX9V. The image quality is good... not great. However, the GPS/sweep pano functions are awesome and the video is BREATHTAKING. Seriously, head over to Vimeo and search for "hx9v" to see some samples and amateur videophiles wetting themselves over the quality of the footage this thing puts out.
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Jul 10, 2011 20:19
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Radbot posted:So I got the HX9V. The image quality is good... not great. However, the GPS/sweep pano functions are awesome and the video is BREATHTAKING. Seriously, head over to Vimeo and search for "hx9v" to see some samples and amateur videophiles wetting themselves over the quality of the footage this thing puts out. This seems to be the general consensus. It beats out anything short of a DSLR or high-end camcorders for video quality. Imma pick one up too when the drat things are back in stock. But to supplement its (and my own) inadequacies I'm sure I'll end up getting something better like a micro 4/3rds for still image quality somewhere down the line.
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Jul 11, 2011 02:11
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Is the S95 (or S90 depending on which deal you'll get) still the one to go for? I'm in Bangkok right now on holiday and desperately need a camera and figured I could get a good deal while I'm here. I have went back and forth on which camera I should get - I would really like to be able to shoot good photos at low light (parties and so on), but also don't want the camera to be bulky so I can carry it around in my pocket at night. At the same time I also want a good camera for general travel photos. I'm getting pretty interested in photography, but at the same time I don't see myself spending a lot of money on lenses since I'm a student. Here's where I'm considering right now: - A NEX-3 or 5 with an 18-55 mm lens for holidays and when I don't mind carrying around a bigger camera (a DSLR will still be too bulky for me, though). - A point-and-shoot for going out that can also shoot video so my friends and I can see how stupid we acted the day after. So, is S95 the one I should get?
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Jul 11, 2011 19:42
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Eight Is Legend posted:Is the S95 (or S90 depending on which deal you'll get) still the one to go for? I'm in Bangkok right now on holiday and desperately need a camera and figured I could get a good deal while I'm here. I have went back and forth on which camera I should get - I would really like to be able to shoot good photos at low light (parties and so on), but also don't want the camera to be bulky so I can carry it around in my pocket at night. At the same time I also want a good camera for general travel photos. I'm getting pretty interested in photography, but at the same time I don't see myself spending a lot of money on lenses since I'm a student. I'd say that the S90/S95 is probably the best choice for you as it is truly pocketable and a great travel camera. Probably acceptable for the party shots with the built-in flash. The NEX-3 is going to be better in the dark, but at the cost of extra weight/size. S90 = THB13,900 S95 = THB15,900 NEX3+18-55mm = THB20,990 7,000 baht buys you a lot of fun here. (Big Camera. Don't forget to reclaim the 7% VAT)
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Jul 11, 2011 19:57
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spog posted:I'd say that the S90/S95 is probably the best choice for you as it is truly pocketable and a great travel camera. Probably acceptable for the party shots with the built-in flash. Should I expect to pay 15,900 for the S95 here? Because that's almost the same as it would cost back in Denmark.
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Jul 11, 2011 20:15
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Eight Is Legend posted:Should I expect to pay 15,900 for the S95 here? Because that's almost the same as it would cost back in Denmark. That's the price from a leaflet I picked up 2 days ago. Good electronics are expensive here (high import duty). The cheap and cheerful stuff is better priced - the low end Canon stuff is probably comparable to the prices you'd pay back home (and they are still good cameras)
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Jul 12, 2011 05:47
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spog posted:That's the price from a leaflet I picked up 2 days ago. Good electronics are expensive here (high import duty). Managed to get it for 12,500 with a 4 GB memory card. loving loving it so far.
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Jul 12, 2011 18:11
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Eight Is Legend posted:Managed to get it for 12,500 with a 4 GB memory card. loving loving it so far. Good deal! Where did you get it from?
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Jul 13, 2011 11:03
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Anyone have any opinions on GPS enabled and/or waterproof cameras? I have an Olympus 770 SW and while it has served me well for 3-4 years, it is now starting to leak. The optics are also horrific on it. Looking to buy either another waterproof camera (which is a little better with focusing and in low light conditions) and/or a GPS enabled camera that tags photos with locations. This is for a trip to Thailand, so I will be on the beach and around water a lot. However, I am also a bit of a Picasa whore, so it would be nice if everything was nicely geotagged. This will also be in addition to my DSLR, so I want something which is easily transported in my back pocket. Thanks!
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Jul 13, 2011 19:51
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spog posted:Good deal! Where did you get it from? Some random shop at MBK  . In case it breaks, the husband of one of my sister's friends works at Canon in Denmark and can get it fixed.
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Jul 14, 2011 14:28
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Cheesemaster200 posted:Anyone have any opinions on GPS enabled and/or waterproof cameras? I can't say that I have read the test of the GPS cameras, but my concern was that if left on all day, the GPS can be quite a battery drain. I can imagine it draining the battery of a P&S over a few days, and having to recharge every night (even if you have only taken 1 photo that day) is a pain in the arse. The alternate method would be for the GPS to turn on when you want to take a photo. As a fix would probably take more than 1 min each time, that could be annoying. Of course, I could be wrong about all this, but it is something that would concern me. Review of waterproof cameras is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfe66TUsK00 Eight Is Legend posted:Some random shop at MBK Slick! Have you bought a 2nd battery? I can recommend getting one as the supplied battery only gets 250 shots per charge without flash.
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Jul 14, 2011 14:45
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Cheesemaster200 posted:Anyone have any opinions on GPS enabled and/or waterproof cameras? The best option by far is the Panasonic TS-3. I have the TS-2 and love it, and the TS-3 includes GPS capability.
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Jul 14, 2011 20:05
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Radbot posted:The best option by far is the Panasonic TS-3. I have the TS-2 and love it, and the TS-3 includes GPS capability. Have you had many problems with leakage? One of my biggest concerns is getting a $300 camera with a crappy seal system and then it getting all hosed up on my third time using it.
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Jul 15, 2011 03:06
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spog posted:Slick! Nope, but I already figured out that I should've - oh well!
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Jul 15, 2011 13:58
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hairysammoth posted:Cool, do let us know how it goes and post some samples - it sounds like a really interesting little camera. Nice to have some competition for the S90/95... Here's a couple I got in fairly low light at Liverpool Carnival over the weekend, very happy with the XZ-1 but a long way to go with it yet in terms of learning what it can do (and how to take a good picture!).   
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Jul 19, 2011 23:19
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Well I found a good auction for a SD4000 so that's what I got. It just arrived, today is a rainy day but I'll take it out for a spin this weekend. Here's a test picture straight out of the 3rd floor window, zooming out on an element with some detail. I'm liking the quality: However, something surprised me. I installed CHDK first thing on it, and turned on the RAW mode (well, actually DNG since there's no RAW converter for this model yet). I figured that RAW basically meant skipping the internal postprocessing and saving in a lossless format, and I was more interested in the latter because why get artifacts when you've got plenty of storage? Turns out however that the post-processing is pretty important, since this is the DNG file:  EW. Check the aliasing on the white blade of grass in the bottom "hole". I guess I'll be relying on the JPGs whenever I don't need to retouch an image, but is there a guide somewhere about how to properly treat RAWs?
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Jul 21, 2011 15:55
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The 2nd picture is much smaller than the 1st. Did you upload them at different resolutions?
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Jul 21, 2011 16:00
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Also, what did you use to convert the DNG? Despite the fact that it's supposed to be a universal RAW format, its actually not all that well supported by non-Adobe products.
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Jul 21, 2011 16:16
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spf3million posted:The 2nd picture is much smaller than the 1st. Did you upload them at different resolutions? Wow, you're right - I automatically assumed they would have been the same res, but indeed all the DNG files are 1832x1370. I will have to figure out why, but that's really unexpected. EDIT: Ok, I'm more puzzled than before. If I use FastStone Viewer to convert the DNG file to TIFF, it "returns" to the camera's full resolution, 3664x2740 (with a 2-pixel border that are cut off in camera JPGs, which matches what I've read about them). Oh, and yes, the aliasing disappears and all the detail is just fine in the TIFF. Can't understand why the DNGs 'appear' smaller, though. FasterThanLight posted:Also, what did you use to convert the DNG? Despite the fact that it's supposed to be a universal RAW format, its actually not all that well supported by non-Adobe products. I used CHDK to have the camera make the DNG on-the-fly. As I understand it RAW->DNG converter programs (which I would otherwise use in order to shoot faster) need to have a profile set for the specific camera model, and there isn't one yet for the SD4000 (I guess because its own CHDK is just a beta yet). If you were just talking about DNG->JPG, the aliasing was already very visible in the original file (and probably due to the reduced resolution). NihilCredo fucked around with this message at 17:04 on Jul 21, 2011 |
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Jul 21, 2011 16:39
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RAW is only ever as good as your RAW converter. I get amazingly different results between DPP, DXO, FastStone and Picasa on a Canon 30D (which should be about as widely supported as anything)
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Jul 22, 2011 02:31
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Saw this in the coupons/deals Section of SA: Sony HX5V $180...Should I be looking at going for a Canon as opposed to this? My budget right now allows me to do the 300 HS. Down the line potentially could afford the Canon SX230 or even the S95 (or its successor by that time?). Should I jump on this deal or hold off? My iphone is what's serving me right now...it does its part when I'm inside and need a quick shot, but obviously having a real camera would be great for hiking/outdoors and travel stuff. Just wanted to get some more insight.
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Jul 22, 2011 23:47
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One of the problems with DNG files that CHDK makes is that even though lightroom or photoshop can read the dng it doesn't have a color profile associated with the camera. It also isn't going to have a lens profile to fix things like distortion and CA that the camera may do when making the JPG. I use CHDK on an SD1100 and really like it when I am shooting at a high ISO because lightroom / noise ninja can do a much better job of removing noise then the camera. The downside is that I have had to make some presets for shooting under tungsten light. Under sunlight, lightroom does a pretty good job of getting reasonable colors from the DNG file however under tungsten it has problems. If you have a color checker chart you can make a profile for lightroom, otherwise you will have to do what I did and make a 'kida-sorta-pretty close sometimes profile' by eye. In short, a better raw converter may solve a lot of your problems but may not solve all of them.
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Jul 23, 2011 02:26
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Interesting, thank you. I guess that for the distortion and chromatic aberration though you're SOL without a Lightroom profile?
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Jul 23, 2011 12:42
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Adobe has a free tool to make lens profiles that you can get here. It isn't too tricky to use but does take a bit of a time investment. I haven't made a profile for my SD1100, only a couple of primes - zoom lenses look like a bit of a pain. I usually just use the profile for the s90 if the distortion is bothering me and it gets me in the ballpark.
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Jul 23, 2011 15:13
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Anyone have any experience with the Canon ELPH 300 HS? Due to a variety of factors (mainly price and physical size), I am looking at this over the S95, GPS and waterproof cameras. One of my main desires for a new point and shoot is to have good video capabilities, and this has the 1080i ability. If I really want a fancy photo, I will just get my DSLR out.
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Jul 25, 2011 00:07
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Could anyone recommend a P&S camera available new for less than £100 for a friend who has no experience with photography, going on a once in a lifetime trip? Thinking Canon A3200 so far..
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Jul 26, 2011 22:26
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Zegnar posted:Could anyone recommend a P&S camera available new for less than £100 for a friend who has no experience with photography, going on a once in a lifetime trip? Aside from the high end stuff, point and shoots change models almost monthly and it's hard to keep up with. Standard advice is to buy the best Canon P&S you can afford as they don't really make any lovely cameras.
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Jul 27, 2011 05:12
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I'm looking for a recommendation for a P&S that has a flip-out LCD screen. Budget is $100-200 and almost no other features matter, although image-stabilization and decent low light ability would be pluses. I've used Canon cameras before and love them but I'd be willing to check out other recommended brands.
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Jul 27, 2011 17:36
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Flip-out screens are increasingly rare and almost entirely on the higher end of the market.
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Jul 27, 2011 18:16
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If you're OK buying used, KEH has the Nikon Coolpix 8800 available for around $180 in excellent condition. It's got a fold-out screen and vibration reduction; if you're not doing telephoto stuff in low light, the lens (f2.8 wide open) is decently fast.
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Jul 27, 2011 18:43
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Has anyone with the Canon S95 heard of this book: Photographer's Guide to the Canon Powershot S95? Worth checking out? I saw it recommended on the Amazon reviews and on Dpreview.com and was curious.
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Jul 28, 2011 09:13
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I always though that "Photographer's Guide to Camera X" were just glorified manuals.
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Jul 28, 2011 20:12
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Understanding exposure, that's the only starter book you need Hey guys, I'm such a klutz and previously lost a s90 in a cab in Thailand, now I lost my s95 going across the US  Even though I do have a few spare batteries and chargers, I really don't want another s95 as much as I love it.Any other recommendations to the s95? I take touristy pictures of food, want a second curtain sync for parties or low light, fast light, and good controls for manual. Good video would be great too, as I will be like a travel dad at times and take videos of all sorts of mundane things. And probably heavy processing because I will shoot in RAW + JPG and stick with JPGs most of the time. It seems like the Olympus XZ-1 is a good contender but any other alternatives? I soooo want to just bite the bullet and get a x100 or a richo GR1s but I need to save money for my Japan trip.
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Jul 29, 2011 05:05
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That does it, you're officially the dorkrooms most gear-endangering goon. Congratulations! sorry about your most recent loss, I don't have anything useful to add.
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Jul 29, 2011 05:11
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spf3million posted:That does it, you're officially the dorkrooms most gear-endangering goon. Congratulations! I don't know about that. Was it Helmacron who dropped a D3 + tripod down an elevator shaft, killing the cat it landed on? I seem to recall him having had some pretty bad luck. Rated PG-34 posted:I always though that "Photographer's Guide to Camera X" were just glorified manuals. Pretty much. The Canon manuals are pretty good to begin with.
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Jul 29, 2011 05:25
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MrBlandAverage posted:I don't know about that. Was it Helmacron who dropped a D3 + tripod down an elevator shaft, killing the cat it landed on? I seem to recall him having had some pretty bad luck. Mannequin went through a stage of leaving DSLRs in taxis, I think. He hasn't reported a loss for a while - maybe he stopped drinking? Caberham, he's a suitable camera strap for you. You need to swap out one of the mittens for your new P&S: 
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Jul 29, 2011 05:46
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Caberham, buy this camera to go with those mittens: http://www.amazon.com/2-0-Mp-Digital-Camera-VQ-2005/dp/B002DW98GA
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Jul 29, 2011 06:06
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