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Finally getting into the P&S arena with a non-hand-me-down-- the Canon s110 is currently $199.97 (CAD) at my local Costco, and with that price and the 90-day return policy I figure I can't lose. As a rank amateur graduating from iPhone photography I'm a little concerned about ease of use and UI of modern "real" cameras in general, but I guess Canon is pretty good in that respect. I figure the touchscreen focus will keep it from being too frustrating to be functional, even if I'm a slow learner.
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Feb 18, 2014 20:33
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 09:25 |
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Mathturbator posted:Don't worry, it's a very nice camera. Spend the bucks to buy the book Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson and you've got everything you need.
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Feb 19, 2014 14:53
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Mathturbator posted:You're right, a low-end DSLR would be much better, but if he's going to get the S110 he might as well spend some time learning to use it. It's a decent package with a lot of manual controls. Haggins posted:You can get to the point where you're reading more about photography than actually doing it (I've been guilty of this), but I agree with what you're saying Mathturbator. A good book can really jump start your photography/help you improve/get past plateaus. One of my favorite books I've read when I first started out was The Photographer's Eye, which is a book on composition. Honestly, I mentally refer back to that book every time I take a shot. Haggins posted:Starting with the S90 is a smart idea. I didn't really take up serious photography until 2007 when I could afford a DSLR. I figured that I needed a DSLR if I wanted to get into photography, which I now know is baloney. Looking back, I wish I just bought an affordable manually controllable point and shoot years earlier to learn on instead of waiting until I had money for gear. I started by reading up on composition even if exposure seemed to be a mental block to me. Given that I had an iPhone 4S when my photography itch hit a couple years back, and given the S-series much less a DSLR were out of my price range at the time, I just started shooting (lots of) smartphone shots with an eye for composure and hoped focusing the screen in different areas on the default app (or using AE/AF lock) would work. Then I looked at apps that gave just a bit more control (although it's still all black-box) and looking into tweaking in post. I'd agree that just shooting lots is a good way to learn and given you will always have the camera with you, also figure out if you actually like photography. With a smartphone I will say it gives you an appreciation for the better options/capabilities of P&S (which would presumably then be the same story for moving to DSLR). No better way to later appreciate a macro mode or optical zoom then having your iPhone lens within an inch of a sleeping fatass spider in a web. Now that I'm comfortable with composition I'm pushing myself to learn exposure, and going with the S-series because I don't want to throw a whole bunch of money into something I'm not sure if I'll like. With an S110 at $200 (or more generally an S90/95/100 at reasonable secondhand/last-gen prices), even if I don't end up improving until it limits me and I'm ready to jump into DSLRs, I'll have a good automatic camera that my wife and I can both use that would make sense to keep anyway. I'd also consider the G-series if the price was right but pocketability wins out there. Kenny Logins fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Feb 20, 2014 |
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Feb 20, 2014 16:07
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There's also the sheer proliferation of easy-to-use, relatively inexpensive omnipresent digital camera devices that essentially make photography a hobby for everyone in 2014 if "just shoot pictures" is anything to go by. It's kind of like saying if you want to start writing as a hobby then just go jot down grocery lists or whatever. People snap (often terrible) shots simply to document literally everything and anything they do, and we live in a society where a "selfie" is now a phenomenon. I think that if you want to avoid having reading up on photography be a "requirement" just to take up the hobby, then maybe I'd say to hang out and talk with people who know what they're doing in terms of composition and/or exposure. Expose yourself to photos that you feel you like and are drawn to and either research or else ask why it is they seem so striking. Much as I'd like to pick up an old SLR kit and shoot film there's really something to be said for the ease, inexpense, immediacy and practicality of shooting digital when you're trying to learn things. It's kind of funny because between my wife and I she is really drawn to the "gadget" aspect of having a big cool DSLR (for her to use on auto mode all the time) where I'm the one who wants to take reasonable steps to get there.
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Feb 20, 2014 16:24
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whatever7 posted:You don't need to read a video game magazine or guide to enjoy playing video game, why do you need to read a book to learn how to enjoy photography? There are a lot of people who like the idea of "getting good at something so my friends will compliment me". A lot of them don't actually love the hobby. My theory is most people who buy beginners for XYZ books enjoy the idea being good at something but deep down inside doesn't care about the hobby that much. As to the video game comparison, playing video games isn't making an end product, whereas practicing photography does (even as mere documentation), so it makes no sense to compare the two. Wouldn't you say someone could stand to read a book to learn how to write as a hobby? e:fb like crazy.
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Feb 20, 2014 16:39
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Turns out the S110 was marked down another 50 dollars (since 3 days ago) to $149.99 CAD at my local Costco and comes with a nice Canon case. The cashier said they're flying off the shelves. Glad I went to get mine tonight!
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Feb 21, 2014 00:14
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From the MX-1 DP review, for others to be able to comment:quote:Though it relies a lot on its retro looks to help sell itself, at its core the Pentax MX-1 has a good quality lens and sensor that combine to produce great results. Startup is reasonably fast, taking about two seconds, but shutdown could be a bit quicker, sometimes taking three seconds before you can stow the camera again. Continuous speed is only one frame per second, not a surprise in this product category; however, burst mode high can capture about 10 Fine JPEG shots in around 2 seconds. Reducing compression to normal does nothing to change how many frames are captured, nor does changing the output resolution. During our testing we (as usual) shot primarily in Raw+JPEG mode, and didn't like how the camera frequently locked us out of menus while waiting for data to save to the card. Even with our fastest card, a SanDisk Extreme Pro rated at 95MB/s, the camera took three seconds to save a single Raw and JPEG pair before returning the camera's systems to our control, and that includes being able to take another shot. I've been having a ball with my new S110 and I was able to get that for $150 so glorified powershots are worth considering. The DP review of the MX-1 does seem to be net positive, but it seems worth noting to that MX-1 was Pentax's first foray into this kind of camera where another player, like Canon, has a legacy which runs at least 5 generations deep. If you can get it from somewhere that has a decent return policy, it seems like it would be worth a try- the image quality seems to be pretty good for its class, and you can see if the operation is too slow for your tastes.
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Feb 25, 2014 21:34
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Virtue posted:Would y'all recommend something for my SO? grack posted:You really are asking a lot from a compact here, so try and prioritize what you want. Oh, and you can pretty well cross off eye-level viewfinder at your price point. Strong points of the S110 based on her requirements: size/weight (fantastic), color (I have the silver/white one and it's pretty nice), uses microSD (i.e. non-proprietary), fast power-up and picture taking, good automatic mode with auto-detection of macro. It's also well within budget- I got mine new for $150 on clearance at Costco about a month and a half ago and there is already the (not particularly better) S120 to drive prices down. I'm not really sure about image stabilization/optical zoom)/macro focus. So far all of those have been satisfactory to me, at least, although when you're zoomed into the max of 5x you're stuck with a minimum of f5.9 which, well, it is what it is for the size. It takes HD video at 720 easily at 30fps and at 1080 at 24fps but I don't know about zoom-- I think it has it, as well as autofocus, but I don't use the function much. The only other downside would be no viewfinder and that it only shoots RAW in manual modes, absolutely not in auto. You're also "paying" for the option of its full manual controls but I'd say it's not much of a downside. Other considerations that merit mentioning is that it has touchscreen controls (optional) as well as WiFi connectivity which has been pretty good for me, so far. Though it's not especially faster than exporting off the card onto a laptop it is a pretty quick way of getting them onto a smartphone/tablet to share. Kenny Logins fucked around with this message at 14:42 on Apr 8, 2014 |
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Apr 8, 2014 14:40
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Virtue posted:Thanks for all of your replies. The list was top to bottom in order of importance. She is taking a trip to Korea for a couple of weeks and would like a camera she can carry around all day and not worry about the battery dying. Would a single extra battery with the S110 suffice for a full day's work? And no she didn't mean miniSD. She just didn't want a camera that forces you to buy a special memory card. That being said, depends on what a "full day's work" is. If she doesn't work as a photographer, then she'll probably be fine. Hopefully these numbers help.
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Apr 9, 2014 13:04
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Yeah, for sure, either way, get the extra battery. It's not even proprietary to that model and it's just good to have in a pinch.
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Apr 9, 2014 13:41
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Alpenglow posted:The built-in ND filter can be pretty rad and is worth remembering. If you activate it before taking video it'll look nice and cinema-blurry. The built-in wifi was really handy for backing up (the jpegs of my RAW+JPEGs) onto my iPhone then again uploaded onto Dropbox for safekeeping. Even worked well over hotel wifi as it doesn't ping the web. Nice seeing as I had no data SIM or laptop handy. On another note, still haven't been able to get my choice shots ready for the PAD or LETPD threads but given the ubiquity of photos of those two places I'm sure no one (not currently trying to decide on a S110) is in any rush to see them.
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May 31, 2014 22:42
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Huskalator posted:So, I bought a Sony DSC RX-100 and I'm kinda disappointed it doesn't take better pictures than my buddy's camera phone and its way more of a pain in the rear to use. Also it would be good to know if you are shooting manual or full auto, and if your friend is doing any post work on his photos.
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Jun 17, 2014 14:34
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whatever7 posted:A lot of instagram filters can make photos look good in 160x160 resolution. On the other hand, sometimes photos like this (from the Cell Phone Photography thread) Kidney Stone posted:
are legitimately  but are the result of a lot of experience both with shooting and post-work (and some luck).E: I'm also curious as to what constitutes "pain in the rear to use". Manual controls are not as easy as shooting full-auto but if you know what you're doing it's obviously worth it. My wife got irritated with my shooting when we were on vacation (first time having done so with a camera that had full manual controls) so I'm sure I was being a PITA technically but she has better vacation photos as a result. On the other hand I like the UI for Canon stuff but find the Sony UIs I've encountered to be a pain to use by comparison. Kenny Logins fucked around with this message at 15:47 on Jun 17, 2014 |
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Jun 17, 2014 15:42
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Hey, P&S thread, it's been a minute. I've seen some activity here lately, and I've had a question on the backburner so figured I'd throw it out there. I've been enjoying my S110 that I bought a few years back, even if I'm not sure I've pushed it to its full potential I really enjoy its manual controls. We have our first child on the way in a couple of months now and the question has come up as to whether we should be upgrading the camera situation as a result. I'm still gunshy about getting into DSLR, less so for mirrorless, but I've been thinking about some sort of RX100 as a possible "easy" option.As far as price range goes, I think the mark 5 (~$1380-$1400 CAD before tax) is more than I'd like to spend but I could probably justify a mark 3 (~$900 CAD) pretty easily, assuming it's up to the task. Not sure about the mark 4 (~$1090 CAD) but it's not THAT much more than the 3 either. My problem is I'm not really sure how the different marks stand against each other, or against my s110, in terms of figuring out the value proposition. Has anyone tried any/all of these cameras, and if so, mind commenting? Other solutions are welcome, if they're sub $1000 and appropriate for getting nice shots of my kid more or less on the fly.
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Apr 17, 2017 18:15
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Thanks for the feedback, all. I'm going to be heading to a city with a decent brick-and-mortar store later this month for business and plan to stop in and try some stuff. After hearing you all out and doing a bit of further reading, combined with the shifting up of my financial comfort zone, I'm considering that maybe a decent mirrorless might serve me better for the purpose. I'll still have the S110 for my pocket and I plan on upgrading my iPhone to the newest in the fall regardless. The consensus in the other thread seems to be the Fuji X-T20 (with the more expensive of the two kit lenses) might be the way I want to go with this. The other contender might be the RX100m5 for speedy shots but the X-T20 seems like it would do better in low light and still be fast enough on the AF draw. Either way I'll try some out in-hand and prepare to splurge a bit.
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May 4, 2017 20:01
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When I was in London/Paris few years back, the s110 was a great buddy because it could shoot RAW in manual/semi-auto aperture-priority with an exposure level indicator. I also used the hell out of the integrated ND filter for anything shot wide open in the mid-day. The auto mode was robust for when my wife wanted to do snapshots too but of course it's limited to JPEGs for that mode. We both liked tap-to-focus on the LCD. The wifi transfer (to my iPhone, backing up to Dropbox) was nice as I was without a laptop to back up photos each day, but if I did it again today I'd just bring a larger card or two, the transfer speed was slow as heck where my vacation hours were limited. Then again, I got it for really cheap back then ($150 + tax new), too. Kenny Logins fucked around with this message at 17:40 on Jul 19, 2017 |
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Jul 19, 2017 17:36
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You can add third-party lenses to an iPhone to alter focal length, albeit at some cost to distortion (etc.) and lenses tend to look pretty clown shoes on an iPhone. But yeah the fixed aperture is a serious limiting factor, creatively. Kenny Logins fucked around with this message at 20:09 on Jul 26, 2017 |
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Jul 26, 2017 20:03
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grinnard posted:To pick up on this point, I have a G7x which I enjoy using but basically just shoot on auto, which I'm sure is a waste of its capabilities. I don't really have much idea what I'm doing beyond that, such as manual control, compostion or how to process RAW. Are there any good basic tutorials on the internet (or even books) for just getting into this stuff? Specifically aimed at someone with a fixed-lens camera rather than a DSLR would be ideal, since lens choice doesn't come into my shooting at all (and right now I only have the g7x to work with). I'm particularly interested in landscapes and good nature shots. This is a decent brief go-to basics explainer for the 'science' of capturing photos. Composition tips aren't that hard to find by browsing around, but are useful for interesting landscapes/nature shots. Bryan Peterson's books (esp. Understanding Exposure) are my personal go-to for more detailed exposure and composition stuff. For tutorials, I plan on linking to at least this guy who's more or less in line with Peterson's approach to explaining things, and isn't the worst writer. His composition tutorial is decent and well-demonstrated with examples. He also has a tutorial on landscape/nature photography, as that seems to be his main passion. I'm hoping to have something up this week (or next) with more info, stay tuned. Kenny Logins fucked around with this message at 14:17 on Aug 9, 2017 |
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Aug 9, 2017 14:10
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grinnard posted:Do you know of a basic RAW processing tutorial as well? I have a camera which is capable of producing them, and a trial of Lightroom, but not really sure what I'm doing with them. I have noticed from shooting raw+jpeg and viewing both without any processing that the camera corrects for a lot of lens distortion automatically in the jpeg. I just shoot RAW only at this point but I'm not quite comfortable with my fundamentals (after a couple of years of non-practice) to have started down the road of involved RAW processing. My most recent (mirrorless) camera has in-camera RAW processing which will be good for me but less good for you. Kenny Logins fucked around with this message at 13:16 on Aug 10, 2017 |
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Aug 10, 2017 13:14
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qirex posted:There's those all in one superzooms like the Sony RX10 [a mark I should be under a grand] Basically, you probably want something with at least 400mm focal length maximum, for reach, and reasonably fast at that narrow end, and with good autofocus. A fast lens meaning one with a wide aperture (low f #) when zoomed all the way in, that you can use fast shutter speeds to freeze action at that level of zoom. Kids sports aren't as fast as pro but they still move quickly enough. The RX10 is a little low on reach but makes up for it by being pretty quick at 200mm focal length. f2.8 aperture all across its focal range. A quick amazon search shows it at $800 also. Its continual shooting is a bit slower but probably quick enough for the purpose. It's hard to say, the FZ1000 may also be able to stick at f2.8 when at 200mm, too. Both can do RAW, and have 1" sensors, which is also good. Sensor, as noted above, should be at least 1" at this point in the game. Might have to try them both out in-store, might come down to how it feels in-hand but they have extremely similar-looking form factors. Kenny Logins fucked around with this message at 19:49 on Aug 11, 2017 |
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Aug 11, 2017 19:44
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 09:25 |
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Following up on last page, I posted a rookie advice thread. It's a "provide advice to rookies" rather than "rookies post questions hoping for answers". Still a work in progress but I'm not letting perfect get in the way of good, here. As demonstrated by the title flub.
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Aug 14, 2017 20:52
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