I am looking at upgrading our trusty old, cheapie, Kodak digital camera. What cost us $250 a few years back has served us well, even if its a bit clunky it still takes a decent shot most times. The draw back I find with it, is its long distance ability and its battery life being a tad short. But for $250 its not a bad little camera.
As we do lots of outdoors activities, sailing, windsurfing etc, though it might be an idea to get a digital SLR. So good friend Susie has one for sale, a Fuji Film S9500 Finepix. She wants $400 for it (second hand)
Now I am a newbie when it comes to photography, not much of a skilled operator, more a point and shoot kind of guy. Is this camera going to still be that?
I have played around with it for a few days and its seems to be quite user friendly, has some nice features, Macro, built in flash, anti shake function, movie mode (26 minutes only) as well as plenty on tunability. Our old camera was just simple, select mode, point shoot, wait for auto focus to capture, then it would fire off. To me this is the biggest advantage so far, the shutter speed.
Other benefits, not motor to focus lense, this chews the batteries, its also nicer weight in your hand.
Now, I am hoping there are some photo nerds out there that can give me some insight etc as to if this camera is what I need.
Main use - Sports / outdoor photography, small videos every now and again.
PS: Looking at getting a Go Pro when I get a round to ordering one....will be a fine toy to play with in Maui!
4 comments:
first of all, i'm not a photo nerd ;) but i do shoot a lot of pictures so here i go...
for starters, this is not a real reflex camera, but a hybrid model.. meaning that is a combination of the compact camera's and the real stuff...
advantages are quit straightforward, you have a decent and changeable lens , the quality is much beter (i believe for this model it's 9 MP ?) and you have still the 'easiness' of point and shoot
also, the fuji camera's are quit fast, turning on and being able to shoot a picture is at most a couple of seconds, especially in sport this is a good feature !
the downside of not being a full drc, is that it hasn't got a image stabilizer, witch would be nice not only for sport but for any usage..
the best way to test a camera for you're needs is just to test it anyways... if you're main use is for sports, then go outside let your wife or kids jump up and down and do some interactive stuff, shoot and watch the pictures, if they don't turn out like you imagined, then its not a good one :)
but always keep in mind, the higher or more professional you go, the more specific it gets.. meaning if you take a pro sports camera, don't complain that it doesn't take good indoor family pictures in a bit darker places...
ow, just one more thing. filming with a photo camera is just not done !! photo is for taking photo's, recorders are for filming ;)
btw, the gopro is a real nice thing, but keep in mind, it especially meant for filming in the water while (wind)surfing, you can't zoom or anything with it... but is a very nice thing to have, i use it a lot, but you probably have noticed that a while ago :)
Thanks Sam, thought you would have some opinion on this. I used the camera a lot over the weekend, was surprised with its ease of use, it also took very good night shots. Still yet to use it our doors for sport or fast moving stuff.
We are in a bit of a conundrum, should we upgrade video camera, should we get better compact digital, should we get DSLR?
Decissions decissions!
I am leaning towards the HD Sony option, good video capture, also good camera function, good zoom etc.
Our little digital is suiting our point and snap needs well.
cheers,
My two penneth;
Make sure the camera isn’t precious, so when you lose, break or have it stolen it’s not going to make you too pouty. Make sure there’s enough zoom, especially for windsurfing photo’s (because we all want to see ourselves up close and personal) and finally be sure it can fit in your back pack with ease.
The GoPro is totally worth it and makes everything you do with it more fun.
Now run off and take those Koala pictures!
if i'm in you're case, i would choose the sony option to. especially for the sports section. video is still better from learning view and just so much cooler to watch :)
plus the sony you're wanting has indeed a relative good still function but you it is also possible to get snaps from you're video. in that way you be able to get some kick ass footage, while when you're taking photo's you'll have to click on the right time...
off course, the quality would never be the same, but still if you have to chose between the two, i would go for the sony option (and hoping that you'll get a reflex for you're next birthday :):):))
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