10 replies to this topic

[hovis]

although my £30 ebay kodak DX3600 has up to now been great, it cant take action shots, when out on the trials bikes, i need to press the button 1-2 seconds before the picture i want, which results in a lot of guess work. so..... time for a new one,



instant photo ?(i take it this is the shutter speed)
video camera would be nice
easy to transfer to PC
dont want loads of buttons & features to confuse me
small enough to fit in a fair size pocket

[copemech]

I seen the NEW Fuji S700 in the retail store for $225,(100 quid) I have not read all the specs but the advertized shutter lag was 1/10 sec. and it has a real lenz with good zoom. If it is anything like my older Fuji it will be a bargain at that price and still fit nicely in a bum bag. Its the latest and similar to the S5700 yet lower price.

worth a look!

Edited by copemech, 01 December 2007 - 11:53 PM.

[Slapshot 3]

hovis, on Dec 1 2007, 04:46 PM, said:

although my £30 ebay kodak DX3600 has up to now been great, it cant take action shots, when out on the trials bikes, i need to press the button 1-2 seconds before the picture i want, which results in a lot of guess work. so..... time for a new one,
instant photo ?(i take it this is the shutter speed)
video camera would be nice
easy to transfer to PC
dont want loads of buttons & features to confuse me
small enough to fit in a fair size pocket

Depends how much you want to spend but if you don't want to be confused...don't buy an SLR. The Fuji finepix range seem pretty useful, never tried one but the seem popular. Keep an eye on the likes of Argos over the next few weeks they can have some blinding bargains, especially just after christmas.

Personally Canon 30D Digi SLR

Hovis: Don't know where you are mate if you have a Jessops near you they have a fujifilm Finepix S5700 @£129, does Video as well

Edited by Slapshot 3, 01 December 2007 - 07:50 PM.

[2/4]

Vivitar compact seems to have dial based settings rather than having to find the right menu to go through to eventually get to the function you want. - less confusing perhaps?

[Dan Williams]

Check out a website called DPReview. You'll find more info there than anywhere else.

http://www.dpreview.com/

[eiaprilia]

check out the gadget shows website, they have tests up of the best cameras in different price brackets

[Boner]

Hovis,
Have a rummage on ebay for a canon IXUS 400. I'm kinda into my photography and mainly use Nikon DSLRs BUT when I'm out in the woods, something small like the Canon is bang-on for just stuffing in your pocket. The IXUS takes a cracking picture - and as the 400's now a slightly older model, you can pick them up dirt cheap.
Hope this helps - matt.

[hop blip and a jump]

Get your money out you miser!!!

C'mon look at how many times we have all been off in the last few days!!!

They would have been some sweet pics..

[arun1664]

I just got a S5700 off of Amazon UK for £104 inc delivery, seems a nice little camera to me but I haven't taken any pictures of bikes yet so not in a position to recommend.

[montaco]

I've had a Fuji S602Z for about 5 years. I't's giving a few problems now but has taken some super trials pictures over the years and suits me as it has the feel and bulk of the old SLRs I'd always used previously. It has a proper viewfinder and even an electronic "shutter click" but is probably a bit big to carry on a bike as it couldn't easily fit in a pocket and a padded bumbag is really needed for it.
Presumably the s5700 and the s6500 are the more up to date replacements for this model?.
I'm planning on taking a look at the s6500 at an early opportunity, prices are now about a third of what I paid for the S602Z.
My son has had a couple of the Fuji compact digitals which also have been excellent and are easy to fit in a jacket pocket but I just can't get on with waving them about in front of my face trying to hold them steady and frame the picture on the LCD screen, give me a viewfinder any time, especially for action shots.
And the Fuji service shop can be highly recommended if anything does go wrong with their cameras.

[steve]

Hi,

The problem with Trials photography is shooting conditions are rarely perfect, you are often in dark woods ect.. Because you need a fast shutter speed to capture the action you'll have to bump the iso up a bit to get anything that's not blurred. With a compact camera you'll get a lot of 'noise' above 200 iso. This is where an SLR comes into it's own comfortably shooting at 400 or 800 with little or no noise. However you want it pocketable which pretty much rules out an SLR.

I would look at some of the Fuji's which have very good low light performance for their size (something to do with their super ccd sensor apparently - check out their web site for technicalities). Try looking for reviews on the F31fd or F41fd on dpreview or steve's digicam. Pay particular attention to the high iso results.

Another great little camera is the Panasonic Lumix TZ3. It is compact yet has a fantastic 12x zoom lens starting with a nice wide angle 2.8.
I use the Panasonic Lumix FZ8 which is very similar to the TZ3 though in a larger case with viewfinder. There are lots of 'scene' modes and plenty of manual control if you want it. The menus and interface are very easy to navigate through and in the right conditions take some very nice pictures. The 'burst' shoot is about 3fps which is handy. The video isn't too bad either although the zoom is disabled whilst shooting.

Let us know what you decide,
Steve.