Another request for camera recommendations

[montanafan]

I had a Canon AE-1 for many years and I have a Digital Rebel now, but I've never owned or even really looked much at compact cameras. I did a search of the many threads here about cameras, but none have mentioned exactly what I'm looking for.

Instead of listing features, I'll just say that I'm looking for something that's compact, good in low light situations, and good for indoor sports.

I know that because of their size no compact camera is going to give you a great image in these situations, but I have the Digital Rebel when I know ahead of time that I'm going to I really need that. It's just that I don't want to have to have the Rebel with me all the time and situations come up, especially at work, when I unexpectedly need a camera and the low light and indoor sports or activities are usually a part of what I need to shoot.

I'd like to get a compact camera that I can just carry in my briefcase or pocketbook that would do a decent job when I'm asked to shoot an activity that I didn't know about ahead of time.

Can anyone recommend some that might be applicable for me to research?

 

[OleGeezer]

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/s80.html

 

[Ornery]

compact, good in low light situations

Mutually exclusive due to tiny lens. Only hope is a decent AF assist light, but none have it. Sony used to include the Hologram autofocus assist on the pocket sized V1, but it's discontinued. The replacement V3 has it, but it's much larger. Snag a used DSC-V1 if you can find one. Best compromise available in a pocketable camera.

 

[montanafan]

OleGeezer, I checked out the S80 and though it does look like an excellent camera for low light situations, I'm not convinced it would be what I'm looking for when it comes to the indoor sports. It does have the Kids and Pets mode for moving subjects, but it's limited to an ISO of 400 and I'd need something that would give me decent image quality at an ISO of at least 800 combined with a high shutter speed because of the lighting in the gym where I'd be shooting.

Nice camera though! Thanks for the link.


Ornery, that sounds like what I'm looking for with the AF-assist and the ISO 800 combined with shutter speeds up to 1/2000th. I don't know what my luck would be in finding a used one around here so that I could try it out and make sure everything is in good working order. I'm just too afraid of getting one that's been used and abused to shop for a used one online.

Great recommendation for the requirements I have though. Thanks.

 

[jpeyton]

The only camera you should be looking at is the Fuji F10. It will embarrass any other P&S digicam at ISO 400 and up.

 

[ActuaryTm]

Originally posted by: Ornery
compact, good in low light situations

Mutually exclusive due to tiny lens. Only hope is a decent AF assist light, but none have it. Sony used to include the Hologram autofocus assist on the pocket sized V1, but it's discontinued. The replacement V3 has it, but it's much larger. Snag a used DSC-V1 if you can find one. Best compromise available in a pocketable camera.

I was utterly shocked and surprised to read the above post.

 

[montanafan]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
The only camera you should be looking at is the Fuji F10. It will embarrass any other P&S digicam at ISO 400 and up.

I've been considering the Fuji F10 because of the high quality at ISO 800 and even ISO 1600 for smaller prints, but in researching it I've found plenty of examples of how great it is in low light situations, but hardly any for indoor sports. I've been to all the sites I can think of that show you a large variety of sample shots by camera, but none of them show any indoor sports shot with the Fuji F10. I gather that either people with the F10 either don't like indoor sports, or more likely, the camera isn't great in that situation.

Do you have any examples or know where I could see some examples of what it can do with indoor sports?

 

[myusername]

there's probably a reason you don't see many indoor sports pics from a p&s. If you do decide on the F10 though, I believe I read over at f@twallet that Target has it for $199 which is a hell of a deal (normally 300+ at target, 260-ish on the web). It's a pisser that I pulled the trigger on a $260 Canon SD400 the day before it went on sale.

 

[montanafan]

Wow, thanks, myusername! That is a good price, much better than any I've seen anywhere else. I think the cheapest new I saw was around $269 at Amazon, but they are also offering a large memory card (I can't remember which it uses) with it.


Now if I could just find out what to expect from attempting indoor sports shots. It's mostly for the occasional unplanned pep rally and that sort of thing, but I have to take those sorts of photos pretty often. High school kids just don't stand still very often.

Thanks again.

 

[jpeyton]

Shooting indoor sports with a DSLR and a fast lens is a problem at times; with a P&S digicam, you are going to end up with a lot of duds.

Gyms are often unevenly and poorly lit. You need a powerful flash if you're using a zoom lens, or a very fast prime lens if you are shooting with natural light.

The fastest lens on a P&S digicam is on a Panasonic Lumix FZ10 (or something similar); it's F2.8 across the entire focal range. But the Fuji F10 is the only P&S digicam that will give you useable images at ISO800.

The Canon S80 goes south once you go past ISO200 (examples here). Compare to the high ISO samples for the F10 here.

Of course, even with the F10, you will get a lot of duds. Outdoor sports shouldn't be as hard though.

 

[yhelothar]

Agreed.. get the Fuji F10.

 

[tnitsuj]

FUJI FTW

I have no idea what FTW means though.

 

[Ornery]

It's just that I don't want to have to have the Rebel with me all the time and situations come up, especially at work, when I unexpectedly need a camera and the low light and indoor sports or activities are usually a part of what I need to shoot.

That indoor sports shooting is out of the question for anything you can carry around in your pocket or purse all the time... period. I would think you'd know ahead of time you'll be at a sporting event, and have your good camera.

For low light, you'll be disappointed by all cameras that fit easily in a pocket.

 

[montanafan]

jpeyton, yeah I really like the low light results with the Fuji F10 at ISO 800 and 1600 that I've seen and that would work even in our poorly lit gym when I can get the shot at that moment when the movement is slowed or paused momentarily. The only samples I've seen of movement is bad lighting conditions though are a few of people dancing at parties etc. and those were up close with the flash. Might work when I'm right under the basket or something like that. Like you said, I'd have to take a lot of shots and sift through a lot of duds. Thanks.



Ornery, sure I take the 300D with me when I go to a scheduled game and it does a good job. Here are some photos I took at basketball games last week:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d112/montanafan/IMG_6189abc.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d112/montanafan/IMG_6342ab.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d112/montanafan/IMG_6366ab.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d112/montanafan/IMG_6367ab.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d112/montanafan/IMG_6190ab.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d112/montanafan/IMG_6368ab.jpg

As you can see from the photos the lighting in the gym I shoot in most of the time is horrible for photography.

It's just that there are lots of days when someone will come to me during the school day and say they have this or that going on that they'd like me to take photos of and I don't have the Rebel with me because it's too cold to leave it in the car and I don't have anywhere to lock it up in my room when I'm out of it. In most parts of the school a point and shoot that's good in low light would be alright, but a lot of the activities take place in the gym like unscheduled pep rallies and other activities the teacher didn't tell me about ahead of time and I just don't have the camera with me.

Unless I can find something small enough to lock up in my desk or carry in my pocketbook or briefcase that'll get the job done, I'm just going to have to keep telling them, "Sorry I don't have my camera with me." I've missed some good stuff because of it though.

 

[Ornery]

A nice flash (with LONG reach) works wonders, but you still won't be carrying that around either.

Those folks you work with would piss me off. I know you don't charge them money for your effort, yet they can't be bothered to even give you a day's notice. :roll:

Maybe you'll have to track down some kind of gear box that is easily portable and can be secured.

 

[montanafan]

Originally posted by: Ornery
A nice flash (with LONG reach) works wonders, but you still won't be carrying that around either.

Those folks you work with would piss me off. I know you don't charge them money for your effort, yet they can't be bothered to even give you a day's notice. :roll:

Maybe you'll have to track down some kind of gear box that is easily portable and can be secured.

I like the looks of those. Probably would be better for protecting my equipment from the falls or bumps it could take from high school kids not watching what they're doing than my soft camera bag would.

Things aren't very secure when left in our rooms though. The same key unlocks every classroom door and every adult around the school has one. Teachers and janitors tend to unlock other classrooms to let a student in who has forgotten something etc. all the time and then not lock them back. And there are times when hardly anyone is out in the hallways or in different parts of the building at different times. It would be pretty hard for someone to hide one of those in their locker though.

I guess maybe I should look into investing in something like that instead of the point and shoot camera.

I've left memos in the teacher's mailboxes and had announcements made to the effect that they need to let me know at least a day in advance of something they want photographed. You'd think that along with the many times I've had to tell them I don't have my camera with me would take care of the problem, but it hasn't. I guess they're just used to having smaller cameras at home and don't think about how much equipment you have to lug around to take certain types of photos.

Thanks for the advice, Ornery.

 

[Ornery]

Guess who just purchased the last (non floor model) DSC-V1 at our local Sears? Guess who purchased one of the last two DSC-V1s at Sears Randall Park? Nope wasn't me, but it was my mother-in-law, and her sister-in-law. :Q

I didn't realize it was my wife's aunt who was looking for a digital camera when her mom asked me for advice. I can see my mother-in-law using it, but not her husband's sister! She's about 74 years old, and can barely check her email. This is so stupid, it's pathetic!

Alexandra, if this camera ends up on its way back to Sears, would you like to buy it instead? I'm going to see about getting a better fit camera for my wife's aunt. Not sure what, but I just can't see her screwing around with the V1. I'll be showing her and my wife's mom how to use it tomorrow, but I'll be trying like hell to talk her into a more simple, cheaper unit. It's so wasted on her it makes me sick!

512MB Memory Stick, Lithium Ion C series battery, Dedicated flash (though your current flash will work)

 

[0roo0roo]

isn't there a fuji with a slr type sensor now? not the full frame, but the one right below... 3/4 or something

 

[montanafan]

Hey Ornery, I checked out your links to Steve's Digicam's and Image Resourcing and it looks like a really nice camera. I like the looks of the flash as well, but it's a little more expensive piece of equipment than I was looking for just as a spare to carry around at school.

I'd like to get the school to buy something through the yearbook budget to have for the kids to use. They have one of the ancient Sonys that uses floppy disks right now somewhere, but no one can find it most of the time when they need one. I won't know what the yearbook budget can afford until at least April. I figure by then that you'll have either already returned it or your aunt will have learned how to use it, but if we can afford it I'll give you a yell just in case.

Thanks, I appreciate the offer.