Digital Camera Question

[vjmartin]

Is the ISO equivalent very important?

I'm looking at the Fuji Finepix 2800 zoom, but when DD saw that it is only ISO equivalent 100 he said I needed something more to take action shots (such as softball games, etc.), something like his SLR camera has ISO 100,200, 400 & 800. Since its digital does it matter? The guy at the camera store could not answer my question. Would this camera be able to take great action shots?

This will be my first digital camera please help.

Thanks,

vjmartin

 

[Ashwyn]

Taking a picture with it set at 100 or 200 - if it is an 'action' shot, it will be VERY blurry. Taking it at 400, makes it less blurry - if I remember correctly, its the same as buying 100, 200, 400, etc type film? Not exactly sure how to explain it.. hope this helps. My digital camera goes up to 400 and I have seen a big difference while experimenting with these settings.

 

[StilesMom]

I agree....we experimented with ours alot (using manual settings vs. automatic settings) and we noticed a big difference between 100 and 400. Not only is 400 better for action shots, but it is much better for low-light shots.

 

[vjmartin]

Thanks for your help.

That answered my question I will *not* get that digital camera. I really need something with the higher ISO for action shots. I guess it's back to the digital camera search.

Thanks again.

vjmartin

 

[mudd]

Thanks for the informations about the ISO we had also considered the Fuji 2800, but just recently found Olympus c700. Still doing research, but my husband was looking for as much optical zoom as we could get the olympus has ISO of 100, 800, 400, 200 plus an optical zoom of 10X. Will need more memory.

 

[StilesMom]

mudd - I wouldn't recommend the Olympus C700 Ultra Zoom. My sister in law has one and the zoom only works well with a tripod. The camera does not have image stabilization.

We went to Disney together and noticed a big difference between their photos and ours. We didn't have the zoom capability (we've got the Olympus C3000) but our shots were much clearer compared to their zoomed ones. (When they didn't zoom, the shots were very similar.) We found that by cropping and enlarging our shots before getting them developed, we got very nice zoomed-in prints.

Two other negative features we noticed.... we didn't like their digital viewfinder and their pop-up flash. Some of their shots didn't turn out at all because they didn't use a flash. Because it's a pop-up, it isn't automatic.

Of course everyone has their own opinions and priorities, but I hope this gives you some info to go on.

 

[waltandjulie]

Thanks for the info. We too were considering the Olympus Ultra Zoom (but the C-720...the new model). I guess we'll stay away from that one. Anybody know anything about the Minolta S404? It has a 4X optical zoom and 4+Megapixels. Any other suggestions for mid-proced digital cameras, preferably with zoom so that we can see what the picture looks like when we take it?

 

[keithomas]

Taking action shots with ISO 100 film is not a problem for ANY camera....IF...you have enough light. The lower the film speed (100, 200, 400, 800, etc) the more light you need to get a particular shutter speed.

For example, for a picture that requires a shutter speed of 1/350 th of a second using ISO 100 might only require 1/750 th of a second using ISO 400. If it is a bright outside situation ISO 100 isn't a problem for action shots. If you are inside or otherwise dimly lit then ISO 100 will be problem.

One note about digital images shot at ISO 400 and 800 equivalent is that the images are usually very "grainy" looking. (just like faster film)

 

[thegunterfamily]

I like my 2800 but here is the key the only real way to do it right with blurry is a real camera. Canon Rebel. Plus if you add a decent flash night shots will be awesome!

 

[dBugged]

For digital, you might want to check out the Canon G2 or the Canon Elph S-110 (I think they have a new model out now). Both work fine for action shots and have at least a 2x optical zoom. The Elph is 2mp and the G2 is 4mp. They also have cheaper models out like the Canon S30 (3mp) and S40 (4mp). Most these cameras can go up to ISO 400 and can be tweaked up the wazoo.

All of these cameras take excellent night shots, if you learn how to work them and know how to mess with their manual features (versus letting the camera automatically do all of the work).

I love my G2 and will use it at Disney for the first time in September. My disney site has lots of pix -- almost all taken with an Epson 800 digital or a Elph 110 digital, both at 2mp.

FYI - DO NOT use digital zoom if you camera has it. It will make the pictures look crappy. A few of you mentioned cameras that didn't look good when zoomed -- I'll bet this is the problem.

 

[keithomas]

A week ago in WDW with my Minolta Dimage7. Yes it is a 5 MP camera, but it doesn't cost much more than the G2. (which I do like by the way)

These pictures have been greatly reduced in size for posting on the web, but should give you an idea.

Trip report pics

 

[prplcrzy]

bump

 

[waltandjulie]

We went with the Cannon S40 and I love it. We've only had it for a week, but I have already taken 40-50 pictures. I'll be more selective when it comes time to print.

 

[rwkoehler]

I have a definitely positive opinion about the Olympus C700 Ultra Zoom. I have owned it for over half a year, taken probably over 1500 pictures, and I think it is an excellent camera. It is the only camera I have found with anything over a 4X optical zoom. The 10X zoom is superb and, in daylight or even in lowlight on a tripod with auto shutter release, I have had no problems with blurring at all – zoom or no. I am not sure what the problem the other person was having with all his zoom pictures being blurred. Digital zooms are not worth it at all, in my opinion, because of the blurring. Optical is the only way to go and nothing I found six months ago even comes close to a true, 10X optical zoom.

The Olympus has ISO settings up to 800 and an auto setting for taking action pictures that I use quite often. That works very well. I am still experimenting to see how best to reduce camera shake in indoor and low-light shots without the tripod. I don’t know that there is an answer to that. However, the flash works very well for indoor shots. The flash is a pop-up model but it also has a setting to force a flash regardless of lighting conditions. That is particularly useful in situations with bright back lighting.

The Olympus also has many more settings, which can give you complete control over many different settings on the camera. I am no camera expert and have not gotten into nearly as many of these as I will be able to in the future.

There are three quality settings and I use the middle setting almost all of the time. Pictures are created at about 400-500K, which is good for emailing. The highest resolution creates images at about 1000K, which are a bit unwieldy for emailing. At the middle setting, I can get 128 pictures on at 64K memory card. I have two 64K memory cards. I also have three sets of 4, AA rechargeable batteries, which I just rotate. However, I use the viewfinder a lot that takes a lot of juice and I still seldom exhaust a set of batteries during a single day’s use, even when I take 50 or more pictures. There is a battery saver function that can be set to automatically turn off the camera within anywhere from 30 sec. to 5 minutes.

In summary, I think it is an excellent choice. You should also be able to get it for under $400 now although I paid over $500 for it. The 64k cards retail for about $50 apiece but you might be able to get them considerably cheaper over the internet as well.