Camera's

[LessThanSte]

OK, someone appears to have deleted this previous post of mine, just when i needed it to check some stuff and give my dad an actual idea of what i wanted!

Anyway, he seems to be thinking it would be better to get one of these 'not-quite-SLR' camera's, rather than a full blown, and more expensive SLR.

At the moment, he's looking at the Fujifilm S9600

Has anyone used this, and is it any good. The spec's look pretty nifty, 9 megapixel and a permanently bolted on 28-300mm lens which sounds nice!

Theres an optional wide lens thing for another £100, dont exactly know what it does though :|

Thoughts?

[LessThanSte]

Oh, also, can i adjust shutter speeds on this, or is that something found purely on SLR camera's?

[pickup]

Thoughts?

Not really!

[jonv]

I bought an S9500 part the way through last season.
Seems similar spec to the S9600 - 9MP 28-300mm. Not sure about the wide lens.
It is possible to change shutter speed.
Results can be seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jon_veal

[Reynard]

You can vary the shutter speed on most cams, except the most basic.

Integrated digicams such as what you describe aren't the ideal piece of equipment if you are looking at anything beyond holiday / family snaps. If you want to shoot action, you will need an SLR for several reasons, not just the interchangeable lenses.

Firstly, integrated digicams have an electronic shutter as opposed to a manual one. The click you hear when you press the shutter is just a sound effect, it isn't the actual noise of a mechanical shutter blind like you get in an SLR. The problem with electronic shutters is LAG. LOTS OF LAG. What this means is that there is a noticeable delay between pressing the shutter release and the picture actually being taken - and with action photography, there is nothing more frustrating than missed shots. An SLR had a shutter response of a few milliseconds and it really does make a world of difference.

Secondly, sensor size. The sensor in an integrated digicam is about the size of a small fingernail whereas that in a typical DSLR is at least an inch along the longest side. What this means is bigger pixels - in practice this gives you better resolution, far less noise in the image and superior perfomance at higher ISO ratings. The smaller the pixels the more noise in the image. Also, pixel density isn't everything - I use a 6.3 megapixel SLR that is 4-year-old technology and it produces stunning images.

Thirdly, aperture limitation. Most integrated digicams have a maximum aperture of f2.8. That's fine for low light / wide angle stuff, but they are limited to a minimum aperture of f8, or if you are lucky, f11. That limitation really becomes a problem when you want to shoot in good daylight at slow (well < 1/250s) shutter speeds to do things like pan shots. If you set your shutter speed and ISO, you can only vary the exposure through the aperture, and if you can't close it down beyond f8, you will consistently overexpose your shots. If you see that a typical SLR lens closes down to f22, you can see the point - for pan shots, I am typically shooting f11 through to f16 depending on the lighting conditions and the shutter speed I've selected.

Fourthly, an integrated mega-zoom will not have brilliant optics - unlike the equivalent (and unfortunately more expensive) SLR lenses. You will find that resolution and colour rendition isn't so good and some will give you some not-very-nice chromatic aberration. A good rule of thumb for zoom lenses is that the maximum focal length is no more than 4 times the minimum focal length.

Fifthly, red eye. On integrated cameras, the flash is far too close to the lens - this is the cause of red eye as folk looking directly at the camera are also looking directly at the flash. Some integrated cameras can take external flashes, but these are exceptions rather than the rule. The flash on DSLRs tend to be better, but you do have the certainty of being able to purchase an external flash unit.

Lastly, flexibility. With an integrated camera, you have what you have and that is it. With an SLR, you can buy the bits that you need and want and expand your system to meet your needs.

Hope this will be a persuasive argument to sway your dad! ;)

[LessThanSte]

Thanks very much.

The issue for me, or rather, my dad is, i suspect, cost. It appears that we can get this for abotu 300 quid, whereas a typical DSLR unti is gonna cost 400 odd and another 150 or so for a lens. For a student, thats scary!

In essence what i really want is the ability to take non blurry photos of cars and stuff at race tracks, and maybe the odd few arty photos as and when i see fit. I also do like the option of having video, which SLR cam's cant do!

As for shutter lag, i believe that it is 0.01 between pressing the button and getting the picture, so hardly noticeable really (assuming im reading the right thing!)

Hmmm!

[71minus2]

Call me old fashioned but i like my Fuji S5000. I have bought a wide angle lens (this adds to the field of vision by 90%), filters and a 1.54x telephoto to boost the zoom to 16x optical.

Fuji camera's can go fully manual or fully auto. Full manual is really easy if you read the instructions (note to self!).

I have a friendly Jessops store near my office so if in doubt nip in there.

Oh, and the XD cards Fuji run are cheap. Get a H type 1gig which is really quick.

Hope this helps

Richard.

[LessThanSte]

filters and a 1.54x telephoto to boost the zoom to 16x optical.


Where did you get these from. Im looking at the accesories for the 9600 now and it doesnt mention those? Are they only for the 5000? Does tha 9600 actually have the capability to use them?

[pickup]

I thought i was in the wrong place has this suddenly become a photograpy forum, at least post it O/T as i get all exited when i see a new thread expecting it to be associated with SCSA racing!

[LessThanSte]

Whats the obsession within these forums with ptuting O/T everywhere. I think the topic gives away it probably isnt about SCSA, but knowing a few people here, a fair few of whom use camera's a lot at the rock, it seemed like a sensible place to ask!

[pickup]

Whats the obsession within these forums with ptuting O/T everywhere. I think the topic gives away it probably isnt about SCSA, but knowing a few people here, a fair few of whom use camera's a lot at the rock, it seemed like a sensible place to ask!

Because if the thread starts with O/T invariably it's absolutely nothing to do with racing so i don't bother reading it!
Even though the title said CAMERA i thought there might be some mention of motorsport somewhere along the line not just paragraphs of technical photography jargon.
What's the obsession on this forum with talking about all things not associated with SCSA racing.
Surely there must be a dedicated photography forum where you can discuss all technical aspects of your hobby.

[LessThanSte]

non blurry photos of cars and stuff at race tracks

That not good enough for you? :P

[pickup]

That not good enough for you? :P

Yeah sorry completely missed that in depth discussion on the relevant aspects of stock car racing!

[hicksy]

Because if the thread starts with O/T invariably it's absolutely nothing to do with racing so i don't bother reading it!
Even though the title said CAMERA i thought there might be some mention of motorsport somewhere along the line not just paragraphs of technical photography jargon.
What's the obsession on this forum with talking about all things not associated with SCSA racing.
Surely there must be a dedicated photography forum where you can discuss all technical aspects of your hobby.


OK so O/T was not mentioned. Perhaps this can be amended in the title?? I am curious thought as to why you posted your first message in this thread and obviously you had a fair idea what it was about, yet came back 2 hours later to complain.

Anyway, it is a valid question. Posted in a place where you know you will get a sensible reply from someone who may know something about the subject. By going to a photograhy forum you have to first register etc... then wait for someone you dont know or trust and then rely on their judgement.

I hope that explains (from my point of view anyway).

Rob

[corbygal]

I think asking people you know and having a lot of photographers on here, it is a good place to ask.

As for cameras I have used. I did get used to my Fuji s5500, which is not a bit past its sell by date lol. I was looking at the s9500, but it cost about £350 at the time, and thought I'd be better off buying a digital SLR, which I now have done (thanks to one of the photographers from here for £410 altogether). I own a Canon Eos 10D, with a 35-80mm lense and a 75mm-300mm. I haven't put it to good use yet, but practising with it seems so much better than my old one.

I think for the use you want, and the money issue, you should probably go for a the s9500 or the s9600. If you want to do a professional job of it, go for a digital SLR. You may have a shutter delay on it slightly, but you will get used to it. I managed to get used it, but I did have more blurry cars than nonblurry ones! lol.

Also for anyone who wants to buy my old camera (fuji s5500) I'll be putting it up on ebay soon, unless anyone here is interested in it. It's not a very high spec, but for the average person sitting in the crowd it can be quite useful. It's got 10x optical zoom, 4 megapixels, manual/auto settings, adapter ring (for additional lenses, such as wide angle lenses) and I'll chuck in a 512mb memory card.

I'm looking forward to using the digital SLR at the Rock, although I need more memory and batteries first! lol.

[71minus2]

Where did you get these from. Im looking at the accesories for the 9600 now and it doesnt mention those? Are they only for the 5000? Does tha 9600 actually have the capability to use them?

I got the lenses from Jessops. The manufacturer is raynox, their website has loads of info including compatibility charts for other cameras.

Richard

[Abo]

Whats the obsession within these forums with ptuting O/T everywhere. I think the topic gives away it probably isnt about SCSA, but knowing a few people here, a fair few of whom use camera's a lot at the rock, it seemed like a sensible place to ask!

Nettiquette

[SteveA]

Don't forget the official Canon outlet on eBay (which Corbygal doesn't trust!)

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Canon-Outlet

Run by Digital River (for Canon)

However there's no need to be worried - they use eBay as the bidding engine, but the purchase is processed by Digital River's own secure system.

All the stuff is factory refurbished by Canon and comes with a full warranty. Its got to be better than second hand, where you don't know the condition of the goods and there's no come-back.

[JovialJooles]

OK, someone appears to have deleted this previous post of mine, just when i needed it to check some stuff and give my dad an actual idea of what i wanted!

erm... no, it's still there. http://www.motorsportforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=165696&postcount=24

It's a shame that you are obviously incapable of looking through 4 pages of threads before deciding to slag 'someone' off.

It's also a shame that you omitted to put O/T in front of this thread heading (and start a new thread), as like pickup, I thought the thread had something to do with SCSA and motorsport.

PLEASE, in future put O/T infront of your threads.

[bowler900]

I have the 9500 which is the predecessor to the 9600, I also had the S602Z which was similar a few years ago. Its a great camera and very flexible the only thing I have against it is the resolution of the the LCD viewfinder its a bit low and in lowish light is very noisy however this is not reflected in the quality of the photograph.

On high resolution saving is slowish so taking high speed motor racing pics you sometimes miss things but I have not tried another camera with this resolution and file size.

Overall I find it a very good camera, I am now on my 3rd Fuji and have been happy with all of them.

[Mark]

To avoid further upset I'm putting this in Chit Chat where it is supposed to be. I think you've gotten all the info you are going to get from the SCSA people anyway, so lets open it to a wider audience.

[Abo]

Bloody hell, handbags at dawn...

[Abo]

On high resolution saving is slowish so taking high speed motor racing pics you sometimes miss things but I have not tried another camera with this resolution and file size.

This could be down to the speed of the memory card you're using. The 9600 takes CompactFlash cards as well as XD, so grab something like a 2GB SanDisk Ultra II; you can get them from eBay for about £20, or 2GB Extreme III, about £30 from eBay.

[LessThanSte]

It's a shame that you are obviously incapable of looking through 4 pages of threads before deciding to slag 'someone' off.


Did look actually, 3 or 4 times, but was looking for something entitled Camera's and therefore missed it. Oops!

Anyway, thanks SCSA people for your help, il let you know how it goes!

[badgerbaiter]

my first visit to the scsa forum in a few years... glad to see nothing changes (although the server is faster!)