Digi Camara

[Palmer]

Alrite people.
Thinking of getting this for my b-day.
What do yopu lot think?

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5604566/Trail/C%24cip%3D36801.Photography%3EC%24cip%3D36810.Digi tal%2Bcameras.htm

[LeighJauncey]

It depends - what sort of pictures you want to take?

[Palmer]

WEll i would like to take some photos of still things and also some when my hawk is flying.

[LeighJauncey]

Have a look at this:-

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=85278

The little point and shoot aren't too good for flight shots - this is bulkier but much more flexible for a variety of shots - the 10x optical zoom is also very useful - at 3x your bird would have to be really close for flight shots. I've found a bigger optical zoom is also excellent for getting 'natural' portraits of birds. The first review also commends the action shots which means the shutter lag must be pretty small.

[Palmer]

So would you say that was a good camara for what i want then?
Thanks for the help.

[Barn Owl]

If you want to take shots of your bird in the air you will need an SLR, all other point and click cameras suffer with shutter lag, ie when you press the button there is a delay, sometimes up to about a second, before the photo is taken.

[LeighJauncey]

I presume you don't mean a dslr? If you want to use film that's a whole new ball game. My fuji s5500 has a lag of 0.05s which isn't bad - if you want to stay digital for all of the reasons digital is so popular then you have to compromise - the great thing about digital is that you can take dozens of pictures and keep the decent one! The kodak looks a good camera and that's a great deal on the price.

[Barn Owl]

The only difference between Digital SLR and a film SLR is the media which the photo is recorded on.
Any shutter lag will greatly reduce the chance of catching a bird in flight. I grant you that some are better than others regarding shutter lag, but you still won't beat the DSLR.

[Palmer]

I think i will stick with the digitle as they load on to the comp easy and like LJ said you can delete the ones you dont want.
Thanks anyway though.

[GregMik]

Bob,
By the price of the camera he is looking at, I would say a dSLR is out of his price range.

HH,
The pictures that Tasha and I get are from a dSLR. If you can test the camera you are getting or look into the specs. Check out the shutter lag. You will find that this will be one of the most important things when taking action shots. Another thing to check would be continuous shooting modes. Get one that shots a few frames per second for action. If price is not a big deal then a dSLR is the way to go. If not.....I really can't give any advice as I don't know much about the piont and shoot cams.

Greg

[Barn Owl]

Some nice shots there Gregmik, what lense are you using?

[Mr_Colin]

Personally I wouldn't touch any of those camera's with a barge pole due to the shutter lag. As Bob says the only way forward if you want actions shots on digital then you have to go for the DSLR, if you cant afford it now then as the moult is coming up, save your pennies and you can get one for a couple of hundred pounds more and you will love it.

Many years I have used DSLR's and if there was a shutter lag I wouldn't get the shots of the Red Arrows that I have got in the past.

If your choosing the camera because as you say it's easy to download your pics then that comment is just plain daft. If you load the software that comes with any camera it is designed to download the pics. You can even buy a card reader and plug it into your usb and your pc will see it as an extra harddrive and you can then just copy and paste. It couldn't be simpler.

Try this one and then you just need to buy a longer lens, it's perfect for you.

http://www.calumetphoto.co.uk/item/355-050A.html?type=topten

[Palmer]

I think im going to have a look around more but the DSLR camaras do look good. I think they would be the right way to go.

[Barn Owl]

Have a look on Ebay, something like a Canon D30 will cost you around £200 plus the price of a lens.

[Palmer]

Seem any good?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-EOS-D30-Digital-SLR-Camera-Body_W0QQitemZ7594120219QQcategoryZ31388QQrdZ1QQcm dZViewItem

[Barn Owl]

Yes, but don't forget you'll need a good lens to go with it as that one is body only auction.
I have had 2 Canon D30's and they are great, a proper camera, and don't let the 3million pixels put you off, images are brilliant.

[Mr_Colin]

depends on what you are going to do with them Bob, but it is a nice starter camera I will agree there

[GregMik]

Some nice shots there Gregmik, what lense are you using?

We have two....a Canon 100-400L f4.5 and a Canon 70-200L f2.8. We also have a 1.4 telextender. Tasha and I both have a Canon 20D. I tried a Rebel XT but didn't like downgrading. I traded the Rebel in for the second 20D.

Greg