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#1
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using digital camera on the mountain
Unexpected tax refund made me thinking.. What's a good camera to
take on the mountain, and more importantly, what's the technique? I did get a couple of decent snaps with my digital Minolta F-100 (4MP, 3x optical zoom). I was setting everything to manual - this camera actually allows that. Minimum aperture (f8 I think), fixed focus (~20 feet), fixed shutter (minimum), ISO 100. Then gave the camera to my friend and instructed her to not use LCD but use an eyepiece, and just press shutter release and hold it keeping the rider (myself) in frame. This produced a series of shots, and out of about 8 a couple were actually pretty good. Here's one: http://www.azazello.net/misc/sb.jpg Now that camera is gone for good and I'm thinking about getting a new one. Having a big zoom is desirable I guess, but at the same time would you be comfortable riding with big hard objects in the backpack? This just doesn't seem to be a good idea to me, back injuries are among the worst. Something slim and easily pocketable seems to be the ticket, but those cameras only have 3x zoom at best. Also, manual controls are a concern. I'm not sure even the latest consumer cameras can handle focusing on fast moving targets on the snow. Snow usually throws their metering off and they overexpose like crazy. Maybe a pocket-size camera and a telephoto add-on lens would do the job? Anyway, if you have any positive experience with taking action shots while snowboarding, please share. TIA! -- Dmitry |
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#2
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using digital camera on the mountain
I use an Olympus S300 - 3.2MP/3xOptical smaller then a deck of cards. Works
pretty good - slim and water resistant - has yet to fog. I carry it in my chest pocket. 27 days and no problems yet. It also has video capture which is not amazing but i consider it pretty good. "Dmitry" wrote in message news:Z0x0c.89826$4o.113910@attbi_s52... Unexpected tax refund made me thinking.. What's a good camera to take on the mountain, and more importantly, what's the technique? I did get a couple of decent snaps with my digital Minolta F-100 (4MP, 3x optical zoom). I was setting everything to manual - this camera actually allows that. Minimum aperture (f8 I think), fixed focus (~20 feet), fixed shutter (minimum), ISO 100. Then gave the camera to my friend and instructed her to not use LCD but use an eyepiece, and just press shutter release and hold it keeping the rider (myself) in frame. This produced a series of shots, and out of about 8 a couple were actually pretty good. Here's one: http://www.azazello.net/misc/sb.jpg Now that camera is gone for good and I'm thinking about getting a new one. Having a big zoom is desirable I guess, but at the same time would you be comfortable riding with big hard objects in the backpack? This just doesn't seem to be a good idea to me, back injuries are among the worst. Something slim and easily pocketable seems to be the ticket, but those cameras only have 3x zoom at best. Also, manual controls are a concern. I'm not sure even the latest consumer cameras can handle focusing on fast moving targets on the snow. Snow usually throws their metering off and they overexpose like crazy. Maybe a pocket-size camera and a telephoto add-on lens would do the job? Anyway, if you have any positive experience with taking action shots while snowboarding, please share. TIA! -- Dmitry |
#3
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using digital camera on the mountain
"Dmitry" wrote in message news:Z0x0c.89826$4o.113910@attbi_s52...
Unexpected tax refund made me thinking.. What's a good camera to take on the mountain, and more importantly, what's the technique? I did get a couple of decent snaps with my digital Minolta F-100 (4MP, 3x optical zoom). I was setting everything to manual - this camera actually allows that. Minimum aperture (f8 I think), fixed focus (~20 feet), fixed shutter (minimum), ISO 100. Then gave the camera to my friend and instructed her to not use LCD but use an eyepiece, and just press shutter release and hold it keeping the rider (myself) in frame. This produced a series of shots, and out of about 8 a couple were actually pretty good. Here's one: http://www.azazello.net/misc/sb.jpg Now that camera is gone for good and I'm thinking about getting a new one. Having a big zoom is desirable I guess, but at the same time would you be comfortable riding with big hard objects in the backpack? This just doesn't seem to be a good idea to me, back injuries are among the worst. Something slim and easily pocketable seems to be the ticket, but those cameras only have 3x zoom at best. Also, manual controls are a concern. I'm not sure even the latest consumer cameras can handle focusing on fast moving targets on the snow. Snow usually throws their metering off and they overexpose like crazy. Maybe a pocket-size camera and a telephoto add-on lens would do the job? Anyway, if you have any positive experience with taking action shots while snowboarding, please share. TIA! What happened to your camera? The F-100 is a nice camera for snowboarding photos. Here are a few photos that I've taken a few years ago - http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=ChangArvin&AID=1380965 Are you sure that snow causes your camera to overexpose? I've found that when the scene is predominantly snow, it fools the camera into underexposing (because it thinks that the white snow is some type of very bright object). So to compensate I usually use +0.5-0.7 EV exposure compensation or spot meter off an object. I usually shoot with a polarizing filter in either shutter priority or manual mode. In sunny weather I am usually using minimum apeture (F8) although I might go wider to get at least a 1/250s shutter speed. In general I usually prefocused off a point by aiming at where the rider will be in 2 seconds (very easy for jumps) and half-pressing the shutter button. I have used fixed focus as well (prefocusing and then switching to manul focus mode). As for zoom I agree that a bigger lens can be useful, but not always. In the past I've used a Olympus 2100UZ (38-380mm lens) and a Sony F707 (38-190mm) and the reach is nice, but sometimes I wish I had a fisheye so I could get really close to the jump and still pull in most of the surroundings. I usually carried my camera in a side holster bag, but I would be taking it easy so as not to fall on it (i.e. I don't take those larger cameras up all the time). If you want a 10x zoom that is compact, maybe you could look at the new Olympus C-765 (I think the C-750 is essentially the same). It has a 38-380mm zoom while only being 105 x 60 x 69 mm in size. To compare your F100 was 111 x 52 x 32 mm in size. Personally I'm not a big fan of add-on telephoto lenses for digital cameras as I think they degrade image quality too much. There are a few cameras with 4-5x lens that are still pretty compact. I agree that the AF systems on consumer digital cameras are too slow for fast moving objects, but I have some the prefocus/fix focus setup to be highly effective. If you camera has custom options like the G5 you can set two quick presets and flip between the two. I'm still considering buying a smaller camera to carry on the mountain... not quite sure what I'm going to get, but the Canon A80 looks good. I'm still shopping though. --Arvin |
#4
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using digital camera on the mountain
"Dmitry" wrote in
news:Z0x0c.89826$4o.113910@attbi_s52: targets on the snow. Snow usually throws their metering off and they overexpose like crazy. Thnk you mean underexpose. Meters want to make everything neutral grey. A polarizer will help with the sky and a neutral density filter should keep you from situations where the snow is just too fast for the camera. As for zoom.. depends what you are taking.. if you are more or less setting shots up than you can probably position yourself close enough for the lower power zoom. |
#5
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using digital camera on the mountain
"Mike M. Miskulin" wrote targets on the snow. Snow usually throws their metering off and they overexpose like crazy. Thnk you mean underexpose. Meters want to make everything neutral grey. Yes! A polarizer will help with the sky and a neutral density filter should keep you from situations where the snow is just too fast for the camera. Umm.. Filters.. Ok, this narrows the camera selection even more, because not many consumer p&s have filter threads. As for zoom.. depends what you are taking.. if you are more or less setting shots up than you can probably position yourself close enough for the lower power zoom. I'm leaning to just getting a new ultra-small camera like Optio S or PowerShot S400. Looks like there's nothing there on the market that offers substantially more in small-sized cameras as far as qualities I'm interested in. Staged shots, pre-focusing and exposure compensation. Ugh! I was kinda hoping to get a camera that will also be useable for picturing kitesurfing, but that definitely requires a very big zoom, so looks like Panazonic FZ1 or FZ10 would be my summer camera.. |
#6
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using digital camera on the mountain
"Arvin Chang" wrote Anyway, if you have any positive experience with taking action shots while snowboarding, please share. TIA! What happened to your camera? The F-100 is a nice camera for snowboarding photos. I dropped it into the lake :-) That's the down side of the pocket camera - jump into the mountain lake with your bare ass, then try to put your pants on real fast - and it slips right out of the back pocket! Here are a few photos that I've taken a few years ago - http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=ChangArvin&AID=1380965 Were those done with a 3x zoom or more? Nice shots! Are you sure that snow causes your camera to overexpose? Freudian slip. Underexposed of course. I usually shoot with a polarizing filter in either shutter priority or manual mode. In sunny weather I am usually using minimum apeture (F8) although I might go wider to get at least a 1/250s shutter speed. In general I usually prefocused off a point by aiming at where the rider will be in 2 seconds (very easy for jumps) and half-pressing the shutter button. I have used fixed focus as well (prefocusing and then switching to manul focus mode). Hey thanks for your tips. Sometimes it's hard to find something to pre-focus on in the middle of a bowl, but I recall that even p&s cameras often have manual focus - they just don't have manual shutter and aperture. C-750 is essentially the same). It has a 38-380mm zoom while only being 105 x 60 x 69 mm in size. To compare your F100 was 111 x 52 x 32 mm in size. Well, see, here's my take: I'm going there to ride, not take pictures. If it's possible to also take pictures without affecting my riding, I'll bite. 6 centimeters is probably something that will be quite noticeable. So I guess I'm asking for too much, will have to make do with just an ultra-compact p&s. I'm still considering buying a smaller camera to carry on the mountain... not quite sure what I'm going to get, but the Canon A80 looks good. I'm still shopping though. It's interesting if the swivel LCD is actually useful for our use-case.. Maybe sometimes it would be good to hold the camera over your head or on the contrary close to the ground. But yeah, A80 seems to be a good choice. |
#7
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using digital camera on the mountain
"Dmitry" wrote pre-focus on in the middle of a bowl, but I recall that even p&s cameras often have manual focus - they just don't have manual shutter and aperture. I have to thake that back. Checked the specs, turned out only a few p&s cameras offer manual focus. |
#8
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using digital camera on the mountain
"Dmitry" wrote in message news:dHU0c.160636$jk2.604598@attbi_s53...
Here are a few photos that I've taken a few years ago - http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=ChangArvin&AID=1380965 Were those done with a 3x zoom or more? Nice shots! Those photos were taken with a camera with a greater than 3x zoom, but I never used the extra zoom (I checked the EXIF info). That's what I mean, after 4 years of owning a camera with either 5 or 10x zoom, I found out that so long as I have good access to the location (i.e. I'm not stuck behind a fence or a barrier), I don't usually end up using the extra zoom for snowboarding photos. For once thing, tracking someone going fast in full zoom is not the easiest thing in the world (usually need a tripod or a camera bean bag). I usually shoot with a polarizing filter in either shutter priority or manual mode. In sunny weather I am usually using minimum apeture (F8) although I might go wider to get at least a 1/250s shutter speed. In general I usually prefocused off a point by aiming at where the rider will be in 2 seconds (very easy for jumps) and half-pressing the shutter button. I have used fixed focus as well (prefocusing and then switching to manul focus mode). Hey thanks for your tips. Sometimes it's hard to find something to pre-focus on in the middle of a bowl, but I recall that even p&s I usually point the camera at a patch of snow approximately the distance I plan to shoot at. A bowl should be good for this as trees tend to confuse the focusing system (unless you set it to spot meter). Well, see, here's my take: I'm going there to ride, not take pictures. If it's possible to also take pictures without affecting my riding, I'll bite. 6 centimeters is probably something that will be quite noticeable. So I guess I'm asking for too much, will have to make do with just an ultra-compact p&s. Yea, I am usually not satisfied with spur of the moment photos and so when I take photos, I usually end up traversing or hiking somewhere that I wouldn't normally go anyway. You'd be surprised at how large the pockets are on your snowboard jacket. Many are designed to carry a CD player, so a regular compact digital camera can easily fit, the weight isn't very much either. The main thing is whether you are afraid of falling on your camera. Bigger cameras tend to be more easily crushed because they have longer protrusion... a ultracompact like Canon's digital elph or the Casio Z4 (same base design as Optio S) are so small/flat that you aren't likely to land on them. I'm still considering buying a smaller camera to carry on the mountain... not quite sure what I'm going to get, but the Canon A80 looks good. I'm still shopping though. It's interesting if the swivel LCD is actually useful for our use-case.. Maybe sometimes it would be good to hold the camera over your head or on the contrary close to the ground. But yeah, A80 seems to be a good choice. I really enjoyed the swivel body of the Sony F707 for exactly the reasons you mentioned. My only problem is that you don't get the same flexibility when shooting in portrait framing (on the side). I've heard only great things about the swivel LCD from the Canon G4 and A80 and am interested in it. In terms of snowboarding shooting, it lets you keep the camera away from your face and so you are more aware of your surroundings (like if someone is out of control and about to crazy into you). Good luck on your camera shopping, I will let you know if I decide on a camera myself. --Arvin |
#9
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using digital camera on the mountain
"Arvin Chang" wrote Good luck on your camera shopping, I will let you know if I decide on a camera myself. Looks like I'm getting a Kyocera SL300R. Extremely small, has AP mode, manual focus, LCD that works in direct sunlight, 3x zoom, swivel, and all reviews rave about very good power-up and shot to shot times. If only I could figure out if it's worth paying $100 more for a T* lens in the twin Contax.. -- Dmitry |
#10
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using digital camera on the mountain
"Dmitry" wrote in news:zvU0c.99663
$4o.120672@attbi_s52: Umm.. Filters.. Ok, this narrows the camera selection even more, because not many consumer p&s have filter threads. my canon g2 takes filters but you have to add an adapter. Think with any of them like you said you have to move up the product ladder a bit and then you run into the $ vs destruction problem! |
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