Faq For Digital Camera Shoppers
- Thread starter ReefLady
- Start date
Playa, I recommend you try out the built-in macro first, you may save yourself some money. Both are reported to have superior macro capabilities right out of the box. With your big new tank, you may be wiser to invest in a telephoto lens, but again I'd wait and see.
Travis
Travis
Travis thanx a lot for the suggestion, I will look in to it. I really like the 5700. It has 8x Optical and I believe you can get to the object as close as one and a half inches. Since the tank has 24 inches in depth, is this why you think a telephoto lense would be useful? Would that give me the capability to capture objects in the back of the tank?
Thanx a lot Travis. I know macro lenses are very expensive are telephoto lenses as expensive or more?
TIA
Luis
Thanx a lot Travis. I know macro lenses are very expensive are telephoto lenses as expensive or more?
TIA
Luis
Luis, 1.5" should be plenty for a macro. If you feel the need to get closer than 1.5", maybe you should consider an underwater housing first because you'll either have to have it rght up against the glass or be underwater at less than 1.5" 
Any lens you don't need is expensive IMO, because you could have bought something useful with it. I'm not saying you don't need a lens, I'm just strongly suggesting you get your camera, play with it, see if there's a weakness, then buy goodies for it if you see a void that can be filled with an additional lens. (feel free to consult with me first, lenses can get complicated)
I'm guessing with 8x optical zoom you may not need a telephoto lens either. The only sure way to find out is to get the camera and see for yourself.
Also, a telephoto lens may or may not work with your macro mode, it will probably have limited usefulness if it works at all. So you may not be able to get big close macros from stuff in the back of your tank, telephoto lens or not. For that type of thing, you'd need to buy a digital SLR ($1000 or more) plus a 180mm macro lens (another $800) plus all the other lenses (count on another $1000). My setup has cost well into the thousands, and I don't have the 180mm macro.
If you don't have Photoshop yet, I would highly recommend spending your money on that over a new lens- a lens may improve some of your pictures, but when used correctly, photoshop will improve every single one of them.
Whatever you get, I can't wait to see some pics.
Travis
Any lens you don't need is expensive IMO, because you could have bought something useful with it. I'm not saying you don't need a lens, I'm just strongly suggesting you get your camera, play with it, see if there's a weakness, then buy goodies for it if you see a void that can be filled with an additional lens. (feel free to consult with me first, lenses can get complicated)
I'm guessing with 8x optical zoom you may not need a telephoto lens either. The only sure way to find out is to get the camera and see for yourself.
Also, a telephoto lens may or may not work with your macro mode, it will probably have limited usefulness if it works at all. So you may not be able to get big close macros from stuff in the back of your tank, telephoto lens or not. For that type of thing, you'd need to buy a digital SLR ($1000 or more) plus a 180mm macro lens (another $800) plus all the other lenses (count on another $1000). My setup has cost well into the thousands, and I don't have the 180mm macro.
If you don't have Photoshop yet, I would highly recommend spending your money on that over a new lens- a lens may improve some of your pictures, but when used correctly, photoshop will improve every single one of them.
Whatever you get, I can't wait to see some pics.
Travis
Scooterman
Active Member
I just ordered a Conon G5, wide and 2X telli!
congrats scooterman I have a canon g3 and I'm very happy with it:bigbounce Playa I bought my camera from http://www.butterflyphoto.com/ I did a search at bizrate.com and read all the reviews from buyers and everyone was very happy with the service and price from that website. Also if you use bizrate to search, the price will be cheaper there then at their website. I paid $488 and the website has them for $548 HTH
I have a canon g3 and I'm very happy with it:bigbounce Playa I bought my camera from http://www.butterflyphoto.com/ I did a search at bizrate.com and read all the reviews from buyers and everyone was very happy with the service and price from that website. Also if you use bizrate to search, the price will be cheaper there then at their website. I paid $488 and the website has them for $548 HTH
Thanks for this Travis, we've been shopping around for another camera, our Olympus 1.3 mp is good but really want something more now and since prices are dropping fast and all the Christmas specials out there we've really been looking. We both want one with interchangable lenses, are there any downfalls to having interchangable verses the non-interchangeable SLR Digital cameras? Thanks again for this board!
Hi salt4us, there's no such thing as an SLR camera without interchangeable lenses as far as I know.
Some P&S camera makers are marketing their higher-end models as "SLR-like." Don't buy into this marketing, it either IS an SLR or it's NOT.
The interchangeable lenses of SLR cameras is a huge plus. The problem is, that huge plus comes at a huge premium.
Travis
Some P&S camera makers are marketing their higher-end models as "SLR-like." Don't buy into this marketing, it either IS an SLR or it's NOT.
The interchangeable lenses of SLR cameras is a huge plus. The problem is, that huge plus comes at a huge premium.
Travis
johnlewis
Member
I've got the Olympus C-740 UZ the one from the zoom, zoom zoom commercial. I am happy with it it has a 10x optical with a macro and super macro down to about 1.2". I just picked up a tripod and need to get in some more practice so I can shoot like Travis, I have MS Digital Image Pro which has many of the features of Photoshop but just can't let the cash go for Photoshop.
BoomerD
Well-Known Member
Great thread Travis! Karma atcha!
Wish I had known some of this before I bought my
Super-Fabulous Fujifilm FinePix 2650!
It does have adjustable white balance & macro with a minimum focusing distance of 3.9", and 2.0 Mp Wanted one of the Olympus 8 or 10X optical zoom cameras, but not in the budget at the time, and I've gotten back into fish, so the disposable income buget has shrunk in a serious way!
Wish I had known some of this before I bought my
Super-Fabulous Fujifilm FinePix 2650!
It does have adjustable white balance & macro with a minimum focusing distance of 3.9", and 2.0 Mp Wanted one of the Olympus 8 or 10X optical zoom cameras, but not in the budget at the time, and I've gotten back into fish, so the disposable income buget has shrunk in a serious way!
Jakets
Member
Hey Travis,
One thing I would also like to add to "Faq For Digital Camera Shoppers" is the refresh time of the camera. This is the time it takes from when the button is pushed until the picture is taken. I have a Fuji 602Z the time is instant. I also have a Kodak 6440 the time is 1.4 seconds. That does not seem like a long time but it make it impossible to shoot anything in my tank as the subject has moved after I composed my picture.
I believe that most Canon and Fuji Cameras have very fast refresh times. I have not tested the Nikon, Minolta, Sony, or Olympus
Jason
One thing I would also like to add to "Faq For Digital Camera Shoppers" is the refresh time of the camera. This is the time it takes from when the button is pushed until the picture is taken. I have a Fuji 602Z the time is instant. I also have a Kodak 6440 the time is 1.4 seconds. That does not seem like a long time but it make it impossible to shoot anything in my tank as the subject has moved after I composed my picture.
I believe that most Canon and Fuji Cameras have very fast refresh times. I have not tested the Nikon, Minolta, Sony, or Olympus
Jason
reefrunner
Contributing Member
Hey Jackets, not sure if this is what your talking about or not....but I was playing with my Nikon CP 995 the other day and took some pics using the highest resolution (saved in .tiff) and from the time the picture was taken until it was ready to take another pic was about 5-10 seconds. When saving that much info to a compact flash card it takes forever.
Jakets
Member
Sorry I knew when I wrote that I may have been unclear.
The refresh rate of the Digital camera refers to the time the camera needs to prepare for an image. Meaning you push the button and the camera has a pause then the picture is captured. Each camera has to analyze the light hitting the CCD (CMOS) and determine how to capture the image the best way possible. But of course the speed at which it can do this analyzing is the Pause.
I imaging the Nikon's will not have a problem.
Am I making sense of just babbling
J
The refresh rate of the Digital camera refers to the time the camera needs to prepare for an image. Meaning you push the button and the camera has a pause then the picture is captured. Each camera has to analyze the light hitting the CCD (CMOS) and determine how to capture the image the best way possible. But of course the speed at which it can do this analyzing is the Pause.
I imaging the Nikon's will not have a problem.
Am I making sense of just babbling
J
I bought the Canon Digital Rebel a few weeks ago and am totally pleased with it... I spent $899 and it came with a pretty fast auto focus Lens. It would be worth while to take a look at it if your going to spend anywhere in that price range on a point and shoot Camera, it is an SLR, but dont that scare you it is very easy to use, and you always have the option to put some more expensive glass on it.
Scooterman
Active Member
Take it for a grain of salt because I shot these the very first day getting the Canon G5! They are reduced in size to ease the pain of big file sizes.