Any suggestions in buying a new camera/what would be good for the tour?

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popbellydancer

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Hi everyone :wave:

I am looking into getting a new camera before the 360 Tour starts, and I would love some advice. I'm not AT ALL camera term savvy as you will see. I have an Olympus FE-280 8.0 Megapixel and 3xOptical Zoom (not enough!) It's great for every day still shots, but not good for cats in motion, or band in motion etc. As a matter of fact, the worst thing about my current camera is that if there is even the slightest shake the photo will come out totally blurry! Very rarely do pix come out if a tripod is not involved. :yuck:

Here's the features I know I need....

1.Something without a huge lense, that will be allowed into the venues (i.e., a point and click w/zoom...NOT telescopic.)

2. I think I've seen a feature where the camera has a stabilizer...so if you have shaky hands or are moving it can still take a clear picture, free of blurs :scratch: which would be the NUMBER ONE thing I need!!

3. A strong zoom

4. Price under $700...prefer price under $400!!

5. Oh, I would prefer if it has a viewer to look thru so I can turn off the screen and not annoy my fellow audience member....plus that's just a nice feature to have.



If you have any suggestions please lemme know!

Much appreciated!

Mel:hug::bow:
 
Last tour I had a Canon PowerShot S1 IS. It cost me $400 in 2004. There is now the S5 but that's probably overkill, as long as the camera has image stabilizer, manual options, and whatever zoom range you want, you can make it work. The trick is shooting in low-light, so being able to get the settings right and not use the pop-up flash. I did not know anything about photography, I had someone adjust my manual settings and then I played around with it from there.

I'm not taking a camera this year b/c my new camera most likely is not allowed in the venue, nor will I risk bringing it. I might get a pocket camera for waiting in line, but probably won't shoot any pics during the show.

These are some examples from last tour. Not the greatest by any means, but I was pleased considering it was a 3.2 megapixel point-and-shoot camera.
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Small digital point and shoots seem to do the job.

Mine are not even as good as Lies, but still ok if you only want to spend a couple hundred.. Canon is a great brand.

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you really should, your pictures are always phenomenal.

Thanks I would love to but I would need a press pass. The D90 with a proper lens can't exactly be hidden at the bottom of my purse! I got enough crap last time with the S1. Plus I get so wrapped up in it I can't really let loose an enjoy a show at the same time.
 
thanks for all the suggestions!:hug:

sicy, i tried looking for threads about this b4 i posted and couldn't find'em! oops!:doh: thanks tho! and i think your pix are great! :drool:

i know a point and click can do the job well and that's what most people had on vertigo, but the one i have now couldn't get the job done a tenth as well as sicy's, Liesje's, or any of the vertigo fan photos i've seen posted over the years. :no:

i had bad luck w/a sonycybershot, and always liked olympus, which is why i bought one. i guess i didn't know about image stabalization the last time i went camera hunting. :scratch: so is that the MAIN feature i need to look for??

liesje, can you make suggestions about the settings? like mine has a candlelight setting, a low light setting, etc...but none of them ever come out. :shrug:


thanx everyone!
 
I *think* I was using ISO 400 at 1/40 or 1/60 (I think ISO 400 was the highest ISO I could manually select on that camera). I got a LOT of blurry shots, I kind of had to anticipate when they would hold still and what U2 lighting I could use to my advantage.
 
I *think* I was using ISO 400 at 1/40 or 1/60 (I think ISO 400 was the highest ISO I could manually select on that camera).


ok, i know nothing about cameras i guess. what is ISO? :reject:

I I got a LOT of blurry shots, I kind of had to anticipate when they would hold still and what U2 lighting I could use to my advantage.

yea i do the same thing. i go to so many shows of U2 and other bands...i get pretty good at guessing/knowing when they'll hold still....blue/green lights are better than red, etc....
 
From the other thread floating around here somewhere in the blue-ness, I decided to go looking around online for info. There are a lot of opinions about good cameras for concerts.

I decided to go with a Fuji F30. Many people claim that it has one of the best sensors for the lens size (?) (I also know very little about photography, but it hasn't stopped me yet). Anyway, they are pretty popular on EBay (meaning only a few available with lots of bidding), but I managed to score one for under $150.00. I wanted another point-n-shoot. So, I've got moderate-sized hopes for this one and shooting in the dark/high light contrast. Assuming I don't break it between now and Chicago in Sept., we'll see how it does. I suppose I could try a few other concerts before then, too.

My Nikon S700 works great everywhere except darkness (it has a great Macro feature), and my Nikon D40X is for the occasional work stuff or when I want to take the time for a nice shot.


Mark---I'm kind of saving up for a PC Lens (architectural stuff). There is a Schneider one for about $2,000.00:drool::drool::drool:
 
ok, i know nothing about cameras i guess. what is ISO? :reject:

When you are shooting manual, you will need to control the ISO, F-stop/aperture, and shutter speed. These control the speed of the shutter and how much light is let in. However the higher you set your ISO, the more likely you are going to get noise(grain) in your photos so you need to know your camera and how to avoid that if possible.
 
i know a point and click can do the job well and that's what most people had on vertigo, but the one i have now couldn't get the job done a tenth as well as sicy's, Liesje's, or any of the vertigo fan photos i've seen posted over the years. :no:

i had bad luck w/a sonycybershot, and always liked olympus, which is why i bought one. i guess i didn't know about image stabalization the last time i went camera hunting. :scratch: so is that the MAIN feature i need to look for??

I'd recommend a "superzoom" category camera - possibly a newer model because low noise at high ISOs is a must. I'll probably buy one as well for shows this year because my dslr is too risky to bring in. I'll probably return it after the shows (and pay a restocking fee). I.S. is not that important unless you're shooting from really far away, but then the photos won't be too sharp anyway (with the lenses on most superzooms). The performers are moving after all, so using a fast enough shutter speed is more important. And generally speaking, you need to get relatively close (within 100 ft) to get a sharp shot.
 
I'd recommend a "superzoom" category camera - possibly a newer model because low noise at high ISOs is a must. I'll probably buy one as well for shows this year because my dslr is too risky to bring in. I'll probably return it after the shows (and pay a restocking fee). I.S. is not that important unless you're shooting from really far away, but then the photos won't be too sharp anyway (with the lenses on most superzooms). The performers are moving after all, so using a fast enough shutter speed is more important. And generally speaking, you need to get relatively close (within 100 ft) to get a sharp shot.

i'm usually rail...so shouldn't be a problem! :lol:
 
Since you like Olympus, the SP series (see their website) should be perfect. As Liesje said earlier, manual modes are critical for concert shooting. The SP has "Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual", so that will work. I'll put it on my list as well, but I'll wait to decide because new models might come out for various brands. Also, for cameras in this price range, ISO 400 is probably the highest one can go without high noise levels. Although, ISO 400 is frequently not high enough for dark scenes.
 
Since you like Olympus, the SP series (see their website) should be perfect. As Liesje said earlier, manual modes are critical for concert shooting. The SP has "Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual", so that will work. I'll put it on my list as well, but I'll wait to decide because new models might come out for various brands. Also, for cameras in this price range, ISO 400 is probably the highest one can go without high noise levels. Although, ISO 400 is frequently not high enough for dark scenes.

Here's a clip from the CNET.com article that sold me on the Fuji F30. Like I said earlier, I really just want a point-n-shoot that will fair well at a concert.

"Of course, low noise is supposed to be this camera's claim to fame, and indeed, it performed very well in our tests. At ISO 100 and ISO 200, the F30 had very low noise with only a few speckles showing up in very dark colors. At ISO 400, noise jumps a bit, becoming noticeable but not distracting. At ISO 800 and above, there is a just noticeable loss of sharpness. This could be an effect of the noise, though it seems like a side effect of Fuji's noise-reduction image processing. That means that at ISO 800, noise is only slightly more prevalent than at ISO 400 and remains well under control. By ISO 1,600, noise becomes obvious, but 8.5x11-inch prints we made were definitely usable. By ISO 3,200, noise obscured significant amounts of image detail and yielded prints that were generally unacceptable but might be OK in extreme circumstances. For example, while I'd prefer not to use ISO 3,200 with this camera, if I had to choose between capturing a shot of Britney Spears dropping her baby again or missing the moment, I'd use the F30's ISO 3,200 and probably still be able to get the National Enquirer to buy the image.

As highly sensitive compact digital cameras go, the Fujifilm FinePix F30 definitely reaches new heights in usability in low-light situations. After all, many compacts still can't provide usable photos at ISO 400, let alone ISO 800 or ISO 1,600. While the rest of the camera's design and features might not be cutting edge, they're certainly adequate, and the versatility added by usable higher ISOs makes this camera a great choice for low-light shooters who don't want an SLR."


Mark---:twocents: for what it's worth.
 
^The F30 shoots great in low light, but it uses a cheaper lens and autofocus than the superzooms. So it may not produce as many sharp shots - it's a tradeoff I guess. I've seen some nice panoramic concert shots with it, but some closeups were fairly soft.
 
You KNOW I have to roll my eyes at this post dont you? :p



well, what can i say? i've spent the better part of my life sleeping on concrete!!:coocoo:

i find if you put in the time (and there's not a lottery) rail is what happens!:sexywink: :up:

however, considering the fact that we don't know if there will be another lottery on this tour (which will cause me to trade some GA's for seats) a good zoom prob isn't a bad idea.:hmm: :bonocrab:


thanks to everyone for their ongoing suggestions!! :grouphug:
 
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