Re: [OT] Digital Cameras

Hi Rick,

I bought a digital camera last year after finding one that fits my
needs.	I
use it for shooting miniatures (obviously ;-) ), autocross events (yes,
with
cars in motion), and general purpose stuff.  I bought the Sony F-505V
which
is a 3.3 megapixel camera.  It can take pictures in several modes from
640x480 to 2240x1680 with JPEG and TIFF file options and has tons of
options.

- Lens
If you're concerned with image quality make sure your camera has a good
lens
system.  This one uses a Carl Zeiss lens that takes beautiful images and
more than makes up for the difference in megapixels from other competing
cameras.  It has a 52mm accessory thread so you use can standard filters
and
lens accessories like those on camcorders and SLRs.

- Macro Zoom
When shooting miniatures make sure that your camera can handle macro
zooms.
The 505V can be held almost right on the miniature for the maximum
closeup
shot possible.	Many cameras require more distance to focus and do not
provide as close a shot.

- Image Format
Another thing to watch for is the file format.	Most cameras have
compressed
formats such as JPEG while some like the 505V offer uncompressed formats
as
well.  This will allow quality "raw" images that can be printed at 8" x
10"
that look as good as 35mm shots.

- Memory Storage
The only downside I've found with the 505V is the small memory stick
they
provide with the unit.	It's only 8mb and can be filled with one
high-res
uncompressed TIFF image.  I purchased a 64mb stick that I use most of
the
time.  Now they sell larger ones and there's also portable memory
devices
like the Memory Wallet that you can use to download images off the
camera to
a micro gigabyte hard drive.

- Speed
As Allan mentioned earlier, digital cameras are not as fast as SLRs yet,
but
they are getting closer at least in picture quality.  I use it at some
of my
racing events (when I'm not in the car! ;-) ) to take shots of both
stills
and cars in motion.  Some have been blurs, but after some adjustment
I've
learned to use certain settings and techniques for stuff in motion with
good
results.

- Savings
One of the biggest savings I have had is no film processing.  Before, I
had
to buy film, get it developed, scan it in, and then finally retouch it
for
my work.  This cost time and money.  The camera has already paid for
itself
in this alone.

Check out this site for more help and reviews: http://www.dpreview.com/

If you like, I can send you samples from my camera of a variety of
shoots.

Mike

Now to catch up on the tons of email from the list that have been
pouring
in...don't you guys ever take a break! ;-)

----- Original Message -----
From: Rick Rutherford <Rick@esr.com>
To: <gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2001 4:11 PM
Subject: [OT] Digital Cameras

> Hi all,
>
> After noticing how many people had digital cameras at GZG-ECC 4, I
have
> a question: what do you look for in a digital camera, and how do you
> choose between them? Specifically, I'm looking for one that I can use
> to take really nice pictures of miniatures (of course!).
>
> Because this is completely off-topic, please just respond to me and
not
> the entire list. If anyone else is interested, I will summarize the
> responses I get and send it to you. Thanks!
>