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What's your "fun" camera?

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Charles Bandes

Charles Bandes

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Hi guys,

I realize this is a little bit off-thread here.

But I want the opinion of other pros and artists, not snapshooters...

I have an S2 already which I use for my professional work.

I want a tiny, light, FAST camera for my "fun" walking-around-town camera. Something cheap (under $400, less would be even better) with extremely fast shutter and AF response. Basically I want something that can replace my 35mm Lomo or T4 as a fun, tiny, inconspicuous camera that I can carry in a pocket and start taking photos at a moment's notice.

Under consideration - the Casio EX-Z3, Pentax Optio-S, Canon S400 - and anything else that this forum might recommend.

I don't care about zoom (something with a fixed wide-angle lens would be fine, if such a beast existed) CF storage would be best, but I don't mind buying a new memory card. I don't have any particular brand loyalty, so anything tiny and FAST would be great. (I have no illusions about this being a "professional" camera, it's going to be a toy to entertain myself with when I'm not using my DSLR.)

I guess what I want is a little digital version of a classic Minox folder. But nobody makes that, what's the next best thing?
--
Charles Bandes
http://www.bandesphoto.com
 
The Canon S40/50 is pretty small and powerful for its size. I use the Canon G3. It's a little bulkier, but allows for more manual control like you are used to in the S2.

Follow this thread for a good deal:

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=18&threadid=211969&highlight_key=y&keyword1=g3
Charles Bandes said:
Hi guys,

I realize this is a little bit off-thread here.

But I want the opinion of other pros and artists, not snapshooters...

I have an S2 already which I use for my professional work.

I want a tiny, light, FAST camera for my "fun" walking-around-town
camera. Something cheap (under $400, less would be even better)
with extremely fast shutter and AF response. Basically I want
something that can replace my 35mm Lomo or T4 as a fun, tiny,
inconspicuous camera that I can carry in a pocket and start taking
photos at a moment's notice.

Under consideration - the Casio EX-Z3, Pentax Optio-S, Canon S400 -
and anything else that this forum might recommend.

I don't care about zoom (something with a fixed wide-angle lens
would be fine, if such a beast existed) CF storage would be best,
but I don't mind buying a new memory card. I don't have any
particular brand loyalty, so anything tiny and FAST would be great.
(I have no illusions about this being a "professional" camera, it's
going to be a toy to entertain myself with when I'm not using my
DSLR.)

I guess what I want is a little digital version of a classic Minox
folder. But nobody makes that, what's the next best thing?
--
Charles Bandes
http://www.bandesphoto.com
Click to expand...
--
Wayland Ma
http://www.waylandmaphotography.com
 
Charles Bandes said:
I want a tiny, light, FAST camera for my "fun" walking-around-town
camera. Something cheap (under $400, less would be even better)
with extremely fast shutter and AF response. Basically I want
something that can replace my 35mm Lomo or T4 as a fun, tiny,
inconspicuous camera that I can carry in a pocket and start taking
photos at a moment's notice.
Click to expand...
So far, none exists. The pocket digitals are all painfully slow. Too bad

Regards,
Bern Caughey
--
APA/LA
http://www.apanational.org/
 
Yeah, that's what I was afraid of :(

I had a Canon G1 for a while, but decided that it was
  • Too heavy/bulky to carry in a pocket
  • Waaaaaaay too slow to be useful
So any of the advantages of the "small" camera compared to my S2 were pretty much negated with that G1.

Maybe one day someone will come out with something suitable - I was hoping that maybe by now someone had made a usably fast little thing.
Bern Caughey said:
So far, none exists. The pocket digitals are all painfully slow.
Too bad

Regards,
Bern Caughey
--
APA/LA
http://www.apanational.org/
Click to expand...
--
Charles Bandes
http://www.bandesphoto.com
 
Charles Bandes said:
I had a Canon G1 for a while, but decided that it was
  • Too heavy/bulky to carry in a pocket
  • Waaaaaaay too slow to be useful
So any of the advantages of the "small" camera compared to my S2
were pretty much negated with that G1.

Maybe one day someone will come out with something suitable - I was
hoping that maybe by now someone had made a usably fast little
thing.
Charles Bandes said:
So far, none exists. The pocket digitals are all painfully slow.
Too bad

Regards,
Bern Caughey
--
APA/LA
http://www.apanational.org/
Click to expand...
--
Charles Bandes
http://www.bandesphoto.com
Click to expand...
--
APA/LA
http://www.apanational.org/
 
Charles Bandes said:
Hi guys,

I realize this is a little bit off-thread here.

But I want the opinion of other pros and artists, not snapshooters...

I have an S2 already which I use for my professional work.

I want a tiny, light, FAST camera for my "fun" walking-around-town
camera. Something cheap (under $400, less would be even better)
with extremely fast shutter and AF response. Basically I want
something that can replace my 35mm Lomo or T4 as a fun, tiny,
inconspicuous camera that I can carry in a pocket and start taking
photos at a moment's notice.

Under consideration - the Casio EX-Z3, Pentax Optio-S, Canon S400 -
and anything else that this forum might recommend.

I don't care about zoom (something with a fixed wide-angle lens
would be fine, if such a beast existed) CF storage would be best,
but I don't mind buying a new memory card. I don't have any
particular brand loyalty, so anything tiny and FAST would be great.
(I have no illusions about this being a "professional" camera, it's
going to be a toy to entertain myself with when I'm not using my
DSLR.)

I guess what I want is a little digital version of a classic Minox
folder. But nobody makes that, what's the next best thing?
--
Charles Bandes
http://www.bandesphoto.com
Click to expand...
Hi Charles,

I've got several including the Optio S, but none would be considered "fast" in the relevant sense. The Optio S is a fun little camera - a little sacrifice in image quality in the edges due to the tiny lens and mechanics, but nevertheless a dandy little camera. It uses SD instead of CF so another media is required.

If you give up a little on size, I find it hard to beat my Fuji S602Z for all around fun as a relatively small but powerful little camera. It's pretty versatile and takes excellent 3 megapixel image. This camera works with CF I or II (including 1 gigabyte microdrive) as well as SmartMedia. You can throw an inexpensive 1.7x tele on the end and get over 350mm and it does pretty decent macros. It has great burst and a post-capture mode which can be used along with the burst for sports for some pretty decent captures. It's really my overall favorite when I have the room and don't just want a "pocket" camera. It's a little more than your $400 wish, but it's a lot of camera in a pretty small package. You can even do "double exposures" with it if you want to get creative :-)

Lin
--
http://208.56.82.71
 
Charles Bandes said:
Hi guys,

I realize this is a little bit off-thread here.

But I want the opinion of other pros and artists, not snapshooters...

I have an S2 already which I use for my professional work.

I want a tiny, light, FAST camera for my "fun" walking-around-town
camera. Something cheap (under $400, less would be even better)
with extremely fast shutter and AF response. Basically I want
something that can replace my 35mm Lomo or T4 as a fun, tiny,
inconspicuous camera that I can carry in a pocket and start taking
photos at a moment's notice.

Under consideration - the Casio EX-Z3, Pentax Optio-S, Canon S400 -
and anything else that this forum might recommend.

I don't care about zoom (something with a fixed wide-angle lens
would be fine, if such a beast existed) CF storage would be best,
but I don't mind buying a new memory card. I don't have any
particular brand loyalty, so anything tiny and FAST would be great.
(I have no illusions about this being a "professional" camera, it's
going to be a toy to entertain myself with when I'm not using my
DSLR.)

I guess what I want is a little digital version of a classic Minox
folder. But nobody makes that, what's the next best thing?
Click to expand...
I use a Canon S400 for that purpose. Although the memory card was a bit of a consideration for me (got plenty of 512 meg and 1 gig cards for my Nikon DSLRs, so it's about $200 advantage compared to somethign that can't use CF).

The fun is there, and the image quality.

Speed isn't blazing, but it's not too bad, if you turn off the 9 zone AI autofocus and just use the single zone. Or, if it's a bright day, and you don't have any subjects closer than 6 feet, it does have an "infinity lock" mode, with no focusing at all. (if it had a "hyperfocal lock" mode, that would be cool.

Mine lives in a little pouch on my belt, where a Canon S100 lived for almost two years, until I gave it to my wife, who lost it in 2 weeks flat.

--
Ciao!

Joe

http://www.swissarmyfork.com
 
I hate compact digital camera. They made me stress with Shuttle Lag or too long to wait to be ready flash.
 
Well, yeah, most of them suck, that's why I asked the question :)

So far it sounds like maybe the Konica 510 and Sony P10 and Canon S400 suck less than most.
dr_nikon said:
I hate compact digital camera. They made me stress with Shuttle Lag
or too long to wait to be ready flash.
Click to expand...
--
Charles Bandes
http://www.bandesphoto.com
 
When I tried to capture nice in "Mardi Gras Party" at Cruise. Compact Digital Camera won't shuttle to capture good one. I miss a lot. Better go with Compact Film Camera better than Digital Camera.

People will not like to wait little longer. They keep moved around. I never get good one. I wish to throw compact digital camera into sea.
NO MORE to use compact digital camera for my rest life
 
Charles,

I adore my S400. Have taken to the movie mode (3 minute 320x240 clips!) often just for the fantastic sound quality but am using the video for wedding slide shows too.

Once you have locked focus which is fairly fast the shutter fires instantly. You lock focus by holding the shutter button halfway down. You can also lock focus indefinitely (until you turn it off) if you like and you never have to pause for it to focus when it is locked. You can lock exposure as well and it has a very handy spot meter.

If my SLRs went down I would have no problem covering the rest of the shoot with my S400. Taking Chris Briscoe's ( http://chrisbriscoe.com/ ) advice and keeping my pro gear hanging around my neck for appearance sake.

I love this camera and highly recommend it.

-Craig

http://strongphotography.com
Charles Bandes said:
Hi guys,

I realize this is a little bit off-thread here.

But I want the opinion of other pros and artists, not snapshooters...

I have an S2 already which I use for my professional work.

I want a tiny, light, FAST camera for my "fun" walking-around-town
camera. Something cheap (under $400, less would be even better)
with extremely fast shutter and AF response. Basically I want
something that can replace my 35mm Lomo or T4 as a fun, tiny,
inconspicuous camera that I can carry in a pocket and start taking
photos at a moment's notice.

Under consideration - the Casio EX-Z3, Pentax Optio-S, Canon S400 -
and anything else that this forum might recommend.

I don't care about zoom (something with a fixed wide-angle lens
would be fine, if such a beast existed) CF storage would be best,
but I don't mind buying a new memory card. I don't have any
particular brand loyalty, so anything tiny and FAST would be great.
(I have no illusions about this being a "professional" camera, it's
going to be a toy to entertain myself with when I'm not using my
DSLR.)

I guess what I want is a little digital version of a classic Minox
folder. But nobody makes that, what's the next best thing?
--
Charles Bandes
http://www.bandesphoto.com
Click to expand...
 
Dr_nikon,

There are cameras out there that do not have the problems you are complaining about.

Do you really have a compact film camera that does not pause before it takes the photo? Never found one when I was looking.

The S400 locks focus in several different ways and, when focus is locked, is ready instantly to take a photograph. Much less shutter lag than the D1x. I mean instantly. Too cool

Have a beautiful day.

-Craig
dr_nikon said:
When I tried to capture nice in "Mardi Gras Party" at Cruise.
Compact Digital Camera won't shuttle to capture good one. I miss a
lot. Better go with Compact Film Camera better than Digital Camera.
People will not like to wait little longer. They keep moved around.
I never get good one. I wish to throw compact digital camera into
sea.
NO MORE to use compact digital camera for my rest life
Click to expand...
 
For fun I use the Kodak 6440. Nice picyures and movies. Priced under $400.
Charles Bandes said:
Hi guys,

I realize this is a little bit off-thread here.

But I want the opinion of other pros and artists, not snapshooters...

I have an S2 already which I use for my professional work.

I want a tiny, light, FAST camera for my "fun" walking-around-town
camera. Something cheap (under $400, less would be even better)
with extremely fast shutter and AF response. Basically I want
something that can replace my 35mm Lomo or T4 as a fun, tiny,
inconspicuous camera that I can carry in a pocket and start taking
photos at a moment's notice.

Under consideration - the Casio EX-Z3, Pentax Optio-S, Canon S400 -
and anything else that this forum might recommend.

I don't care about zoom (something with a fixed wide-angle lens
would be fine, if such a beast existed) CF storage would be best,
but I don't mind buying a new memory card. I don't have any
particular brand loyalty, so anything tiny and FAST would be great.
(I have no illusions about this being a "professional" camera, it's
going to be a toy to entertain myself with when I'm not using my
DSLR.)

I guess what I want is a little digital version of a classic Minox
folder. But nobody makes that, what's the next best thing?
--
Charles Bandes
http://www.bandesphoto.com
Click to expand...
 
I think you may have missed my point - I already have an S2 and love it, use it for all my serious work, but it's tooooooo big to carry around all the time.

So I was looking for something small, and I knew that it would be a big big letdown from the S2 experience, but then again this new camera is basically just a toy anyway.

So I got the Sony P10, because I had a lot of "sony points" saved up on my creditcard which made the camera almost free. And so far, it's pretty cool - an excellent excellent toy, certainly not something I'd do professional work with, but great to carry around town.

I would agree that things like the CP 5700/Minolta D7, Sony 717 etc seem kinda ridiculous - they are almost as expensive and almost as big as a DSLR, but nowhere close in performance. The little cameras (Canon S400, Sony P10, Konica 510...) are a whole different thing - they are nowhere close to SLR in performance, but also tiny and cheap. So there you go :) It isn't the tool I'm going to use for my art or my business, but it will be fun to have, and that was the point.
dr_nikon said:
Let you look at
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1021&message=5979604
Click to expand...
--
Charles Bandes
http://www.bandesphoto.com
 
 
I'm an S2 user with similar interests. My problem has been that I love the small cameras but not their images. So my current choice is the Coolpix 5000. Not tiny, but still compact. I like that the lens is 28-85 (effective), and when I think I'll need it i take along the 19mm add on that is an amazingly good optic. Wish the lens was a little faster, but the EI800 option makes a nice gritty image in low light situations. The price is above your $400 mark, but the images it makes are impressive. They have 'em for $529 at Nikon's Mall (refurbs w/full warranty) and I saw $480 at Pricegrabber. -Clark
Heinz Mueller said:
Charles Bandes said:
Hi guys,

I realize this is a little bit off-thread here.

But I want the opinion of other pros and artists, not snapshooters...

I have an S2 already which I use for my professional work.

I want a tiny, light, FAST camera for my "fun" walking-around-town
camera. Something cheap (under $400, less would be even better)
with extremely fast shutter and AF response. Basically I want
something that can replace my 35mm Lomo or T4 as a fun, tiny,
inconspicuous camera that I can carry in a pocket and start taking
photos at a moment's notice.

Under consideration - the Casio EX-Z3, Pentax Optio-S, Canon S400 -
and anything else that this forum might recommend.

I don't care about zoom (something with a fixed wide-angle lens
would be fine, if such a beast existed) CF storage would be best,
but I don't mind buying a new memory card. I don't have any
particular brand loyalty, so anything tiny and FAST would be great.
(I have no illusions about this being a "professional" camera, it's
going to be a toy to entertain myself with when I'm not using my
DSLR.)

I guess what I want is a little digital version of a classic Minox
folder. But nobody makes that, what's the next best thing?
--
Charles Bandes
http://www.bandesphoto.com
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I ended up getting a Sony P10 - mostly because I had a ton of "sony points" on my credit card which covered a big chunk of the cost.

I've been playing with it a lot today - it's definitely no S2, but it's pretty darn small, and reasonably fast. Not my dream camera by any means, but it'll serve me well for a "fun" camera until someone invents something that really has the responsiveness that we're all craving.

So far -

I love:

The size
The inconspicuousness
The "info-lithium" battery
The fact that I can have it with me anywhere
The ability to run completely silently

I hate:

The slow shutter response (very fast by digicam standards, but still SLOW)
The memory stick (I really wanted something with CF)
The lack of firewire (it has USB 2 which is seriously slow by comparison)
The noise - pretty bad at 100, terrible at 400 (compared to S2, I'm spoiled)

Considering that I bought this to replace my Lomo, it's not bad at all. When I shot film, I shot the Lomo for fun and the Mamiya 645 for anything serious - the difference between the P10 and the S2 is similar - there's no comparison in terms of quality or flexibility, but the P10 can go anywhere and can make pictures in situations where the S2 couldn't, and that's a pretty great thing.

If I hadn't had the "sony points" I woulda gone with the Canon S400 (I covet that camera)
 
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