Re: [Killietalk] Digital cameras

[Wright Huntley <jwwiii at pacbell_net>]

George & Melanie wrote:

> I know we have had a lot of comments on digital cameras on this list but 
> I am in need of a newer digital camera and thought as long as I am 
> getting a new camera I should get one that I could use to take pictures 
> of some of my killies. The cameras real use is for my wife's real estate 
> business. I am looking at the Canon G3 and the Nikon coolpix 5000 or 
> 5400. Has anyone had any experiences with these cameras?? Would 
> appreciate any input.

No personal experience, but I always check such things out at Steve's 
digicams and the dpreview sites. http://www.steves-digicams.com/ and 
http://www.dpreview.com/ They are good, if you read between the lines. 
[They don't like to anger folks who give them free cameras to test.]

Things to watch for. Autofocus and autoexposure settings are always too 
slow to catch even a leisurely-moving killy. Shutter delay is a killer 
on fish, pets and fast-moving small children. You'll get nothing but 
tail pictures of the fish. A half-press of the shutter release will 
preset them, so you can wait for the moment and finish the press. The 
remaining shutter delay *should* be very low, but isn't on some cameras. 
Check it out before buying.

Even full manual cameras can have an annoying delay from when the fish 
was facing properly and the shutter actually works, too. Not acceptable 
in a fish camera.

The ergonomics of that "half-press" are from great to terrible from one 
camera to another. Get one in your hands, and practice setting the 
half-press and holding it for at least 10 seconds before taking a 
picture of your friend's moving hand (emulating a fish). The difference 
between half-press to set auto functions and full to take the picture 
must be very distinct in that excitement of catching that special 
instant as the fish do the nasty.

My general impression of Nikon consumer cameras is that their lenses are 
terrible. They may have great macro functions, but the chromatic 
aberration, small aperture, etc. are too great a price to pay for that. 
They are among the best of the high end cameras and really bad in 
consumer cameras, IMO.

The Canon, with an added close-up lens set should give much better 
results, all other things being equal (which they never are). The lens 
is way faster, I think.

Be aware that the G3 is two generations back, and great improvements 
have been made in noise and other factors in some of the newer models. 
Read the reviews carefully. G5 is the current model in that line.

For her real-estate business, don't forget to factor in a wide-angle 
adapter. They are essential for interior work, as is an external flash 
in some cases. [The internal flashes in consumer cameras are pretty 
worthless for anything more that a few feet away.]

I suppose she will need and like the handy "Point and Shoot" capability, 
but those designs are always in conflict with nice fish pics, I find. 
I'd hold out for the new Canon Digital Rebel 300D kit. It comes with a 
useful lens and would be way better for the real-estate pictures. ;-)

Free advice is worth every penny.

Wright

--
Wright Huntley -- 760 872-3995 -- Rt. 001 Box K36, Bishop CA 93514

           Mencken's maxim—every election is a sort
             of advanced auction of stolen goods.



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