GrumpyOne
Stresspuppy
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2000
- Messages
- 525
I waffled a bit before choosing this model. It had mixed reviews but I was also trying to place them in context. Too many people classify themselves as "experts" and if they take poor pictures with a new camera, it's obviously the camera's fault. There were enough examples of good work to make me think that a lot of comments were simply a learning curve issue.
I was after a camera that had the following features (in order of preference):
Support an underwater housing (my primary shooting location)
RAW mode
Big zoom (for land shooting)
IS
Under $600 for the camera itself (UW and non-UW accessories would eat up most of the budget) (paid $450 for the camera)
Uses SD (550 failed this one)
Uses AA
The requirement for UW mode really limited my choices to Canon, Nike and Oly. If I hadn't had this requirement, I probably would have gone with the Pentax 10D.
While DSLRs obviously take better pictures than P&S models, the UW requirements hit hard. I could have stayed under my firm budget with the 10D plus lenses for land-only use but adding a housing and strobes to a DSLR kit would have put me way over budget.
Now that I've bought it and had it for a couple of weeks, what do I think?
There are more than enough sample pictures (One guy's library of pics: http://gmchappell.smugmug.com/Other) for what the camera is capable of so I won't go there but here are my thoughts:
Focal range of 28mm to 504mm equivalent and it usually works well in that range although there can be an occasional AF issue
7 frames per second at a HQ 3mp is great for action shots
15 frames per second is nice as well in some cases (worked well at a basketball game) if you are fine with 1.2mp
Both are best in good lighting situations since they require ISO 400 or higher
The big zoom works well when getting close enough for macro mode will scare your subject away. I was able to get a good shot of a baby gecko including the individual scales on its nose.
It's small, even pocket sized for say a jacket pocket.
It's finicky
AF is a bit slow and requires a certain amount of distance depending on the zoom setting.
It's sort of slow to start up
It's slow to save images, it runs on xD cards (yes, I have an H)
No hot-shoe
After seeing some of the shots I've taken, I'm convinced that this is a good camera once someone understands it. It takes good shots on auto mode outside during the day but what camera doesn't anymore?
So far, I've been relatively happy with it, my biggest "valid" complaint being the use of xD cards when other media is faster and has larger capacity.
Overall, the camera meets my requirements. While I wish it used different media and found its focus faster, I can work around those issues. The fact that I can get a focal distance of 18.6mm - 857mm (35mm equiv) with the wide-angle and telephoto add-on lenses is a big deal to me, as is RAW. Haven't seen the housing yet and won't buy one for a couple of more months so no opinion on UW quality yet.
If you need a camera with quick save times, a hot-shoe or a large sensor, look elsewhere.
If you want a camera that supports a huge zoom, up to 15 fps, RAW and IS in a compact package, take a closer look at this one.
I was after a camera that had the following features (in order of preference):
Support an underwater housing (my primary shooting location)
RAW mode
Big zoom (for land shooting)
IS
Under $600 for the camera itself (UW and non-UW accessories would eat up most of the budget) (paid $450 for the camera)
Uses SD (550 failed this one)
Uses AA
The requirement for UW mode really limited my choices to Canon, Nike and Oly. If I hadn't had this requirement, I probably would have gone with the Pentax 10D.
While DSLRs obviously take better pictures than P&S models, the UW requirements hit hard. I could have stayed under my firm budget with the 10D plus lenses for land-only use but adding a housing and strobes to a DSLR kit would have put me way over budget.
Now that I've bought it and had it for a couple of weeks, what do I think?
There are more than enough sample pictures (One guy's library of pics: http://gmchappell.smugmug.com/Other) for what the camera is capable of so I won't go there but here are my thoughts:
Focal range of 28mm to 504mm equivalent and it usually works well in that range although there can be an occasional AF issue
7 frames per second at a HQ 3mp is great for action shots
15 frames per second is nice as well in some cases (worked well at a basketball game) if you are fine with 1.2mp
Both are best in good lighting situations since they require ISO 400 or higher
The big zoom works well when getting close enough for macro mode will scare your subject away. I was able to get a good shot of a baby gecko including the individual scales on its nose.
It's small, even pocket sized for say a jacket pocket.
It's finicky
AF is a bit slow and requires a certain amount of distance depending on the zoom setting.
It's sort of slow to start up
It's slow to save images, it runs on xD cards (yes, I have an H)
No hot-shoe
After seeing some of the shots I've taken, I'm convinced that this is a good camera once someone understands it. It takes good shots on auto mode outside during the day but what camera doesn't anymore?
So far, I've been relatively happy with it, my biggest "valid" complaint being the use of xD cards when other media is faster and has larger capacity.
Overall, the camera meets my requirements. While I wish it used different media and found its focus faster, I can work around those issues. The fact that I can get a focal distance of 18.6mm - 857mm (35mm equiv) with the wide-angle and telephoto add-on lenses is a big deal to me, as is RAW. Haven't seen the housing yet and won't buy one for a couple of more months so no opinion on UW quality yet.
If you need a camera with quick save times, a hot-shoe or a large sensor, look elsewhere.
If you want a camera that supports a huge zoom, up to 15 fps, RAW and IS in a compact package, take a closer look at this one.
