Looking for a camera.

shev · Dec 5, 2005

As I was going through ebay I noticed fujifilm are very cheap compared to the others. like the finepix s602. I dont need many megapixels for bigger pictures. 640x480 pixel sized standard photos should be fine. so 3.1-ish mega pixels should be enough. not having a lithium battery should only be a minor setback. but it says.... "dslr-like" so not slr? I read somewhere zlr? is there much of a difference? still real shudder and interchangeable lenses?

Well here's the stats:

3rd generation 3.1 million effective-pixel Super CCD sensor
Produces high-resolution images up to 2832 x 2128 (6.03 million) recorded pixels
Large-diameter 6x optical zoom (35-210mm 35mm equivalent)
Passive AF sensor combined with TTL CCD contrast AF for improved low-light performance, it focuses twice as fast as the FinePix 6900 Zoom
Manual focus via ring and on-screen magnification
Shutter speeds: 3 to 1/2000 in Auto, 15 to 1/10000 secs in Manual
Aperture priority (F2.8 to F11 in 13 steps)
Full Manual control of both shutter and aperture
Five Scene Position modes plus Auto and Program AE
Auto Exposure Bracketing (3 frames, 0.3/0.7/1.0EV steps)
Eyelevel TTL color electronic viewfinder w/180,000 pixels
1.8-inch color LCD monitor for review or preview
Burst rate of 0.2 sec/frame for up to five frames in full resolution
Unique "Final 5" burst mode captures up to 25 images and stores the last five frames
1.8 frames/second up to 40 frames in 1M resolution mode
Captures 640x480 or 320x240 AVI video w/sound at 30fps
ISO sensitivity: 160/200/400 and 800/1600 in 1M mode
Built in popup multi-mode intelligent flash
Attach 30-second voice notes to photos
SmartMedia and CompactFlash II, fully Microdrive compatible
Powered by four AA-type batteries
Compact dimensions of 4.8" W x 3.2" H x 3.8" D

but being a noob, I dont really have anything to compare those too, like a camera I know is good. I need a a constant I can compare all the variable cameras to. I need a camera for macro shots, scenery, and wildlife.

the konica minolta dimage z20 5.2 megapixel is also pretty darn cheap.

any advice would be great, thanks again. sorry for dumb questions, its hard to just "google" things like this. if you could just point me somewhere int he right direction that would be great too.

Rob · Dec 5, 2005

An SLR is a single reflex camera, typically referring to 35mm film format cameras which until recently were pretty much the thing.

A dSLR is a digital version of the same, typically with an APS-C sized sensor (about 1.6x smaller than a 35mm neg)

A ZLR is a digital fixed lens camera, typically with a tiny tiny sensor and a very short lens. However, some of the more modern offerings now have APS-C sized sensors. The Fujis have always been pretty good for quality images, so if it's a cheap road in, then go for it!

Here's a review and specifications:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujis602z/

shev · Dec 6, 2005

Thanks Rob.

it didnt say whether it was dslr, zlr or other.

bookmarked that page
so
"The use of SuperCCD doesn't have the same controversial impact it had when first introduced, but there are still a good number of sceptics of exactly how this honeycomb CCD layout produces better pictures. Fujifilm didn't help themselves back when they first announced SuperCCD by labelling their first camera '4.3 megapixel' when they were in fact 2.4 megapixel images being 'processed' (interpolated to you and me) up to a 4.3 megapixel image.
This 'processing' still occurs now, and the S602Z has a 3.1 megapixel SuperCCD which produces a 6.0 megapixel image. SuperCCD works by combining pixels from the 45 degree pixel layout into a normal square pattern, this has the side-effect of producing more image pixels than were actually captured."

octogonal pixles better than rectangular? its not like the pictures will come out as octogons.... right? lol

Rob · Dec 7, 2005

It's a ZLR as it's a fixed lens prosumer type camera. It's reasonably good, not a patch on a DSLR, but nowhere near the price either.

No octagons will be in your picture! This is the shape of the sensor bits and presumably this cleverness allows them to interpolate (make up) the inbetweeny bits more accurately than just plain digital guesswork or by using more conventional rectangular or square sensor bits. You don't need to worry about this at all. Essentially it's a 3MP camera which produces a 6MP image which can therefore be enlarged a bit bigger (not even twice as much).

The Super business was a cheeky way to up the theoretical megapixel count back in the day when everyone and their dog was obsessed with the sticker on the front of the camera.

People are now getting wise to the actual situation, where the sensor size and density and the optical quality are actually the important factors.

shev · Dec 7, 2005

Well the fuji hasa Sensor sizeof 1/1.7. whats that compared to a dslr?

darin3200 · Dec 7, 2005

That would probably be a little smaller than a DSLR, but not by much. Fuji is making a lot of cameras that sort of hybrids of DSLR and compact cameras, they are nice cameras though

Marctwo · Dec 8, 2005

The 1/1.7 sensor is actually 7.6 x 5.7mm - nowhere near the same league as a dslr.

Being 'dslr like' means that it has an electronic viewfinder which shows the the shot as seen through the lens. It does the same as the screen on the back but uses less power and doesn't suffer from glare. They're prone to latency, though.

Rob · Dec 8, 2005

This is quite good:

http://www.riddle.ru/?page=articles/ccd

shev · Dec 10, 2005

hmmm, just wondering, 1/1.7 is better than 1/2.7 inch image sensor right? how do I figure it out to be square millimeters?

the fujis may not have detatchable lenses, but I think they have lenses you put over the intact one.

oh yeah, I found a pretty cheap dslr fuji. the s5200. but it has a 1/2.5 image sensor. thats smaller than the 1/1.7 zlr one.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0507/05072802fuji_s5200zs5600z.asp

http://cgi.ebay.com/FUJI-FINEPIX-S5200-DIGITAL-CAMERA-880-DELUXE-KIT-NEW_W0QQitemZ7568976593QQcategoryZ50532QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

only like 400$ .

oh and what do you guys think about refurbished cameras?

Marctwo · Dec 11, 2005

The s5200 is not a dslr - it's an 'slr style' compact.

shev · Dec 11, 2005

Dang, it even had the interchangeable lenses.

Rob · Dec 12, 2005

Doesn't it actually have lens attachments, rather than completely interchangeable lenses? Like another bit of glass which adapts it to wide angle or macro mode?

Rob

Mack · Dec 12, 2005

Yeh Rob, You can do that, I asked the guy at shop about my S9500, I'm hoping to get some nice Macro Filters

Cheers,
Mack

Rob · Dec 12, 2005

I've seen some very good pictures with the Fuji cameras - Thelma on my site has a S5000 and I think Mentos here uses one. Perhaps not quite the thing for Cricket, but certainly good for snapshots and near distance shooting.

And remember kids, it's not all in the camera!

Rob