What camera????

texturner · Nov 6, 2010

Hi
I am quite new to photography, but alway been interested been i it.Since I have been registered dissabled,I have more time to kill,so along with my love of oil painting (Very basic ) but love it, I also love taking decent pix too, my love is Waterfalls and The breaking waves on rocks,I could spend hours and hours.
While I was on holiday in Barmouth UK in September,myself and family went to the seafront on a very windy morning the waves were amazing,but by the time I got my camera out clicked the waves had gone.
While there there was an old guy who came across talking, he had a camera that like as soon as you turned it on and clicked the image was there.He tried to explain but it was so windy it was hard to hear.
I am sure he said from turning on the camera to taking a picture it took just under 3 seconds,( could this be correct)
I havenot got alot of money, but could someone recomend a camerathat is quite quick, from turning on to taking.
I am dissabled as I had a major stroke, my memory is now nill.
At the momert I got a Fugifilm fine pix(,I think lol) it is qutie bulky so need a small thing that will fit in me pccket.
Hope some one understands what I mean,And sorry ts long winded.Sorry.
It has taken me just under 75 mins to write this cus I keep repeating my self,cus I cant remember what I put.
Very Very frustrating lol.I have been like this though for 6 years,so you would think I would have got used to it lol.
thanks
Tex

Blake.Oney · Nov 6, 2010

Look into any of the entry level DSLR's. Nikon D3000/3100 and D5000. The Pentax Kx or Kr. Canon Rebel XS, T1i or T2i. Sony A230 and A290 are pretty cheap and can use older lenses that can be found for cheap. There are some issues with certain accessories not being universal, though. All in my opinion good choices for starting on a budget. Do some research on them and see which would be best for you.

o hey tyler · Nov 6, 2010

Blake, did you read the part where he said that he had a stroke...? I also read that he wants a camera that can fit in his pocket. Which I do not believe any of those entry level DSLRs could. I think what he's after is probably something along the lines of the Canon G12.

canon g12 - Google Search

Or you could get a smaller Canon Powershot for a few less bones.

enzodm · Nov 6, 2010

o hey tyler said:
Blake, did you read the part where he said that he had a stroke...? I also read that he wants a camera that can fit in his pocket. Which I do not believe any of those entry level DSLRs could. I think what he's after is probably something along the lines of the Canon G12.

canon g12 - Google Search

Or you could get a smaller Canon Powershot for a few less bones.

Problem is that any P&S including G12 does not startup and shoot at the same speed as a dSLR. Not sure on G12, but G11 has 2.5 seconds startup and about half a second when shooting with AF. Prefocusing helps much (not sure on waves) but perhaps it can be done even with its current camera.
Texturner: next time try to pre-focus: point on the area where you know there will be waves and push button half a way (if camera is not too old, it will focus there, so that shooting will be faster).
Very quick operation can be found almost only in cameras that do not fit into pockets. If you put here more precise data on your current camera, we can eventually understand its features.
Or compare here: for many cameras, when comparing, you will find performance timing in the bottom of comparison page: Compare Digital Cameras - Camera Prices and Reviews

PhotoXopher · Nov 6, 2010

Canon S95, rather fast, small, and easy to use - same sensor as the G12 but much smaller.

Highly recommended.

texturner · Nov 6, 2010

Thanks you all very much, your comments have been very very usefull,This is the first time I have ever taken the time to use a forum. wow really really impressed thanks very much.My camera is out of reach,so I will have to wait for the wife to get it down for me,but I will enter the specs.
Once again thanks very much,it make me proud to be human lol :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

o hey tyler · Nov 6, 2010

We all hope you get the camera you're looking for, Tex. And thanks Xopher, I didn't know about the S95. I just heard great things about the G series.

Hopefully you'll come back once you have your camera and post some photos you've taken.

texturner · Nov 6, 2010

Yes there a few to look at there.
Please could some one tell me what are the settings I am looking for,that allows an instant picture to be taken.
Sorry, it may sound like a stupid question,but with being in a wheel chair if I go to our local Camera shops,I ask this, and the come out with really big cameras, £450 £750.this is what your looking for,it does everthing you want,sample pix are brill but there are so many buttons switches, settings,I would need to be outside at mid day so I could get a picture of the moon.lol
So although I want to go into the shop it scares me a bit,cus I think they think cus I am in a wheelchair, I have lost all my sences, I havn't it just takes me a little longer to do things.The beauty of the WWW, I can browse at my hearts content,if I know wat to look for,so if anyone has got 5 mins,please could you explian,what it is I am looking for

Cus cant wait to get some of my pix on this site
Tex

enzodm · Nov 7, 2010

texturner said:
Yes there a few to look at there.
Please could some one tell me what are the settings I am looking for,that allows an instant picture to be taken.

Apologies for the very long post, I hope it helps.

As I explained you some post ago, basic cameras are intrinsically slow in starting and doing things (including those suggested here like G12 and S95), while those bulky and expensive called dSLR are faster. One of the reasons I switched to dSLR was speed. This is why in the shop they propose you those cameras: if you ask for instant operation, they will propose you dSLR because they really are overall faster.

The way you have to be quicker is to pre-focus: typically, when you press the shooting button half the way in advance (so you should prepare your shooting), the camera focuses where you are pointing at, which is most of the time needed to shoot. Then, at the time you want to shoot, just push fully the button: will be faster than usual. This is possible in many basic cameras, but I do not know which is yours exactly, because Fuji made many of them. However, this also means your camera should stay switched on when you go shooting (also startup time is long in basic cameras).
In addition to that, if your camera allows continuous shooting (i.e. a series of shots while maintaining the button pressed) you could start before the right time, take a number of pictures, and then choose the best.

Of course, modern cameras are faster than older, so that if yours is old, you may have some gain in buying another one. If yours is slower than 3 seconds in turning on, it is perhaps very old.

To give you an idea, these are operation times of three cameras according to Imaging Resource. One is CanonS95 (which is an excellent compact camera from any point of view, and is not cheap), the other is the dSLR I currently own, Canon 1000D (the cheapest Canon dSLR). Price is the same, around 400 euros.

Startup time: when you turn on the camera, S95 needs 2.2 seconds, 1000D needs 0.3 seconds.
Shutter lag: this is the time needed to shoot from when you push down the button to when actually the picture is taken, and includes the time needed for autofocus. S95 needs 0.62 seconds, 1000D needs 0.16 seconds.
Shutter lag with pre-focusing: if you press half way in advance, then time to shoot is more or less the same for both cameras, and less than 0.1 second.
Continuous shooting: how many pictures it takes, per second, when you maintain the button pressed. S95 around 2, 1000D around 3.

This is not to counter suggestions made by other posters, as both cameras are excellent (but also expensive). Simply, in my opinion do not expect much improvement in speed of operation for the specific pictures you want to do, because the most advantage could be obtained with being prepared to shoot and with pre-focusing. If for you is sufficient 3 seconds from turning on to take pictures, those suggested, but also many cheaper cameras (e.g. Canon A3100is or SD1300is) will do it, but not faster than 3 seconds. Much better to have the camera already turned on

.

texturner · Nov 7, 2010

Thank you very much for taking the time out to explain this to me,I really really appriciate it,Sorry I dont know a bit more about them,If I had learnedd a bit more before I was taken ill, I may know more about them now.
The camera I have, Was bought to me by my wife, when I said I wanted to learn a bit more with photography.It is the 2Fudifilm Finepix S5600. it takes some nice pix, but miss-placed the manual,and dont know how to get the best out of it.Thanks
Tex

enzodm · Nov 7, 2010

texturner said:
Thank you very much for taking the time out to explain this to me,I really really appriciate it,Sorry I dont know a bit more about them,If I had learnedd a bit more before I was taken ill, I may know more about them now.
The camera I have, Was bought to me by my wife, when I said I wanted to learn a bit more with photography.It is the 2Fudifilm Finepix S5600. it takes some nice pix, but miss-placed the manual,and dont know how to get the best out of it.Thanks
Tex

That camera was a good camera (is this one) years ago, with speed of operation similar to cited models (but of course now outdated on other aspects). The manual can be downloaded here: http://www.fujifilmusa.com/shared/bin/S5200ownermanual.pdf ; is a good idea to read it to understand how to better exploit it.

o hey tyler · Nov 7, 2010

enzodm said:
texturner said:

Yes there a few to look at there.
Please could some one tell me what are the settings I am looking for,that allows an instant picture to be taken.

Click to expand...

Apologies for the very long post, I hope it helps.

As I explained you some post ago, basic cameras are intrinsically slow in starting and doing things (including those suggested here like G12 and S95), while those bulky and expensive called dSLR are faster. One of the reasons I switched to dSLR was speed. This is why in the shop they propose you those cameras: if you ask for instant operation, they will propose you dSLR because they really are overall faster.

The way you have to be quicker is to pre-focus: typically, when you press the shooting button half the way in advance (so you should prepare your shooting), the camera focuses where you are pointing at, which is most of the time needed to shoot. Then, at the time you want to shoot, just push fully the button: will be faster than usual. This is possible in many basic cameras, but I do not know which is yours exactly, because Fuji made many of them. However, this also means your camera should stay switched on when you go shooting (also startup time is long in basic cameras).
In addition to that, if your camera allows continuous shooting (i.e. a series of shots while maintaining the button pressed) you could start before the right time, take a number of pictures, and then choose the best.

Of course, modern cameras are faster than older, so that if yours is old, you may have some gain in buying another one. If yours is slower than 3 seconds in turning on, it is perhaps very old.

To give you an idea, these are operation times of three cameras according to Imaging Resource. One is CanonS95 (which is an excellent compact camera from any point of view, and is not cheap), the other is the dSLR I currently own, Canon 1000D (the cheapest Canon dSLR). Price is the same, around 400 euros.

Startup time: when you turn on the camera, S95 needs 2.2 seconds, 1000D needs 0.3 seconds.
Shutter lag: this is the time needed to shoot from when you push down the button to when actually the picture is taken, and includes the time needed for autofocus. S95 needs 0.62 seconds, 1000D needs 0.16 seconds.
Shutter lag with pre-focusing: if you press half way in advance, then time to shoot is more or less the same for both cameras, and less than 0.1 second.
Continuous shooting: how many pictures it takes, per second, when you maintain the button pressed. S95 around 2, 1000D around 3.

This is not to counter suggestions made by other posters, as both cameras are excellent (but also expensive). Simply, in my opinion do not expect much improvement in speed of operation for the specific pictures you want to do, because the most advantage could be obtained with being prepared to shoot and with pre-focusing. If for you is sufficient 3 seconds from turning on to take pictures, those suggested, but also many cheaper cameras (e.g. Canon A3100is or SD1300is) will do it, but not faster than 3 seconds. Much better to have the camera already turned on .

He also mentioned that he wants a camera that can fit in his pocket, hence the original suggestion. I'm not going to suggest a DSLR to someone that doesn't want something they can easily tote around with them in their jacket pocket. Unless they've got really large jacket pockets.

enzodm · Nov 7, 2010

o hey tyler said:
He also mentioned that he wants a camera that can fit in his pocket, hence the original suggestion. I'm not going to suggest a DSLR to someone that doesn't want something they can easily tote around with them in their jacket pocket. Unless they've got really large jacket pockets.

I agree, of course. I'm not suggesting to buy a dSLR: I'm suggesting not to buy any other camera, but just using better the already available one, because any other compact camera will be more or less equally slow (or equally fast in pre-focusing).