Photo Gear

brendo84 · Post by **brendo84** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 10:22 pm

What kind of Photo equipment is used for this site?

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 10:47 pm

The older photos are taken by a first generation Sony Mavica (sub megapixel). Today I'm using a Nikon Coolpix 5700... which I highly recommend.

I can't recall what Aaron Detter is using... perhaps he'll chime in later.

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 10:52 pm

I use an Olympus C-4040.

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 10:58 am

The D70 seems to be making a mark for itself. Many of the pics and reviews I've seen are reflecting well on it. I'm a Canon guy myself and would certainly go for a 10D, but the Digital Rebel is a nice lower-cost option which is dropping in price right now. Perhaps getting ready for a new entry-level dSLR.

Adam

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 11:49 am

I'm drooling to get one of these..
111megapixel the 500megapixel takes to long to capture 60is seconds.

http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/336/C8354/

Post by **Brad** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 12:43 pm

I use a Cannon Digital Rebel XT, 8.0 MP Its worked out AWSOME. I have noticed is is faster than some SLR as far as taking the image and displaying it.

w8ing · Post by **w8ing** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:43 pm

I use an old olympus C-4000. It's only 4 megapixels but works for now. My next will likely be an slr - a Nikon D50 or D70s. Hopefully before the year is out.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 4:00 pm

My next will be a 3.2meagpixel. samsung z710

the1wags · Post by **the1wags** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 4:31 pm

I use a Nikon D50. As Brad mentioned, while we were both taking pics, his Canon XT seemed to process pics faster, but other than that, I have zero complaints about the D50, I'm very happy with it.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 4:33 pm

Well as newer and newer cameras come out they will get faster and faster perspectively.

49r · Post by **49r** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 5:21 pm

Anybody else want one of these?

http://www.leica-camera.com/digitalekam ... dex_e.html

I figure it'd be pretty good for snapshots.

TechnicalDisaster · Post by **TechnicalDisaster** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 6:52 pm

49r wrote:Anybody else want one of these?

http://www.leica-camera.com/digitalekam ... dex_e.html

I figure it'd be pretty good for snapshots.

Heck no. I wouldn't use one of those if someone gave one to me for free. Limited and terrible ISO performance with a $2,000 price tag? You can do much better for 1/4th the price if all you want to do is snapshots.

You can get a Canon 30D, Canon Rebel XT, Nikon D70, or Nikon D50 WITH some good glass for less.

FWIW, I own a Canon 30D and a Canon 20D. While I'm a major Canon pusher, the Nikon D50 and D70 are fantastic cameras for the price--you just can't go wrong with them.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 7:35 pm

I like our D70... although I don't know how to use most of the features on it.

I was frustrated at the Council Bluffs Drive-In the other night trying to succeed in getting anything to show up.

Bradley/anyone else... do I need to something other than a multiple second time exposure? I tried it with the aperture wide open... and closed up... didn't seem to make a difference. They all came out black... and I went as long as 20 seconds (and yes, I removed the lense cap!).

Anyway... if anyone has any suggestions for capturing a drive in scene (I guess I could have used the flash, but I figured I wouldn't get anything from the background/screen... and I know I would have annoyed people)... I'm all ears!

-Jeff

the1wags · Post by **the1wags** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 9:16 pm

Jeff, you should try taking a shot of your subject in full auto mode 1st. Then look at how the pic is on your screen. Then on the round black cross pad to the right of the screen, push the up button and all the info for the pic (shutter speed, aperture, etc) will show. Then depending on the auto pic results, you can go to the full manual settings and adjust from there. I do that sometimes to see what the camera does first and then go from there. Hope that helps, Josh.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 9:28 pm

It's going to insist on the flash in full auto... no? Or can I disable the flash and expect it to attempt a picture?

the1wags · Post by **the1wags** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 10:14 pm

If it does flip up the flash, push it back down, then hold in the flash button (lightning bolt on it, about an inch above the lens release button) and then rotate the click/jog wheel two clicks to the right. The flash should now be disabled. Remeter/auto focus and shoot. Then check settings as before.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 10:21 pm

Yeah, I know how to change the flash mode. It just seemed last time I did this in 'pitch dark' like this... it "wouldn't let me" take a picture. I'll try again.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 10:21 pm

Sounds like the hockey pockey to me.

TechnicalDisaster · Post by **TechnicalDisaster** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 6:40 am

jhuston wrote:Yeah, I know how to change the flash mode. It just seemed last time I did this in 'pitch dark' like this... it "wouldn't let me" take a picture. I'll try again.

If it's not letting you take the picture in extreme low light, it's because it can't see anything to autofocus against. Typically, a camera will hunt for focus and lock the shutter if it can't find anything to focus against. In the viewfinder you should see some kind of blinking indicator light that is trying to tell you the camera is out of focus. In extreme low light switch the lens to manual focus and foucs the shot yourself-- the camera will take the picture.

I can't fathom why your camera wouldn't be taking a picture at a drive-in. The ambient light off of the screen should be more then enough to make a timed exposure (especially at 20 seconds). nearly 90% of the time F8, 3 seconds, ISO 200 is enough to expose a very low lit scene.

Now that I think about it, did you have MLU (Mirror Lock-Up) on? MLU flipps the shutter up before you take the picture so the mirror slap doesn't cause camera shake on a tripod. You press the shutter once to engage MLU, and then again to expose the picture. If MLU was engaged and you pressed the shutter once, nothing happens. Press it again while you are fiddling with the camera to figure out what happened the first time, and you take a picture of wherever you have the lens pointed at, usually the ground.

Anyone doing any kind of astrophotography would be using MLU, so maybe one of your OAS members turned it on for you?

Uffda · Post by **Uffda** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 7:21 am

I was frustrated at the Council Bluffs Drive-In the other night trying to succeed in getting anything to show up.

I am still trying to figure out what shots Jeff was looking to take at the drive-in.