<heh heh heh >

You say you want *fast*?  Then you have got to look at the Casio  
Exilim EX-F1.

How does 60 frames *per second* of 6mp pics sound?
Strobe shooting at 7 frames per sec with a standard flash, and yep -  
60fps with a digital flash?

And did I mention it will do 120fps of video?? :)

And it has this cool "flyin/flyout" mode, where you can set it, and it  
will start shooting at 60fps
when it detects motion in it's field of view.

And more.

Fast you say??  REALLY fast??? Might not meet your other needs there  
Art, but it is FAST
indeed. :) :)

-Paul



On Oct 15, 2008, at 11:09 AM, Bahrs, Art wrote:

> Hi Denys :)
>   Thanks for an excellent write up... Did some hands on research last
> night at Circuit City (the "Better Half" was getting something I am  
> not
> allowed to see for about 10 days :) )
>
>    I am not a professional photographer by any means... But like many
> on this list ... In High School got more than a few pics into the HS
> Newspaper (was on the staff for a couple of years but that is a  
> 'nother
> set of ramblings)
>
>    I love to shoot candids... (much to my Mom-In-Law's display as she
> is a "Poser" and hates candids!) ... So I have to be able to pull,
> turn-on camera, Focus and SHOOT... And do it fast... Sorta like  
> weapons
> ... And it is a second nature to do so with my Minolta X-700 (got the
> model last night after digging it out of storage)
>
>    Canon - Good camera... On/Off Switch located in lower middle of the
> body... Not to bad... But would take some getting used to ...
>    Nikon - top Right side of Body... Right where the On/Off Switch is
> on my X-700... Good and easy to use...
>    Sony - Aleph in particular... Um... You got to be kidding!!! Switch
> was little and located on upper Left part of body... Being a Left  
> hander
> that was "corrected upon adoption" this was just plain weird!  I ended
> up using both hands to turn the camera on and then go to my usual  
> right
> hand holding body and left hand on lens
>
>    Both Canon and Nikon really could snap and snap and snap... I  
> tested
> by doing a "quick fire exercise" of firing 30 rounds as fast as  
> possible
> in a general direction... Fast and clean...
>
>    So Far... Canon and Nikon are leading the pack... In NASCAR  
> terms...
> They are still on the lead lap and the rest are a minimum of one lap
> down... Sony may get the "Lucky Dog" by the fact that they do  
> support my
> Vivitar lens... But as someone pointed out... That lens is 21+ years  
> old
> and was only median quality rating wise back then...
>
>    So the quest continues with more info than ever... And lots of
> drooling over the Telephoto lens... Hehehe... We have lots of wildlife
> in our back yard and want to get better photos of the Eagle when he is
> around (we assume it is a 'he;=' :) I ain't getting close enough to
> those talons to find out! )  and the Beavers (we have a Beaver Dam  
> and 3
> Beavers as our backyard)
>
> Art "hmmm.... How much was the budget Hon? " Bahrs
>
>
> Art Bahrs, CISSP
> Security Engineer
> Providence Health & Services
> [log in to unmask]
> Phone: 503-216-2722
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: HP-3000 Systems Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
> Behalf Of Denys Beauchemin
> Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 6:13 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Anybody There?
>
> Over the summer, I bought a Nikon D60.  It's a phenomenal camera and  
> one
> of the most important qualities it has is that it is FAST and for me,
> that made a big difference.  Let me explain.
>
> In the 60s and 70s I was a camera buff, I ran around with a
> top-of-the-line Minolta (could not afford a Nikon (sigh),) taking
> pictures all the time.
> Many of my pictures made it to the student paper at college.  Also  
> there
> was a properly equipped darkroom at the university and I learned how  
> to
> develop and print my own material.  I upgraded the camera a few times
> over the years, but as we know cameras were not changing much in those
> days.
>
> In 2000, I got a Nikon Coolpix 995 as my first real digital camera.
> This one had a 3 megapixel sensor and add-on lenses.  I bought an  
> Epson
> printer to go with it and I went to town with pictures.  After a  
> while,
> I came to hate the camera, the shutter lag was horrible and startup  
> time
> was measured with a calendar. I had a wide assortment of pictures of
> back of heads and children running around and away from the camera.   
> The
> caption on these pictures had a common thread:  "Just a few seconds
> before the picture..."  I got so frustrated with the camera, it would
> only come out in very special events, taking one or two posed pictures
> and then back in the closet.  I even used my old SLR to take some
> pictures, and while I loved the responsiveness and the ability to
> compose the picture in the viewfinder (including depth of field,  
> etc,) I
> was really unhappy about using film again; it really reduced my  
> options
> as I could do so much more with digital.
> Plus film limited the number of pictures I could take.
>
> I decided that my next camera would be a D-SLR with interchangeable
> lenses and it would have to be fast and with a high pixel count; I was
> also hoping to have a 24X36 mm (FX) sensor.  So, I waited and read  
> some
> reviews every six months or so.
>
> Finally, Nikon released the D60 and I read a lot about it.  It was a
> D-SLR with interchangeable lenses.  Its sensor is 10MP, but it is  
> the DX
> format, meaning that it's smaller than the FX that I wanted so the
> lenses have a
> 1.5:1 magnification effect.  But what was most critical to me was the
> speed and responsiveness of the camera.  That was the big feature  
> touted
> by Nikon and reviewed by many.
>
> So, I took the plunge and the camera showed up at my doorstep a few  
> days
> later.  I'm one of those quys who actually read the entire owner's
> manual and this one has a big manual, because it has a lot of  
> features.
> The very first thing I tested was the responsiveness of the camera;  
> how
> quick does it start up and how's the lag between pressing the shutter
> and getting the picture?
>
> In a word, this puppy is fast.  I can push the button to turn it on  
> and
> by the time the camera reaches my eye, it's ready.  When I press the
> shutter, there is no lag that I can detect; the picture gets taken  
> there
> and then.
>
> And the pictures are great, at 10MP, the resolution of the digital
> camera exceeds the equivalent film camera's approximate 8MP  
> resolution.
> I realize that resolution is going to keep on climbing, but 10MP is
> extremely usable for my purposes.  I am now considering a new  
> printer to
> do this size justice.  An Epson printer, of course.  Film has passed
> into oblivion, there is simply no reason to use film-based cameras in
> this day and age, unless one has more money than sense and there is no
> way I would recreate a darkroom in my house; my darkroom is my  
> computer
> and printer.
>
> The camera is a usable format, not as big as an equivalent 35mm camera
> and not as heavy but it has a very solid feel to it.  There is a wide
> panoply of features in this camera and for an old camera buff like me
> that ran around with a manual SLR adjusting aperture and shutter speed
> as needed, this camera caters to those whims as well as doing  
> everything
> for me if I so desire.
>
> I bought a Lexar professional SDHC 4gb card for it, and it has room  
> for
> 510+ pictures at the fine setting, the Lexar has the fastest  
> throughput
> around.
> I charged the battery when I first got it some months ago and I have
> take about 400 pictures so far, many with flash and I have yet to
> recharge the battery.  My old 995 chewed up AA batteries with vigor  
> and
> drained the rechargeable ones with enthusiasm. I always had to carry a
> spare set or two if I was going to some kind of event that would  
> require
> more than 20-30 pictures.
>
> The D60's sensor is made by Sony, but the camera and lenses are pure
> Nikon.
> I have since bought a higher magnification zoom lens for it (should be
> here
> tomorrow,) also with the vibration reduction feature and I am having  
> fun
> with a camera again. I have taken action pictures in series, and while
> that would have required the motor drive on my film SLR, the D60 keeps
> on shooting and with the Lexar, it doesn't ever have to stop.
>
> To top everything off, the price of this camera and the lenses is  
> quite
> affordable.  While the FX sensors still have prices in the multiple
> thousands, this DX sensor camera is in the higher multiple hundreds  
> and
> the lenses designed for it are in the lower hundreds.  What's not to
> like?
>
> Warning, pontification ahead.
>
> With the advent of digital cameras, one needs to decide whether (s)he
> wants a camera made by an electronics company or a camera (optics)
> company.  My choice has always been for a camera made by a camera
> company.  Nikon gets its sensors from Sony, an electronics company,  
> and
> packages them in cameras with lenses that it knows how to build.   
> Nikon
> knows cameras and it shows; Nikon also offers a wide range of
> accessories for their cameras, precisely because they are a camera
> company and they understand the needs of a photographer.  The only  
> other
> brand I would consider is Canon; I consider the rest to be a pile of
> third rate junk.
>
> So Art, good luck on your Quest but as for me the Quest ended when I
> purchased the D60, now the adventure resumes; photography is fun  
> again.
>
>
> Denys...
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: HP-3000 Systems Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
> Behalf Of Art
> Sent: Monday, October 13, 2008 11:05 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [HP3000-L] Anybody There?
>
> Hi All :-)
>
>   Haven't seen any emails since Friday???
>
>
>
>   So a quick update on the digital camera quest.. Patrick S. gave me a
> simply awesome site www.DPReview.com for learning and reviewing  
> Cameras!
> Several (meaning lots!) of people gave some great input. John K. gave
> some really good insights on being wary of the bias towards Nikon  
> which
> is a great camera company. but maybe a great digital image company is
> what I need?
>
>
>
>   Looking at the Canon 50D & 40D. but for those who mentioned it.
> talked with the Sony Store Camera guy (he owns a 400 Aleph I believe)
> did say that since they had acquired Konica which had (I guess)  
> acquired
> Minolta that the Sony digital cameras would use the Minolta lenses -
> PROVIDED the Minolta lens was made after 1984!
>
>
>
>   So, the Quest continues!
>
>
>
> Art "Withdrawal symptoms are setting in" Bahrs
>
>
>
> =========================================
>
> Art Bahrs, CISSP
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>
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