Camera Help Please???

[Yorick]

We've both got decent phones but the cameras only good for snap shots.
Often miss having optical zoom.

I'm hoping to get back into trackdays so I'd like a camera for Mrs Y to take shots

First things. Works right out of the box.
Simple point n shoot.

Optical zoom a must have.

With options to improve things is obviously a bonus


Her pal got a phone for her birthday, but it's just too complicated. Even her cameraman fella can't work out.

Budget £500

Ta

[Cousin Jack]

How big do you want?

Most cameras have an auto-everthing setting that, IME is pretty good. My wife has a tiny thing, with a zoom lens, but I find it very awkward to use. I have a bridge camera, like an SLR in shape, but only about 2/3 the size. That works for me, it will do auto-everthing and a lot more besides if you want, but for me it feels right in my hand. That IMO is important.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Hijacking Yorick's thread a bit because I'd like a new camera

The problem I find with auto focussing cameras is that they don't know what you're trying to take a picture of, and sometimes focus on the wrong thing, especially if that thing is small and distant.

I'd also like a view finder like an old fashioned camera, as I find trying to use the little screen on the back of modern cameras difficult to do and get a steady picture.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Number 1 way to piss off a photographer:

"Your photos are really good, you must have a great camera"

Cheesy - dunno what camera you've got, if it's an SLR you can probably adjust exactly where/how the autofocus looks. In motorsport though you often use manual focus and fix on a certain point on the track, i.e. so you know when the vehicle is there it's in focus - a bit like a brake marker.

ISTR weeksy had a similar sort of questions regarding shooting MTBs. The answer for him is the same as the answer here really....any DSLR will do you fine or even he mid-size not-quite-an-SLR ones. As CJ says everything has an "auto everything" setting, until you get right up into the high end. It's all about practice practice practice.

[Horse]

In best tradition of 'what you own', this is possibly the latest iteration:

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ82 bridge
https://www.photographyblog.com/reviews ... z82_review

But as Dazzle hints, it's not simply point and click.

Re autofocus, focus (sometimes requiring the centre of attention to be in the centre of the image), then reframe while holding the button half down.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Cheers, I just had a look and there are some good deals on second hand DSLRs, they're a lot cheaper than when I last looked, I've got a eBay bid on a Sony A230, for £50 it could be mine.

[Horse]

It's all about practice practice practice.

No it's not not not, that way lies disappointment disappointment disappointment

To move beyond basic point and shoot, you need to know some basics and what you're trying to achieve.

For example: a pin-sharp, see the wheel spokes, type image, 'frozen', will need different settings and technique to a blurred background dynamic shot.

[Slenver]

TBH, you'll struggle to buy any kind of camera for £250. The market for cheap compacts has mostly died away as phones do the same job now, so most of the compacts that are left are aimed more at people wanting a high-quality alternative, often for more serious photographers who want something much better than a phone and are happy paying £1000+

The closest I could find to what you want is something like this - second-hand and a little over budget at £289, but it does have a very long zoom range.

Be aware though that taking moving action shots from a long distance with a little camera is very hard! This model does actually have a small viewfinder which would make it significantly better than trying to do it from a screen on the back, but there's a good reason why anyone photographing sport has a big SLR and a tripod.

[Yorick]

Cheers, I just had a look and there are some good deals on second hand DSLRs, they're a lot cheaper than when I last looked, I've got a eBay bid on a Sony A230, for £50 it could be mine.

What appealed to you with that one?

[Mr. Dazzle]

It's all about practice practice practice.

No it's not not not, that way lies disappointment disappointment disappointment

To move beyond basic point and shoot, you need to know some basics and what you're trying to achieve.

For example: a pin-sharp, see the wheel spokes, type image, 'frozen', will need different settings and technique to a blurred background dynamic shot.

Yeah sorry - I meant practice when you know what you're trying to achieve and how, you're absolutely right.

'tis one thing to know what settings you need though and quite another to apply them right? Same as any other thing really.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Cheers, I just had a look and there are some good deals on second hand DSLRs, they're a lot cheaper than when I last looked, I've got a eBay bid on a Sony A230, for £50 it could be mine.

You can buy my bundle of Canon stuff if you like...Mrs. D was gifted a fancy pants Nikon a few years back and all our investment has been in that brand since.

I've got whatever Canon's base model was ~10 years ago, plus a ~400mm lens IIRC. And the 'standard' one it came with. If it's still intact in the loft you can have it for less than eBay would pay, if you like?

[Slenver]

Cheers, I just had a look and there are some good deals on second hand DSLRs, they're a lot cheaper than when I last looked, I've got a eBay bid on a Sony A230, for £50 it could be mine.

Second-hand SLR is definitely the way to go if you want to get more involved in the process of taking the photo. Even here, the market has slowed massively, but new models still come out every year or two and the value of older models dies off pretty quickly. If you look at 5-6 years old you should get a decent sweet point of price vs quality, and I imagine lenses should be getting cheaper as all the manufactures are moving to their new mirrorless models so a lot of people are offloading their old kit.

[Horse]

Be aware though that taking moving action shots from a long distance with a little camera is very hard! This model does actually have a small viewfinder which would make it significantly better than trying to do it from a screen on the back, but there's a good reason why anyone photographing sport has a big SLR and a tripod.

How close, typically, can Penny be trackside?

There's also a fair bit of planning involved. A still image of a bike at 150mph on a straight will be both boring to look at and hard to take.

A bike leant over, in a slow tight turn, will be a more interesting image and the bike will be there [fractionally] longer.

I don't know how many laps you do at a typical track day, but there's not many opportunities to get it right (other than pics of other random riders).

Final thought: how easy is it to leave the pits and travel around the circuit to viewpoints? Can she use the car?

[Yorick]

TBH, you'll struggle to buy any kind of camera for £250. The market for cheap compacts has mostly died away as phones do the same job now, so most of the compacts that are left are aimed more at people wanting a high-quality alternative, often for more serious photographers who want something much better than a phone and are happy paying £1000+

The closest I could find to what you want is something like this - second-hand and a little over budget at £289, but it does have a very long zoom range.

Be aware though that taking moving action shots from a long distance with a little camera is very hard! This model does actually have a small viewfinder which would make it significantly better than trying to do it from a screen on the back, but there's a good reason why anyone photographing sport has a big SLR and a tripod.

Yeah. I've got lots a race fan pals with mega cameras

Just want a few pics on the slower corners.

[Yorick]

I’ve seen some spectacular pictures taken with the latest smart phones, so would a cheaper end dedicated camera really be better? And why?

Optical zoom. Often you're 50 yards from the track.

[Horse]

I’ve seen some spectacular pictures taken with the latest smart phones, so would a cheaper end dedicated camera really be better? And why?

Supplementary lenses are available. When you see an ad that says 'filmed on iPhone', it probably has kit like that.

The Lumix I linked has 20-200 optical. I don't know whether any phones can match that.

[Yorick]

Be aware though that taking moving action shots from a long distance with a little camera is very hard! This model does actually have a small viewfinder which would make it significantly better than trying to do it from a screen on the back, but there's a good reason why anyone photographing sport has a big SLR and a tripod.

How close, typically, can Penny be trackside?

There's also a fair bit of planning involved. A still image of a bike at 150mph on a straight will be both boring to look at and hard to take.

A bike leant over, in a slow tight turn, will be a more interesting image and the bike will be there [fractionally] longer.

I don't know how many laps you do at a typical track day, but there's not many opportunities to get it right (other than pics of other random riders).

Final thought: how easy is it to leave the pits and travel around the circuit to viewpoints? Can she use the car?

Mainly for the slower corners

And she'll be wandering around in the car

I'll do about 60 laps a day I'd imagine

[Slenver]

I’ve seen some spectacular pictures taken with the latest smart phones, so would a cheaper end dedicated camera really be better? And why?

Modern phones are pretty amazing. The main difference, though, even with a 'cheapish' camera, is the size of the sensor. Camera sensors grow all the time, but they're still pretty tiny in comparison, and it's that (along with tiny lenses) that most affect the quality of the photo.

Phones tend to be impressive now in good light, but fall apart badly in low light. They generally fall back on software tricks to merge multiple shots and do all kinds of processing to get a decent image. It can work though, so it's fine for most people's casual snaps.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Cheers, I just had a look and there are some good deals on second hand DSLRs, they're a lot cheaper than when I last looked, I've got a eBay bid on a Sony A230, for £50 it could be mine.

What appealed to you with that one?

It was cheap and from a company I've heard of, I'm not even sure how much I'll use it, so I'm going for something cheap so that I haven't wasted a load of money if it never get's used.
I had a point and click digital camera years ago, but ended up using my phone because it was better, but there's a whole load of things I don't take pictures of because the phone camera will take a poor picture, so I'm hoping that with the ability to choose what the camera is taking a picture of and a view finder I'll get enjoyment out of photography like I used to.

[Mr. Dazzle]

I’ve seen some spectacular pictures taken with the latest smart phones, so would a cheaper end dedicated camera really be better? And why?

Modern phones are pretty amazing. The main difference, though, even with a 'cheapish' camera, is the size of the sensor. Camera sensors grow all the time, but they're still pretty tiny in comparison, and it's that (along with tiny lenses) that most affect the quality of the photo.

Phones tend to be impressive now in good light, but fall apart badly in low light. They generally fall back on software tricks to merge multiple shots and do all kinds of processing to get a decent image. It can work though, so it's fine for most people's casual snaps.

Most people are also looking at those snaps on another phone too, which is always 'hampered/saved' by the tiny screen. Doesn't matter how good the pic and screen quality is when you're looking at it on something this -> <- big