Camera Tech Dept on Powwows Dot Com

[AmigoKumeyaay]

The quality powwow pictures and videos attract web surfers to this site.

Now, what model of photo or video camera is working the best?

Details & features, reviews & ratings, prices & critiques...this site needs a Powwow Camera Pro!
.
.
.
.
."Smile!" *Click*

[Paul G]

I'm shooting with a Nikon D700.

[Toolbox]

I like Nikon cameras for their still images, I have an older D40 and have done shoots with the D90 and some model a few months ago that Nikon sent my friend to do a review, they also sent him a killer zoom lens, all I remember was that the lens cost 4 times as much as the camer did! LOL

Be back in a minute to give my full input.

[Toolbox]

Digital Still cameras

ALERT! NERD RANT INCOMING!!!!! ALERT!

Let me preface this with, Paul is probably a better person to go to about still photography, as my background is in motion pictures, digital cinema, and video.

Why go for a DSLR or a DSL? Well simply put the images that can be captured with them is infinitely better than anything you could get with a pocket point and shoot. You have a choice of a wide variety of lenses, everything from small and ultra crisp primes (non-zoom) to ultra long zooms (my roommate has a 500mm Canon for his 7D and its amazing, heavy, but amazing). The obvious downsides include the size and cost of the cameras, the cost of the extra lenses (some can cost more than the camera) and the fact that you have basically have to lug around a kit. Just go to the photos section here and look at Paul's photos and look at how sharp and vibrant they are then go and look at what people have taken with a small camera and you will see that DSLRs are worth investing a few hundred in if you can afford it.

Another note on 2 important powwow related things that make DSLRs the best option. Powwows are considered to be very busy when talking about photography and video so the first thing about DSLRs is the fact that they have a larger sensor and better lenses which affords you to control the "depth of field" basically if you look at Paul's photos you will see that most of the time he only has the subject in focus. The second thing is that when you are outdoors and have darker subjects (skin, hair, clothing, what the dancer is wearing) against a bright sky exposure control is key. With a DSLR the sensors and other electronics allow you to within reason take a picture in which you can expose for the darker subject without blowing out the background.

In the example below you can see that one the subject is properly exposed and yet you can still see the sky and detail on bright objects in the background. The second thing is that when you look at the image your eyes pay attention to the subject and not really anything in the background. This is called a "shallow depth of field". If this was taken with a compact camera then dancer would still be exposed but the sky might be blown out and the background would be in full focus which is distracting. Again powwows are very busy.


As for still cameras, I'm a Nikon fan, and like the D40(x), D50, D90, D700, D3000, and the D3. I have also fallen in love with the Canon 7D recently, and there is also the Rebel t2i (mid range DSLR).

*More on the video mode of these cameras in my reply to be titled "Hybrids"*

Now for a somewhat newer type of interchangeable lens digital camera. The system I'm talking about here is called "Digital 4/3" or "Micro 4/3" (pronounced as 'four-thirds') and no thats not a math mistake it has to do with the aspect ratio of the sensor. With the (micro) 4/3 system the camera doesn't use a mirror therefor it is no longer considered a "Digital Single Lens Reflex" but rather "Digital Single Lens" ( ). The advantages to this system include a live view of the action meaning there because there is no mirror to bounce the light through the viewfinder you will have to rely on the LCD screen or small electronic viewfinder for image composition (could also be a con). The biggest benefit is the fact that it allows for a very powerful camera to fit into a smaller compact body. Note that lenses behave slightly different with these as the camera has a shorter flange-focal distance than most DLSRs.

My picks so far for (micro 4/3) cameras (these are based on little handling and lots on online research and downloads of the videos and stills:
Panasonic GH2 (Killer video mode and a few other interesting features)
Panasonic GH1 (Good for photos, great for videos once hacked)
Olympus EPL2 (Great photos and great optics from Olympus, video is kind of 'meh')
Olympus EPL1 (Same as above)

My next Digital Camera purchase will probably be the Panasonic GH2, a major reason is the video mode is awesome and a local shop here rents really nice micro 4/3 lenses really cheap.

Tomorrow I will talk about shooting video with a hybrid camera, commonly referred to as a vDSLR (video) or HDSLR (High Definition). I will also talk about my specialty - video cameras and digital cinema cameras.

[Grits & Beans]

Let me preface this with, Paul is probably a better person to go to about still photography, as my background is in motion pictures, digital cinema, and video.

Why go for a DSLR or a DSL? Well simply put the images that can be captured with them is infinitely better than anything you could get with a pocket point and shoot. You have a choice of a wide variety of lenses, everything from small and ultra crisp primes (non-zoom) to ultra long zooms (my roommate has a 500mm Canon for his 7D and its amazing, heavy, but amazing). The obvious downsides include the size and cost of the cameras, the cost of the extra lenses (some can cost more than the camera) and the fact that you have basically have to lug around a kit. Just go to the photos section here and look at Paul's photos and look at how sharp and vibrant they are then go and look at what people have taken with a small camera and you will see that DSLRs are worth investing a few hundred in if you can afford it.

Another note on 2 important powwow related things that make DSLRs the best option. Powwows are considered to be very busy when talking about photography and video so the first thing about DSLRs is the fact that they have a larger sensor and better lenses which affords you to control the "depth of field" basically if you look at Paul's photos you will see that most of the time he only has the subject in focus. The second thing is that when you are outdoors and have darker subjects (skin, hair, clothing, what the dancer is wearing) against a bright sky exposure control is key. With a DSLR the sensors and other electronics allow you to within reason take a picture in which you can expose for the darker subject without blowing out the background.

In the example below you can see that one the subject is properly exposed and yet you can still see the sky and detail on bright objects in the background. The second thing is that when you look at the image your eyes pay attention to the subject and not really anything in the background. This is called a "shallow depth of field". If this was taken with a compact camera then dancer would still be exposed but the sky might be blown out and the background would be in full focus which is distracting. Again powwows are very busy.


As for still cameras, I'm a Nikon fan, and like the D40(x), D50, D90, D700, D3000, and the D3. I have also fallen in love with the Canon 7D recently, and there is also the Rebel t2i (mid range DSLR).

*More on the video mode of these cameras in my reply to be titled "Hybrids"*

Now for a somewhat newer type of interchangeable lens digital camera. The system I'm talking about here is called "Digital 4/3" or "Micro 4/3" (pronounced as 'four-thirds') and no thats not a math mistake it has to do with the aspect ratio of the sensor. With the (micro) 4/3 system the camera doesn't use a mirror therefor it is no longer considered a "Digital Single Lens Reflex" but rather "Digital Single Lens" ( ). The advantages to this system include a live view of the action meaning there because there is no mirror to bounce the light through the viewfinder you will have to rely on the LCD screen or small electronic viewfinder for image composition (could also be a con). The biggest benefit is the fact that it allows for a very powerful camera to fit into a smaller compact body. Note that lenses behave slightly different with these as the camera has a shorter flange-focal distance than most DLSRs.

My picks so far for (micro 4/3) cameras (these are based on little handling and lots on online research and downloads of the videos and stills:
Panasonic GH2 (Killer video mode and a few other interesting features)
Panasonic GH1 (Good for photos, great for videos once hacked)
Olympus EPL2 (Great photos and great optics from Olympus, video is kind of 'meh')
Olympus EPL1 (Same as above)

My next Digital Camera purchase will probably be the Panasonic GH2, a major reason is the video mode is awesome and a local shop here rents really nice micro 4/3 lenses really cheap.

Tomorrow I will talk about shooting video with a hybrid camera, commonly referred to as a vDSLR (video) or HDSLR (High Definition). I will also talk about my specialty - video cameras and digital cinema cameras.

teebs, how often do you give a long-winded explanation like the one above to someone and all they say in reply is "so what does that mean?"

[Toolbox]

teebs, how often do you give a long-winded explanation like the one above to someone and all they say in reply is "so what does that mean?"

I do it to certain people all the time, mainly as revenge for talking to me about sports using terms like "line-backer" or "short-stop", and they laugh at me when I ask what they do. See nerds are slowly taking over the world by making technology so essential to everyday life, at the same time making it so over complicated to make the jocks angry.

[Toolbox]

Today's topic and another nerd rage from me Hybrid DSLRs or DSLs (micro 4/3 system). Commonly referred to as "HDSLRs" and "vDSLRs"

A "Hybrid DSLR" is an interchangeable lens digital camera that has a video mode. The video mode on these cameras is far better than the cell-phone quality video that small point-and-shoot cameras output. The better video quality is due to the fact that most DSLRs have larger, better engineered, and more powerful sensors, they also have dedicated microprocessors (some even have multiple cores). With the powerful processing power and better chip design the manufacturers are able to stick allow the cameras employ a higher bit-rate codec* which allows for much less compression of the video.

Before I go any further you will need to keep in mind that these cameras are "Digital Still Cameras first and they just happen to take nice video". I say this because the technical limitations of the video mode on these cameras can be what makes or breaks it for someone looking at video cameras.

The pros of this type of camera is that you will generally have all the nice features of the camera's still mode available in the video mode. These include very good low-light performance, great control over the depth of field, choice of lenses, and usually higher dynamic range or "latitude"**. The feature that most people really like is simply the small size and versatility of the camera in that in one small package you have an awesome still camera and a decent video camera.

Videos are embedded below for you to see what I am talking about.

Now for the cons. As I stated above these cameras are still cameras that just happen to be able to record video. The number one and by far the most annoying con is what we digital cinema and video people call "Rolling Shutter" or as its sometimes referred to as the "Jello Effect". Rolling shutter has to do with how the camera's sensor captures the image. Modern DSLRs use a type of sensor technology known as a "CMOS" whereas older cameras and higher end professional video cameras use CCDs for imaging. CMOS sensors capture the image in a progressive line by line fashion capturing each row of pixels before moving onto the next, this is called a "Rolling Shutter". The advantage here is that this method allows the camera to capture just a single line without interference from the line above and below. This technology allows the camera to take a picture where you might have a bright sun in the sky and yet still accurately capture an object in the shadows. Here's the problem because an object in motion moves faster than the scanning of the sensor that object will bend slightly. The effect is much more noticeable when the camera moves (pans or tilts) rather than an object moving around in the frame. Rolling shutter also creates wobble with vertical movements, hold a clear piece of gelatin up to you eye and give it a jiggle and notice how the image wobbles around. The other thing that rolling shutting creates, in video mode only, comes when you have a flash of light (camera flash, police light, fireworks) hits the sensor for less time than the sensor needs to capture a complete frame, this effect is called "Flash Banding". In an image with flash banding you will see just that a band of bright light somewhere in the image with the rest resembling the scene before the flash. Keep in mind that CMOS sensors have come a long way and some of these problems have been addressed, they still exist but not as noticeable.

Now for another drawback. Since these cameras have very large pixel count image sensors, such as 16 megapixels, and HD video is only 2.2 megapixels the camera has to do some fancy processing to convert 16MP to 2.2MP. Most DSLRs do something called "line skipping" in which as it records the video it throws out every so many lines and pixels. This creates a problem because you are loosing information when recording video that will end up getting filled in by fake information. With these cameras two things can be seen. The first is color banding on tight repeating patterns, you will see this as red, green and blue swirls on things like bricks and shingles; this effect is called "Moire". The second thing happens to the edges of defined objects (like power lines or the edge of a building), what you will see is the edges look like a jagged set of stairs.

Please note that depending on the camera recording times may be limited, but are usually much longer than the length of an average dance.

The final con that makes these cameras not a viable option for everybody is the audio isn't very good, given their small microphone and lack of any manual control. Most people who use DSLRs for video will use a separate sound recording device for audio, sort of like in the days of shooting movies on film. Shooting separate video and audio adds an extra step when it comes to editing because you have to sync the sound and video together.

FUN FACT: the reason for the "Slate" or "Clapper" you see in the behind the scenes shots of movies is so the editor can sync the sound of the slate closing with the start of the take.

I did a search on Youtube for powwows that were filmed with a DSLR and found this:
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6iMGsz2Q5Xs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Slow motion example of a CMOS Sensor scanning an image:
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-0RW6o4Fcfk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

An extreme example of Rolling shutter (most cameras are no where near this bad):
YouTube - Nikon D90 Motion Test

Flash banding:


Moire and Aliasing notice the colors strobe on the brick wall and the rough edges of the buildings:
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Q4RrRYBPi_o" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


*Codec: A piece of software that encodes a video and decodes a file, such as a .mpeg or a .mov or .mp3. The higher the bit rate the more information and thus less loss of quality. Listen to an mp3 at 64kbps and then listen to the same one that was compressed to 192kbps and you will notice a tremendous difference.

**Dynamic Range: Simply the difference between the brightest and darkest light that the camera can perceive without washing out in the whites or blacks. In the picture of the Grass Dancer above you see that the sky and the dancer are both exposed correctly, if the image had low dynamic range than the sky would be a lot less blue and more white and blown out.

Finally tomorrow Video Cameras!

[lbgood]

I have no idea wut you all said LOL, but I just have a mediocre camera that I use (Canon Powershot SX200 IS digital camera) If I ever do decide to take photography seriously then I'll comeback and re-read yoour posts/recommendations and then upgrade accordingly

[Toolbox]

I have no idea wut you all said LOL, but I just have a mediocre camera that I use (Canon Powershot SX200 IS digital camera) If I ever do decide to take photography seriously then I'll comeback and re-read yoour posts/recommendations and then upgrade accordingly

Reread it ssssssllllllloooooooowwwwwwwwllllllyyyyyyyyy

[AmigoKumeyaay]

CostCo deal on Nikon D3100

I'm shooting with a Nikon D700.

If you have Costco acct, or Costco friend:

Nikon D3100 Digital SLR, 18-55mm VR Lens plus 55-200 VR lens, Training Pack Bundle with DVD's ....Costco Item# 560759 now for $729.99

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11622027&search=d3100&Mo=1&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Sp=S&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=d3100&Ntt=d3100&No=1&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1

[Toolbox]

Thats a nice entry level hybrid DSLR, I have the same Nikon 18-55 zoom and its one of the nicest simple kit lenses I have ever used. BTW I had to fix your link.

[wyo_rose]

OK! But how about something for those of us who can only afford a couple hundred (or LESS) for a digital camera?

My last camera requirements were:
must take AA batteries
must have SD card
Optical zoom up to 3-4

What else do I need to look for in a compact camera?

[AmigoKumeyaay]

Has anybody used "Panarama Mode" as in Sony cameras to sweep across an arena full of dancers?

Sweep Panorama : Sony

Check out the ballgame photo in the link

But last year's Sweep Panorama mode had a problem with moving subjects--if anyone in your panoramic shot moved, they often looked like they were stretched across the frame. This year's Cyber-shot HX5V, Cyber-shot DSC-TX7, and Cyber-shot DSC-TX5 offer a revamped Intelligent Sweep Panorama mode that goes one step further, scanning the scene for moving subjects and making them appear still in the final panoramic image.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/190430/the_coolest_camera_features_of_2010.html

(this link compares several point & shoot cameras, moderate prices, click on arrows at top center to navigate)

[Toolbox]

In terms of cheap but OK digital cameras that use AA batteries Canon makes a lower end version of their popular Powershot series (the model escapes me Axxxx) takes some good pictures. If you step up in price you will find something like the Nikon L110, a bit beefy in size but a decent lens, and it still uses AA batteries, the cost is around $200 on sale and $250 not on sale. Right now I saw that a popular office supply store has the Kodak 'Slice' model on sale at like 200 off bringing it down to about $100, its not a bad camera, it has some interesting organization and sharing features.

When looking at small cameras, don't get caught up in the "Megapixel Myth", as when it comes to consumer grade cameras megapixels don't really matter above 6 to 8 MP, because unless you are going to print out large format pictures you don't really need anything larger. In fact, with some cameras, packing too many megapixels on a small imaging chip can lead to a decrease in low light performance and even a decrease in the ability of a camera to resolve fine details. Megapixels only really matter with DSLRs and other large format digital cameras.

[Toolbox]

Has anybody used "Panarama Mode" as in Sony cameras to sweep across an arena full of dancers?

Sweep Panorama : Sony

Check out the ballgame photo in the link

But last year's Sweep Panorama mode had a problem with moving subjects--if anyone in your panoramic shot moved, they often looked like they were stretched across the frame. This year's Cyber-shot HX5V, Cyber-shot DSC-TX7, and Cyber-shot DSC-TX5 offer a revamped Intelligent Sweep Panorama mode that goes one step further, scanning the scene for moving subjects and making them appear still in the final panoramic image.

The Coolest Camera Features of 2010 - PCWorld

(this link compares several point & shoot cameras, moderate prices, click on arrows at top center to navigate)

Manufacturers are coming out with some wild features recently. I have not played with the sweep function on a Sony camera yet, but it looks promising. I do like how they mention that the Olympus camera's can do a simulated "tilt-shift" effect in camera, I occasionally do that in Photoshop, but it only really works when you have an angled shot. If someone can get me a high angle from Denver March or GON I will tilt-shift it in Photoshop to show you how funny the effect is.

Here's an entire time lapse video that was tilt shifted: <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Nb5GpV_LUuU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>