camera & photography crew...

[STANG KILLA SS]

took a trip to mississipi to do some riding. got to borrow a camera to take some shots, a fancy SLR $4k body $2k lens. friggin bad ass.
there were two features i really liked.

1. it had a seperate focus and shutter button. you could set the focus on the object ahead of time then simply mash the shutter button to take pics when ever you wanted. this would be great for me. i take mostly wakeboarding pics. and since the rider is always at a set length. i could set the focal length and then hand off the camera to any newb and they could get great shots. because even though the boat and rider are always moving there alway the exact same distance from each other. ie the rope length.

2. it had a multi shot setting. i think 5 frames per second. this would be great again to hand of the camera to a newb in the boat and still be able to capture exact pics. ie a grab or a handle pass. since these moments only last a fraction of a second, this would really aid in getting that shot. you just mash the button once, and it snaped 5 sequential shots in one second.

SO now the delima. i would love these abilities but without the cost.
is there camera out there for under $1,000 that can do this? or even $500? id doesnt have to be a seperate body/lens SLR. a point and shoot would be fine. does such an camera exist? or something even close?

 

[shelby]

this is off topic, but did you ever finish that wakeboarding vid of yours?

 

[STANG KILLA SS]

working on it.

back on topic thanks

 

[DickyT]

I have a Canon EOS Digital Rebel T1i, I believe it can do what you are asking, and is under $1000


If you disable autofocus you can pre focus with the lens, then just mash the shoot button.

It has a sports mode that shoots 30mb\second worth of photos on the card I have in it. If I set photo type to Large, I get 6-8 photo's per second, medium even more. The card type\speed is a determining factor in how many photo's the camera can take. It has the shutter speed, you just need a fast card in it. It can shoot until the card is full and views almost as if you shot video.

 

[dkf]

Some of the guys over at JRCBD take some killer photos which can be tough to get with the quick movement of the boats. May want to start a thread over there as well.

 

[John Deere]

I have a Olympus E520 and its bad ass. You can get them for under a thousand with extra lense. Check out there website. I only use olympus some prefer canon or nikon i have never had a problum with olympus.

 

[dieselfuel]

Digital SLR is the way to go, there are some great point and shoot cameras out there but the capabilities of a good D-SLR are untouchable by by anything less.

the rapid fire, mulitple shots per second thing is common on any SLR out there. my Nikon D60 (2yrs old $850 at the time i bought it) does 4.5fps i believe, the newer ones are just getting faster and faster. however going over 4.5fps gets pretty spendy. Nikon's new D300s (my next camera, want it sooo bad) is capable of 8fps but its got a retail price of $1600 without lenses. there are a number of entry lever packages out there under $1k right now from nikon, canon, pentax etc... ive only got experience with nikon, never owned a canon.

you can also look around and find good used or refurbished equipment at great prices. sites like www.bhphoto.com and www.adorama.com sell reconditioned cameras and lenses.

 

[HomerJ]

Any digital SLR can do what you are asking pretty much, just how well is what separates them all.

Pre-focus the lens to proper length, then set the camera to
manual focus and it won't change unless you rotate the lens housing. Not an ideal solution, but would work.

Most can take several pics in series, but what a lot of people overlook is the write speed on the memory card. Your camera could be capable of 100 pics per sec, but will only take as many as the card can handle to an extent.. There's a little more to it than that though.

Personally, I love my Canon. There are die hards that will tell you one brand is better than another no matter what. But, at the end of the day, they all take exceptional pics or a non-professional photographer...

 

[Wicked_Jester]

most dslr's have a dual stage shutter button press half way to focus and the other half way to release the shutter and have multi-frames setting"thumbsup"

pm me I might have a hook up for you"thumbsup"

 

[rottenbelly]

I got a Nikon D5000 package that was under 1k with 2 lenses.
Spent good money on a good memory card that will let me take 4 frames per second. Like homerj said a good memory card is important too.
Both lenses have auto and manual focus.
Really loving it and taking some great pics so far."thumbsup"

 

[Sydwaiz]

I have a Olympus E520 and its bad ass. You can get them for under a thousand with extra lense. Check out there website. I only use olympus some prefer canon or nikon i have never had a problum with olympus.

My wife has the Olympus E510. Similiar to yours. It's a pretty great camera for the price. Your lens is what will make all the difference, the body not so much. I think she paid $350 for the body and standard lens. Her telephoto lens was around $3-400 as was her wide angle. They may not be pro grade but still take great pictures.

If you don't want the bulk of a DSLR, look at the Olympus PEN. Its like a point and shoot body but with interchangeable lenses the same as what my wifes takes. I keep telling my dad to get one of those because he bought a DSLR but doesn't know how to use it except swap lenses! He never leaves the auto setting.

 

[mrpink]

For entry/mid level DSLR... Nikon > Cannon for stills. Cannon > Nikon for movies. Pro grade, Cannon all the way.

My setup. Gripped D90 with Nikkor 17-55mm 2.8 EG lens and two SB-600 flashes. Works great in almost all situations. I have a Sigma 18-250mm tele lens for when I need that reach.

For the situation you are looking for I would HIGHLY recommend the Nikon D300 series. They have a full metal weather sealed body (not waterproof), perfect for boating situations. You can find a used D300 for around $900. The main difference between the D300 and D300S is movie mode, there are other small differences. With DSLRs you will want to spend your money on glass, the better your lens, the sharper your image. Plan on spending about $750-1200 for a good lens. Also, another $150 for a good polarizing filter, less for cheaper quality.

And you thought RC was expensive......





p!nK

 

[STANG KILLA SS]

john deer, thats a little more that i want to spend i think im going to shoot for under 500 for body. used is fine as long as it has all cables and manuals etc. im new.

diesel:yeah looks like its gonna have to be a DSLR
anything with 3-5 FPS burst will be fine with me. my HD camcorder i do my editing with is a canon. so i guess ill probly stick with that brand. but not a must. and i buy all my stuff from B&H. but hadnt heard of that other place.

wicked jester, yeah my point and shoot has the halfway down thing for focus. too slow for wakeboarding. not really interested in that. PM with with your hookup.

sydwaiz. yeah i need simplicity. i would be auto mode myself i dont know much. cant even figure out what this ISO is all these cameras talk about.... ill look into those cameras you mentioned.

pink, not looking to go proffesional. those prices are way more than i will spend. ill have the thing set to low pixel count and auto anyway. i just want to catch the action. and have other be able to catch me. face book cant tell the difference between a 200 lens and a 2000 lens....

 

[run2jeepn]

How about a Canon 30D? I've got one for sell that is in like new cond...

 

[STANG KILLA SS]

ironically thats one of the exact ones i was looking at. just starting to dig/learn about all these models....

 

[dkf]

I dug the thread up from Jims. Was impressed with the pics. "Camera is a Nikon D200 slr, lense for these pics is a Sigma 80-400/OS"

http://www.jrcbd.com/showthread.php?t=7348&highlight=camera

 

[Offroader5]

I use a Canon 30D. It's done everything I've asked of it and I haven't even done it all with it. I paid like $750 for the body...but it's now an "older model", so you may be able to get in under your budget for the body.

 

[Grizzly4x4]

wicked jester, yeah my point and shoot has the halfway down thing for focus. too slow for wakeboarding. not really interested in that. PM with with your hookup.

My Nikon D70 has a continuous focus setting which will automatically refocus, with the button halfway down, as the person is moving. Then you just take your shots.
I set my Nikon on continuous auto focus and give it to my wife or daughter to take kneeboarding, wakeboarding, and tubing pics, and they always get plenty of good shots.

My Nikon also takes 3 frames per sec on the motor drive and I find I miss things alot when relying on it for motocross or other action pictures. I would suggest something with more frames per second.

Shutter lag is the problem with point and shoots. I have a Canon G5 that takes really nice pics but it takes too long to focus to be of any use for action pics.
The only other camera I have personal experience with is the Nikon D300. It's a great camera with the 12 frames per second.

 

[Offroader5]

The 30D does have a "AI servo" setting for the focusing which will track the subject while the shutter button is half pressed. It'll continually adjust the focus and then you can hit the shutter.

 

[run2jeepn]

The 30D does have a "AI servo" setting for the focusing which will track the subject while the shutter button is half pressed. It'll continually adjust the focus and then you can hit the shutter.

Sure does...