camera gear

[siopilosagkelos]

i have a question to all the "tourists". i don't plan on getting a bike till spring but for now i'm getting things ready. i was reading through alot of posts and everyone talks about camera gear being packed. i was wondering what you all prefer to take. a digital camera or a digital camcorder. i was thinking a camcorder since you can still take still frames. i'm also wondering what cameras you all use for night shots and such. this might be in the wrong forum but i figured you all would know. thanks.

[drgibson]

Hmmm where does one start. First unless you have room for both you need to decide which you prefer, still or video. Don't confuse a video camera that takes stills with a real still camera the quality much less then most mid priced still digitals. Night shots... can you say tripod? I am a freelance photographer and I too will be making some tuff decisions when I go pack my saddlebags. I am totally digital using 2 digital SLRs and I have two large bags of equipment. I might be subject to withdrawal at least until I roll on the throttle!

[Scott58]

I use a Kodak DX7440 4 megapixal 4X zoom. I bought it the weekend before I bought my bike and it has worked out great. Just used it on a road trip to niagra falls last month and all pics came out 100% (postcard quality stuff). It also does movies for as much as you have memory for with sound. I've had an issue with a battery latch (common i understand) but it isn't enough to make me want to send it back. The pictures are just to awesome with it. The pictures at my sight don't do it much justice as they are all resized to lower resolution but it will give you an idea.

http://www.freewebs.com/scott58/index.htm

[siopilosagkelos]

wow nice pics! right now i have a lil 3.2 MP camera but i'm lookin at gettin a 8 MP soon. mainly i want high quality and burst mode. i play paintball alot as well and usually take pics and videos during a tourney. i would like to see so more pics if you have any. thanks fellas!

[tlwisner]

I use a Canon SD110 Elph 3.2 MP camera. It has great picture quality, and for me the best feature is that it is the size of a pack of king size cigarettes. Taking this little camera anywhere is no hassle at all, it takes up very little room in my tank bag. My Canon AE-1 might as well go to eBay...

[JES883]

I've got a little Casio 7.2 MP. I bought a 1 GB card for it. It will take high-quality movies at 640x480 for nearly a half hour. Quality is great. It fit's in my pocket, or in the "trunk", or in my tank bag. Because of the quality of video and pics, and the convenience of having those movies on the PC, I have to say that I would NOT buy a video camera.

Night shots come out pretty good, too.

I have yet to mount it to the tank, though. I think that's something for next riding season. I'm not yet ready to show people how poorly I ride.

[mr_resistible]

I have a Canon DX6440, 4.0 Mega Pixel. With a 1 gig card also. It works really well, and small enough to fit in the pocket of my jacket. It takes fantastic pictures. It also takes video with sound. But the video is not the best.

[wayout1]

I shoot a Canon D30 for serious stuff but i have a little Canon Powershot that i take with me on any short hop rides because it fits in a pocket in my jacket and I got tired of saying "DANG.. I wish i had my..." Planning on doing some touring like up to Monument Valley and eventually a run up the PCH/US1 - have pondered getting a mount for my Hi8 for the handlebars for the fun of it.

[Rickster]

For me it came down to size, I wanted a camara I could have on me all the time, so it had to fit in my shirt pocket. If I have it on me, it's not likely to get stolen, and I don't miss many pictures. I bought the 5.1 MP Sony Cyber Shot. Oh, one other thing, a lot of cameras need a special battery, and when you are traveling, it isn't always convenient to recharge them, so I got one that takes "AA" batteries. I still use the rechargeable ones, but this way if I get stuck with dead batteries, I can just buy some at the next gas stop.

[Boulevard Billy]

I use a Fuji E510, 5.1 megapixel. Small, light and unobtrusive. Not professional quality but neither is the author. Small, light & unobtrusive that is. . . always a pro when on two wheels or 30.

[C2W?]

Started out using a Sony (ugh) 3mp camera with a Zeiss lense. Battery life basically sucked. Finally popped for a D70s Nikon (fantastic battery life) with a 1gig card. My 15L Marsee teasrdrop tank bag easily holds the camera, spare battery and 1 gig card as well as all the other "stuff" I keep in bag. The picture quality is dramatically better. If you've got the room, the Nikon is a great camera, if you are pushed for space one of the 3-5+ mega pixel (fits in a purse sized) Sony (UGH) or Canon cameras are good choices.

My .02 worth, YMMV

[mr_resistible]

Since my last post I have done a lot of reading on Digital cameras. I just bought a new Canon A620. Fantastic camera. But really too big and heavy if I want to take it with me on a trip. I'm thinking about maybe getting another camera. Something small, I really like the Canon SD400 but I hear its battery life isn't great. Panasonic also had a nice one with image stabalization. Lumix DMC FX9

Here are some of my best digital camera links. Check these out
http://www.dpreview.com/ Best camera reviews on the planet

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraList.php Another great review site.

www.digitalfotoclub.com best prices and service anywhere. Best brices anywhere on full US warranty products. Stay away from places in New York. They sell mostly non US models that carry no US warranty. Want to know how I know this? Guess where I got mine? I got ripped off by a place called www.bwayphoto.com I got a good price on a new camera but the books were photocopies and I only got a 15 day warranty. And if I sent it back they were going to charge me an outrageous restocking fee. so be carefull getting digital cameras online. Make sure your dealing with a reputable dealer.

www.beachcamera.com is also a good place to buy from.

[Beemerchef]

Hi Mike.... great post...
BeachCamera is good... unlike the "other" Internet rip offs... and great prices...
Something I always considered on the bike is the... "shaking". In my case more than average lately and setlled a couple weeks ago on the new A20 Pentax, which I was surprised BeachCamera carried... The reason for the A20 is its triple image stabilizer system... one always on... and 2 gyros which you can activate... I like it... most of my pictures where starting to get blurry... nothing more frustrating after a whole day of riding and taking pictures...
However... even though it came with a 10MP range... I am finding that number being such a total waist!... personally... for the past seven years that I have been taking digital pictures... I have never blown a single picture and my cameras have always been on 640P!... high resolution... or VGA one called it... unless someone enlightens me here... what am I going to do with 10MP!!!...
Bye Mike...

Be well... will see you next summer!!!




Ara