Best filming camera to film movies?

Q. Hi! In 2015, some school mates and I are planning to shoot a remake of The Breakfast Club. It will be the 30 year anniversary and we are excited to start. Anyways, I am looking for a great filming camera for movies. I know it'll be pricey but I seem to get 0 help when I just google it. I also want to know how to make the footage have an 80s feel, quality wise. I will be using the camera that any of you suggest for a number of years and films to come, and I would also appreciate if you have any movie editing software? Thank you!

A. I am guessing you are looking to use some digital camera to film. If you are going to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a professional movie camera, please ignore rest of my answer.

Most of us know that most compact cameras, or smart-phones like iPhones, are not good at video recording. If light is good, they do an okay job. When light is dull, they are almost unusable. Same is true for most consumer SLR cameras with kit lenses. So what do we do to take high quality High-Definition videos? Should we use an HD camcoder or a pocket camcorder like Sony Bloggie or UltraHD?

Most compact cameras don't do a good job in low light- for still images or for videos. If you zoom in, the shake becomes too obvious. Most DSLRs will do a little better as light level goes down but many of them will not auto focus during videos (because of the mirror which needs to be flipped for focusing). You can bypass this with a mirrorless camera which can auto focus, like Panasonic G or GF series but with Auto focus, you lose the control over which part of the frame, or on which person to focus on. If you have 3 persons in a frame, your Auto-Focus will not know which one you want to focus on. Why not? Silly, it is Auto-focus! It focuses by itself!! That is the reason you never see a professional movie or videos done with Autofocus.

Now read an article here which can give you nice tips:
http://photography-with-any-camera.blogspot.com/2013/03/video-recording-with-dslr-is-it-worth-it.html

Original Question

Can most digital cameras now all do full hd 1080p video recording?

Q.

A. Most of them do 1080p HD video. However please be aware that most compact cameras, or smart-phones like iPhones, are not good at video recording. If light is good, they do an okay job. When light is dull, they are almost unusable. If you zoom in and do video, there can be lot of shake. You may be better off with iPhone or some digital camcorder that offers 30-40x zoom.

Read this article- it will provide you some relevant info:
http://photography-with-any-camera.blogspot.com/2013/03/video-recording-with-dslr-is-it-worth-it.html

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Kodak Easyshare camera will not charge?

Q. My Kodak Easyshare will not charge brand new battery and using my ac charger, the light blinks a few seconds and then goes off it will not charge enough to bring the lens back into place. Does a ac charger go bad ive had this camera for appr 5 yrs? Ive tried plugging it into different outlets and it still will not make the green light stay on. I love this camera and really would like to know if its worth saving.
Duracell still sells the batteries for the Kodak Easyshare which i recently bought directly through their online store. So it doesn't appear to be the battery it was working fine up until a couple days ago.

A. Chargers can and do go bad over the years, but the more likely suspect would be the camera's battery. You'll have a tough time getting support for your 5-year old Kodak Easyshare, as Kodak got out of the digital camera business and went through bankruptcy.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/06/20/kodak-bankruptcy-nears-end/2442147/


In my humble opinion, it's time for a new camera, and from a more reliable brand such as Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Sony, Fujifilm, Samsung, etc. Avoid Kodak, Vivitar, and any camera you'd find in a blister pack hanging on a peg at Walmart.

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How can I achieve this photograph effect?

Q. I'm kind of getting into photography, not a big camera guy meaning I don't have a $600 Canon or Nikon, I use a regular digital camera and then touch up the pictures in Photoshop CS6 and Color Efex Pro 4..

I really like the lighting effect used in these pictures, is there any way I could come close to creating it, maybe mixing different channels or something?

Any help will be appreciated, thank you! :)

Pictures:
1) https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXe5qzNarGQMHm16c49UHc9meHvWOJmAqCyJ4Lh6gFxm9fWcvqcQWjbLl94nG_LL1jG4ADLApwE_pk_0oN5sOshMVX-wEEWQEkxeV8gvkOfR1BEh73FFIaOE4BlQR2-XY-R84nzbpEudY/s1600/D-WHY+DWHY+D+WHY+David+Morris+The+Cleanest+Corner+-+2013-07-20+-+Los+Angeles+CA+-+-Hollywood+Roosevelt+--003.png

2) https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnSGbIEegGF_ciQAW3uhf0qJ7p_c21VQtTuCyXL1FPzCb_LMwxJ8UlREWlkK1RX9dAAgQi6sl6Z8CTAlSV8nrUOmMouTamcjuajqlEdpjr5xlZ4Ew45H4nuP8gEXJ_LIZ9msoK2jGWa10/s1600/D-WHY+DWHY+D+WHY+David+Morris+The+Cleanest+Corner+-+2013-07-20+-+Los+Angeles+CA+-+-Hollywood+Roosevelt+--004.png

3) https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpSjIIiKMe9IfLB-OY2PggSxNzjWeEbZxaaT5MELmN5k_R6gkfXSV28uRqXwfXU18TAY2h9avDI3qUw15eWh42MlS1uYqfVFrnU_CPoivqpjm92g96GmPt4UixnJxI2LgEG4Dj9nFosf8/s1600/D-WHY+DWHY+D+WHY+David+Morris+The+Cleanest+Corner+-+2013-07-20+-+Los+Angeles+CA+-+-Hollywood+Roosevelt+--007.png

A. You can move the slider to adjust the saturation to overly saturate it and use the brightness/contrast slider to adjust those two things in order to make it too dark and have too much contrast. Once the picture looks as terrible as the ones you posted you're all set.

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What is the difference between these three cameras ?

Q. http://p1podas.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/2222photo.jpg?w=611&h=458

The one on the right, middle and the one on the left ? Can they all take pictures like this :

http://500px.com/photo/4376010
http://500px.com/photo/1727142
http://500px.com/photo/23814435
http://500px.com/photo/34359580

What is the difference between these three cameras ? Thanks.

A. They are all digital SLR's. The one on the right looks like a medium format, possibly a Pentax 645; the others are the more widely used FX or DX format.

Yes, they can all be used to take pictures like your examples. Do NOT make the assumption that the ownership of any of these cameras will in itself enable the neophyte to immediately go out and take photographs of this standard. This would be a very expensive mistake. I say this because of your wording in the question:
'Can they all take pictures like this'
Rather as if it's the camera that takes the photograph. As you can see, cameras need the assistance of a knowledgeable and experienced photographer to take good photographs. That's why the humans are there, accompanying the cameras.

Original Question

What type of Film did video cameras for Hollywood use in the 1970's to make Hollywood movies?

Q. I know that people who made home movies in the 70's used 35mm, 16mm, 8mm any others if you know???

I assume it would have been different and or better than the type of film used for home movie films of the same time???

Can you name the calibers and sizes of professional hollywood movie Video Camera film???

I can find out a lot about home movie making back then but not about what movie studios of hollywood used that is why i am asking.

Also about today's recording media it is probably since we are in the digital age. Are hollywood movie Cameras recording Digitally to a Hard Drive or something like that nowadays???

I figure any type of video tape for recording a hollywood movie has not been used in years because we are in the digital age. So any videos Cameras hollywood uses today is saving to a Hard Drive Digitally is what i figure anyway.

I always wondered to are Video Cameras going back to the 70's to Present Day 2013 what types of power sources did they use like Car Batteries,Power Cords plugged to wall outlets or some other type of battery???

I say Car Batteries and power cords plugged to wall outlets because i figure it would take something pretty heavy duty to run a Video Camera for a Movie and not some lithium ion rechargeable proprietary battery like home video cameras use today in the present day.


I ask these questions because i have always had an interest in Video and Still Cameras. Both of the Consumer Home Category and the Big Leauges where Movies of Hollywood for the Big Screen are made.

I Really do appreciate your helpful answers community.

A. Hollywood movies since the era of "talkies" have been shot on either 1 inch or 2 inch wide film strips. Known in the trade as "35mm" and "65mm". Silent movies and home movies from the 20s used 16mm or 1/2 inch wide film. then Kodak came out with its 8mm format for home movie use. 8mm is the same identical film as 16mm double perf but only exposed for half the width. the reel is flipped at the end and then the other side is exposed. 8mm is also 16 fps instead of 24 fps used for theatrical movies. thus it consumed a lot less film making it affordable for home use. after exposure, the double shot camera reel was developed, split down the center and spliced together to make a single 3.5 minute reel of 1/4 inch wide film with sprocket holes on one side only. The reels for 8mm film are the same as for 1/4 inch audio tape except they have a feature that prevents them from being mounted backwards on the projector.

when videotape came out with portable cameras for consumer use that pretty much ended the 8mm movie era. Kodak and other camera makers came out with Super8 which was a cartridge film system to try and compete. Compared to 8mm it offered improvements, like sound, higher frame rate (18 fps) slightly larger image size, battery power, and ease of handling, but the public preferred VHS that could be viewed on the TV set instead of requiring a projector and screen.

the majority of Hollywood movies are still shot on 65mm film. the film is often converted to 4k video for the purpose of editing and special effects creation and then regenerated back to film for theatrical use. it has only been very recently that CCD technology has improved to allow 4k video to be imaged directly by a digital camera, so that is the future of movie making as it matches the 4k video editing that has been done in Hollywood since the 1980s.. HDTV is 1k video for comparison.

there is a huge gap in quality between equipment made for the motion picture industry and home use. that is mostly because the big screen requires far more resolution than a TV set.

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help to buy entry level DSLR?

Q. Hi Folks,

I am much interested in photography since my childhood. But till I was using Canon A3100 Point and Shoot camera.

I am willing to buy an entry level DSLR as I am an amateur. I googled much but arrived in a confusion. I have shortlisted 2 models. Please suggest the best one.

1) Canon 600 D - heard many positive reviews, but lens cost is more and there is no auto focus in video mode.

2) Sony SLT A58 - heard that lens costs cheaper. But is it rare in market ? I think auto focus in video mode is available.

A. Actually Canon has some great value priced lenses. Sony has limited line up of lenses and they are normally expensive.
Here is an article that should help you with your first DSLR purchase:
http://photography-with-any-camera.blogspot.com/2013/05/best-digital-slr-for-beginners.html

Also, don't buy a camcorder for video as one answerer suggested unless you don't care much about quality. With a right lens, an SLR will take much better video than any consumer grade camcorder. With SLR you can do selective focusing but a camcorder will give you flat videos- everything always in focus. Here is another read for you:
http://photography-with-any-camera.blogspot.com/2013/03/video-recording-with-dslr-is-it-worth-it.html

Original Question

Nikon D3100 or D80...?

Q. l am looking into buying my first DSLR camera,I really want it for family pictures and baby portraits. So I have been looking into refurbished cameras and I found two that I am really debating between. I am obviously no pro so I understand that if I am bad a taking pictures it really wouldn't matter if I got the best one. My question is which of the two should I go with for the price? There is the Nikon d3100 or the Nikon d80. They are both the same exact price which of the two should I go for?

A. There is no comparison as such. You should go with D3100 as it has a newer sensor, shoots HD video and has newer technology. At some point, you would want to shoot a video too of your baby.
D80 used to be popular in its days, mostly for its build quality but as you are going to shoot indoor, build quality is not something you need to 'invest' in.
Now as you want to use the camera mostly for family abd baby photos, you should buy one of the following lenses. For indoor photos and for portraits, these lenses will take you far far ahead than where D80 or D3100 can take.

Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras by Nikon- around $200
Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras by Nikon - around $100

These lenses will let you shoot in low light and will give nice background blurring with F1.8- F2 in Aperture Priority mode. Once you see the photos with these two lense, I am sure you will come back to this post and would want to thank me for this advice.

Read this article:
http://photography-with-any-camera.blogspot.com/2013/05/best-digital-slr-for-beginners.html

Good luck.

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Why is the Leica M8 so good?

Q. Why is the Leica M8 good what makes it Unique from the Dslr's?

A. Well, in a lot of ways, in 2013, the Leica M8 is actually not so good by current standards. It's a crop sensor digital camera with, what is now considered, poor high ISO noise redux. The M9 is another story however.

The reason the M8 used to be considered a great digital camera and still is if you're on a budget, is that it is a rangefinder camera. That in itself makes it unique from DSLR's because it is simply not a Single Lens Reflex camera.

If you want to study up on the differences between rangefinders and SLR's, there are hundreds of in-depth discussions all over the internet. Essentially it boils down to rangefinders being smaller, quieter, better at manual focusing in low light and due to the lack of a flipping mirror, viewing is more of the moment as well as handheld slow shutter speeds more free of vibration. The problem is that there are limitations to composition and use of macro and longer telephoto lenses as well as zoom lenses with rangefinders. Also, some folks just don't like focusing through them.

Whats-more, Leica build quality far exceeds those of most popular manufacturers. They hand-assemble their camera and lenses with higher quality materials and more tightly fitting parts. This results in cameras and lenses that feel very enjoyable to use but also that last through extreme abuse and continue to work well for decades.

Leica is also world renowned for the high optical performance of their lenses. They are virtually devoid of optical abberations commonly found in Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus and other more popular lensmakers products.

Hope this is useful!

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Is this a good camera to buy?

Q. I need a good camera for a reasonable price..is this camera a good one. Im need it to be waterproof for my vacation pics. OLYMPUS CORPORATION - TG-830 iHS 16.0-Mega pixel Digital Camera with 5-25mm Lens' in Digital Cameras

A. Olympus release 2 waterproof cameras this year. TG-830 is the budget one and there is more highend one, Olympus TG-2 iSH whch is $379 at Amazon.

This year most camera brands has already released their 2 waterpoof cameras and TG-830 probably the best one with features in budget line but also the most expensive one.


http://www.camerausa.net/waterproof/waterproof-cameras-2013.php

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digital camera that takes VERY CLEAR CLOSEUPS for under $100?

Q. People who know cameras please help me find a very inexpensive digital camera that will not blur or motion bur and takes high resolution photos of close-up/small subjects. I definitely can't afford anything over $100, but $50 would be even better. I'm looking for the least expensive option that takes super super clear closeups basically.

I don't need a lot of storage space, just as long as it has a memory card slot. Would also be nice if it was wall-chargeable (aka you can plug it into an adapter to charge instead of a battery) but I don't know if that's possible. I don't know resolution jargon, but my current camera takes pictures that are roughly the size of an entire computer screen, so anything that resolution or better is good for me. It just blurs a lot, so that's why I need a new one.

Recommend away! Thank you!!!!

A. Canon PowerShot A2300 is an excellent camcorder. This camera comes with 16 megapixels. It also has an excellent 28mm wide angle lens with digital image stabilizer and a 720p HD video. This camera shoots awesome pictures,videos and have been one of the top recommended in 2013 so far. It would be perfect for your youtube videos. It is sold at amazon for $88.72 which i think is a decent price for such quality. I have provided links below for you.
Canon PowerShot A2300 16.0 MP Digital Camera with 5x Digital Image Stabilized Zoom 28mm Wide-Angle Lens with 720p HD Video Recording (Red)


check out this video that the camcorder took below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87rv5OUn17s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_6rS2x3JAE
Source(s):
Professional photographer for over 20 years

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Whats a good digital camera?

Q. I'm looking for a new camera that's around $100 or $120 I know that's not a lot but does anyone know a really nice digital camera please...?

A. Choose any Canon, Nikon, Samsung, Pentax, Panasonic or Sony. All 2012 and 2013 digital camera models are very powerful. Go to a store and put your hands on different cameras. See which cameras are within your budget and feel good. Any camera you buy will not disappoint you as long as you use it in good light. Most under $150 cameras will not work well in shooting fast moving objects indoor or taking photos in dull light. For that you will need to spend more than $500.
Now besides the camera, you can learn some basic photography lessons and get the most out of your powerful camera. Search the Internet and learn about Exposure Compensation, Multiple shots (fps), Timer, Bracketing, proper use of flash. Also use tripod and take photos with low ISO for stationary objects or for landscapes.
If you train yourself, any camera will help you get nice photos in most situations.
Good luck.

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Which Canon DSLR Lens to buy?

Q. I am going to purchase the Canon EOS 60D, and I'm not sure whether I should purchase the EF-S 18-55mm lens or the 50mm/1.8 lens. Primarily, I'm going to use the 60D for filmmaking and of course photography as well, I'm trying to decide on these two lenses as they are within my budget. Which lens has more range/which is more appropriate for filmmaking?

Advice from photographers and filmmakers are gladly appreciated.

A. First, lose the word "film" from your vocabulary. Digital cameras shoot video NOT film. You want to be a videographer.

Although the EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 zoom will offer you more versatility its not a good lens for use indoors. Its a slow, variable aperture zoom that does fine outdoors on a sunny day but indoors you'll have to use a very high ISO and a high ISO means increased digital noise - not good for your videos.
You'll need a lot of light to successfully take indoor videos with a lower ISO.

On the flip side, the EF 50mm f1.8 is more suitable for indoor use IF you're in a large space. The problem indoors is the narrow angle of view of the 50mm lens on your Canon 60D. The 50mm lens is great for portraits with your camera though.

Although more expensive a better alternative would be the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f2.8 zoom. Its a much better lens than the 18-55mm and more suitable for indoor videos. Since its a constant f2.8 from 17mm to 55mm the shutter speed stays the same - unlike the 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 which will cause a decrease in shutter speed as you zoom from 18mm to 55mm.

At B&H - http://www.bhphotovideo.com - you can buy the Canon 60D body for $799.99 after a $200.00 'Instant Savings' from B&H that ends 02/02/2013.

At B&H the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f2.8 zoom is $1.059.00 after a $120.00 'Instant Savings' from B&H that also ends 02/02/2013.

This site will show you the narrow angle of view of a 50mm lens on your 60D.
http://www.sweeting.org/mark/lenses/canon.php

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Can my computer run DayZ at ____ specs?

Q. What specs do you think this computer can run DayZ at? Low? Normal? High? Very High?
Also, how good is the sound going to be.
Valkyrie CZ-17 Gaming Laptop
1 x Case ( Valkyrie CZ-17 17.3" Full HD 1920x1080 LED-Backlit Display Laptop w/HDMI Port, E-SATA, USB 3.0, Illuminated Keyboard, Li-Ion Battery, Universal AC Power Adapter - Original Metallic black )
1 x Processor ( Intel® Core� i7-3630QM Mobile Processor (4x 2.4GHz/6MB L3 Cache) )
1 x Memory ( 8GB [8GB x 1] 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM [Laptop Memory] - G.SKILL )
1 x Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX 4GB GDDR5 Video w/ NVIDIA Optimus [CZ-17] )
1 x Primary Hard Drive ( 750 GB 7200rpm Serial-ATA Super Slim Laptop Hard Drive )
0 x Data Hard Drive ( None )
1 x Optical Drive ( 6X Blu-Ray-R/8x Dual Format DVD±R/±RW + 24x CD-R/RW Combo Drive [CZ-17] )
1 x Flash Media Reader / Writer ( Built-in 4-in-1 Media Card Reader/Writer [Laptop] )
1 x Sound Card ( HD Audio with THX TrueStudio Pro )
1 x Network Card ( Killer E2200 Gaming Networking )
1 x Internal Wireless Network Adapter ( Intel Ultimate-N 6300 802.11 a/b/g/n 450Mbps Dual-Band Wi-Fi )
1 x Operating System ( Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium + Office Starter 2010 (Includes basic versions of Word and Excel) - 64-Bit )
1 x Additional Software ( Microsoft Office 2013 Home and Student - Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote included )
1 x USB Ports ( Built-in 2x USB 2.0 Ports + 3x USB 3.0 Port [Laptop] )
0 x Carrying Case ( None )
1 x Video Camera ( Built-in 3.0 Mega Pixels Digital Web Video Camera )

A. On max.

Original Question

5,000 files in one folder Keeps freezing Windows?

Q. I have taken photos over a period of 6 years.. and ive put them all in one folder..

I have 1.12 GB (1,206,584,242 bytes) of total data in one folder with four sub folders but it has over 90% of the pictures in the root folder of E:\photos\Digital Camera\ <--- theres at least 5,000 files there.

Now when I go into the folder to view files... explorer.exe takes 99% of system resource and never loads anymore... I want to be able to save my files. .but I Dont know what to do.. am I going to have to Delete the folder permanently and loose everything? I have tried folder options with "Do not cache thumbnails" Both on and off.. and nither works.. I have even disabled "Auto search NEtwork Drives and folders"

This is Windows XP SP3 Professional.


Please any help would be appreciated,
Thanks in advance.
im sorry when I said "I have even disabled "Auto Search networks and folders" I meant to actually say - "Automatically search for network folders and printers. " I heard disabling that helps with search times in the folders of explorer.exe to speed things up..
Thanks guys all your feedback was very helpful, Special thanks to TJ and , Ramblin' Man, Also Ramblin' Man I did have one video that was being thumbnailed and it was a corrupted file too. I deleted it. Ive already started archving and the indexing speeds is increasing very well. Thnx to all ur help.

A. In XP (either FAT32 or NTFS formats for where your pictures are stored) there's an inherent catch that affects most all operating systems - I'll try to explain...

Imagine if you will your photos were in a book (ie: scrapbook) and that at the start of the book there's a table of contents which indicates not only how MANY pages there are (in your case, each photo is a page in this index) but also the date(s) regarding the page, the size of the content and so forth.

The catch here is that the more files you dump into a single directory, the longer it takes for these "table of content" pages to be created.

The old "rule of thumb" is 512 files per directory. Once this line is crossed, you're going to reserve and use more and more system resources to gather the TOC (table of contents) and the more resources that get spent doing this, the less resources there are to DO this job.

Note: Windows 7/8 still have this flaw -- it's not anything YOU have done, yourself.

You noted there's roughly six years worth of images in this one location. Here's what I would recommend...

1. Create a new folder on the SAME drive called something like "Sorted Photos"
2. Within this new folder, create additional folders specific to the YEAR in which the images were taken (ie: 2013, 2012, etc.)
3. This will be painfully slow at first, but open your drive (My Computer > Storage Drive) and do an ADVANCED SEARCH (Press CTRL + F for "Find" and on the left menu of the Find dialog select FILES AND FOLDERS and under advanced features, choose a date range of say, 01-01-2012 through 12-31-2012 and then run the search) Once all the images for that year have been searched for, press <ALT> + <E> and the letter "A" (ALT+E opens the main menu under EDIT, then "A" selects "Select All") and then press <CTRL>+<X> to CUT these images. Go into your new folder under that year and press <CTRL>+<V> to paste them into the new location.
4. Once you've done this for a year or two worth of images, the indexing and search speeds will increase dramatically. Repeat as necessary for all images in the old folder.

Now... once you have them sorted by YEAR, it wouldn't be a bad idea to repeat this process by MONTH which will very likely help index and organize your photos even more so.

The way we do this here is even more elaborate - we take photos and other content and embed them into databases which allows me to add captions/notes, compress the images so that they do not take up nearly a fraction of the drive space and thus I can burn them onto CD or DVD with ease AND still maintain the original image quality. This takes a bit of effort and my software is in-house written and likely further than you want to go at this point, but there are truly endless possibilities how to organize your media while making it painless for both you as well as your machine.

* If you're not revisiting your older images very often, I'd also strongly recommend archiving them. The way we do this here (which maintains protection) is by first creating a zip like archive (RAR format - see link below) which compresses BMP, JPEG and other image formats wonderfully, and then take the images AND the RAR file and burn them onto CD or DVD - two sets are created in case one gets damaged. Once accomplished, they can then be physically removed from the computer and your images are safe... and they're not hurting your computer's efficiency.

** If your machine doesn't want to work WITH you regarding getting these images cleaned up and reorganized, drop me an email and I can design a quick application to do so for you which will basically achieve what was listed above with the least amount of effort (assuming the date-stamps on the files are remotely accurate) - if so, drop me an email here at CentralWare [at] yahoo.com

Good luck and hope this helps!

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If you collect all three stamps at McDonalds for their monopoly contest, do you automatically win that prize?

Q. I've been playing the McDonald's monopoly thing and have almost collected all of one color and I want to know if you definitely win that prize.

A. Ah, the McDonald's Monopoly game... chasing after that one color stamp to win the big prize. If only it was that simple.

First of all, if you like McDonald's and you are happy about winning a food prize, its ok to play. Here's how it breaks down:�Medium Fries ($1.75) � Odds 1 in 9, or 11.1% chance you win.
� Quarter Pounder w/ Cheese ($3.60) � Odds 1 in 44, or 2.3% chance you win.
� Small McCafe or Smoothie ($2.40) � Odds 1 in 44, or 2.3% chance you win.
� McFlurry ($2.55) � Odds 1 in 44, or 2.3% chance you win.
� Breakfast Sandwich ($2.65) � Odds 1 in 22, or 4.6% chance you win

The other instant prizes (winning a DVD rental from a Red Box) to headphones are tougher. The DVD is 1 in 101 and the odds go up from there.

Now for the challenge - getting the properties. The truth is that whatever property group you need, one space is much, much, much more difficult to get than the others. Take the Red group (Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky) which gives you one of 40 plane tickets - the odds of getting Indiana or Illinois are around 1 in 10. The odds of getting Kentucky Ave., however, is 1 in 15 million.

Here is a list of the odds for all of the properties (plus the toughest one of each set to obtain):
BROWN: Mediterranean Ave, odds 1 in 30 million wins $1,000.
� LIGHT BLUE: Vermont Ave, odds 1 in 40 million, wins $5,000.
� PINK: Virginia Ave, odds 1 in 200 million, wins $10,000
� ORANGE: Tennessee Ave, odds 1 in 602 million, wins Super Bowl tickets.
� RED: Kentucky Ave, odds 1 in 15 million, wins one of 40 plane tickets for two.
� YELLOW: Ventnor Ave, odds 1 in 300 million, wins $20,000
� GREEN: Pennsylvania Ave, odds 1 in 40 million, wins one of 15 Fiat cars.
� BLUE: Boardwalk, 1 in 602 million, wins $1,000,000 in $50,000 annual payments.
� RAILROADS: Short Line railroad, 1 in 150 million, wins a year's supply of gas.

Do you see the challenge? It's not getting two of the three properties, it's getting the extremely scarce third one.

Here, btw, are the odds for winning the non-food prizes:
40 point MyCoke Reward (or medium Coke) - 1 in 151
$5 McDonald's Arch card - 1 in 21,518
EA Sports $10 promo code - 1 in 161
$10 Shell Gift Card - 1 in 60,250
Hasbro Monopoly Board Game - 1 in 60,250
$25 Shell Gift Card - 1 in 86,071
Shutterfly 8x8 PhotoBook - 1 in 302
EA Sports Game - 1 in 35,441
$50 - 1 in 60,250
ur Beats Earphones - 1 in 4,061,000
$100 - 1 in 105,701
Panasonic Lumix TS20 Digital Still camera - 1 in 1,506,202
Beats by Dr. Dre Phil Speaker - 1 in 4,016,601
Headphones - 1 in 301,245,030
Panasonic Viera 50-inch Plasma HDTV - 1 in 10,401,541
$5,000 - 1 in 40,166,041
EA Sports NFL Game Experience - 1 in 10,041,541
Beaches Resorts Vacation - 4,634,539
Ace Hardware $7,500 Home Fix-Up - 1 in 31,710,004
NFL Pro Bowl Experience - 30,124,503
2013 Fiat 500 Hatchback - 1 in 60,249,006
2013 Fiat 500 Cabrio - 1 in 60,249,006
$20,000 - 1 in 200,830,020
$100,000 - 1 in 301,245,030

So the morale of the story is if you want to win Medium Fries, you have a good chance of going away happy; otherwise, don't count on anything else.

Original Question

photographers,and enthusiasts HELP?

Q. I am a beginner to photography and I am thinking of getting the canon EOS 600D. soes anyone own it and could tell me how well it performs and or can someone who owns canon in general help me out?

A. If you have an issue, tell us so we can help you.
Yes, Canon has sold more than a million 600Ds (to make you feel better) so there are lots of owners of it. You will not go wrong buying it.

Here are some tips:

1) Read photography blogs or tips online to be a better photographer. Any camera can do only limited things but with some tips, you will be able to take your camera to the next level. You will have better chances for better photos.
2) Buy some prime fast lens like 35mm or 50mm with F1.8 or so. For Canon or Nikon, you can get one for around $100-$150. With this lens, your DSLR will be able to take photos in low light too. Plus for taking photos for people and pets, they give nice bokeh- background blurring that you see in portraits taken by professionals.
3) Read your camera manual. You will be amazed to know how much your camera can do besides that AUTO button.
4) Work with your camera. Your camera can do only certain things for you. When you are taking a photo, it tries to guess what it is shooting and would set up Aperture, Shutterspeed, ISO, color mode etc to shoot a photo for you. Many times that piece of glass (I mean lens) and that sensor does not know that you shooting in backlight or in snow. It does not kow if you are taking photo outside in broad sunlight or indoor well-lit place. If camera does not know accurately what it is shooting, it will probably give you a bad photo. Now instead of blaming your camera for a bad photo, if you are willing to work with your camera, your camera can take better photos for you. Learn some basic photography tips and help out your camera when it struggles. Set a proper mode like Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Sports and tell your camera where and what you are shooting. If you camera takes too bright or too dark photos, set the Exposure Compensation and tell camera to take less or more light. With your little help, you and your camera can make a great pair and together you will be able to take better photos.

Enjoy Photography.
http://photography-with-any-camera.blogspot.com/2013/05/best-digital-slr-for-beginners.html

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Best filming camera to film movies?

Q. Hi! In 2015, some school mates and I are planning to shoot a remake of The Breakfast Club. It will be the 30 year anniversary and we are excited to start. Anyways, I am looking for a great filming camera for movies. I know it'll be pricey but I seem to get 0 help when I just google it. I also want to know how to make the footage have an 80s feel, quality wise. I will be using the camera that any of you suggest for a number of years and films to come, and I would also appreciate if you have any movie editing software? Thank you!

A. I am guessing you are looking to use some digital camera to film. If you are going to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a professional movie camera, please ignore rest of my answer.

Most of us know that most compact cameras, or smart-phones like iPhones, are not good at video recording. If light is good, they do an okay job. When light is dull, they are almost unusable. Same is true for most consumer SLR cameras with kit lenses. So what do we do to take high quality High-Definition videos? Should we use an HD camcoder or a pocket camcorder like Sony Bloggie or UltraHD?

Most compact cameras don't do a good job in low light- for still images or for videos. If you zoom in, the shake becomes too obvious. Most DSLRs will do a little better as light level goes down but many of them will not auto focus during videos (because of the mirror which needs to be flipped for focusing). You can bypass this with a mirrorless camera which can auto focus, like Panasonic G or GF series but with Auto focus, you lose the control over which part of the frame, or on which person to focus on. If you have 3 persons in a frame, your Auto-Focus will not know which one you want to focus on. Why not? Silly, it is Auto-focus! It focuses by itself!! That is the reason you never see a professional movie or videos done with Autofocus.

Now read an article here which can give you nice tips:
http://photography-with-any-camera.blogspot.com/2013/03/video-recording-with-dslr-is-it-worth-it.html

Original Question

Can most digital cameras now all do full hd 1080p video recording?

Q.

A. Most of them do 1080p HD video. However please be aware that most compact cameras, or smart-phones like iPhones, are not good at video recording. If light is good, they do an okay job. When light is dull, they are almost unusable. If you zoom in and do video, there can be lot of shake. You may be better off with iPhone or some digital camcorder that offers 30-40x zoom.

Read this article- it will provide you some relevant info:
http://photography-with-any-camera.blogspot.com/2013/03/video-recording-with-dslr-is-it-worth-it.html

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Underwater wireless live streaming Camera?

Q. So I am building an underwater ROV and my team needs a camera to mount onto our robot. It needs to be water proof, but if you have to buy a separate box it might be okay. It should be wireless, but we could run a Ethernet cable if we have to. And of course it needs to be able to live stream onto a laptop on the surface of the water.

I have looked into using a Go Pro, but I am unsure of what model to get and Go Pros seem a little pricey, so cheaper options may be better.

Does anyone have any ideas on what i can use? If i use a Go Pro i need to know which model is best, but I would like cheaper options if they exist. Thank You

A. Underwater wifi is relatively new and not "readily" available.
http://nypost.com/2013/10/17/yes-underwater-wi-fi-is-a-thing/
at least, not from regular stores. If you are depending on the GoPro wireless connectivity to do what you want, I would bet against it - at least for now. That means some sort of tethered version. As far as I know, there is no wired, direct, "streaming" capability that will do what you want. Remember, the GoPro is a camera/camcorder and designed to capture video locally to a memory card.

Wireless communication is one thing - wireless video is a whole different animal (bandwidth issues in the aquatic/marine environment).

And if you are using a robotic craft, I am guessing the ROV is going to be more than 100 feet away which means if on land, would be on the edge of wifi's reach - underwater, even more so. The GoPros included waterproof housing is rated to only 40 meters (~130 feet).

A camera-only (no local recording), with a cable, solution may be a more do-able option. Since we don't know how deep the camera needs to go and we don't know how far away the camera will be (it could be 5 feet deep but 300 feet away) it is impossible to actually make a recommendation. This shallow, but far away is different than 300 feet deep because of the pressure exerted at that depth.

Your solution may be as simple as
http://www.amazon.com/OceanDrop-Underwater-Training-Observation-Inspection/dp/B007EFG3N2
which is even more than the GoPro. This is an underwater wired camera designed to do what you want. Similar to a security camera, it has a single cable that includes connections for power and the video feed. The power is supplied on the computer side of the cable - the camera does not carry local power. The camera does not store video locally, but sends the video over the wire to an analog/digital converter. This can be a standalone box like those from Blackmagic Design, Roxio, Elgato, Thompson/Grass Valley/Canopus or a card fitted to the computer.

And keep in mind that at about 40ft-50ft and deeper, you will likely need to add light. Underwater lighting can be pricey...

Original Question

Sony digital camera( DSC-TX30/B)....this camera good or no? please tell........?

Q.

A. Here is a review
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-cyber-shot-dsc-tx30
Within the category of immersible compact cameras, its image quality is probably among the best in the studio test, although that is not a category with spectacularly great image quality. In the real world comparison tests it seems to have fallen a bit below the competition.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/2013-waterproof-roundup/14
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/2013-waterproof-roundup/15
It is the lightest and most compact within that class. However, it is not a very easy camera to handle for actual diving.

With any compact camera you should use a wriststrap, and all the more so when handling these water resistant cameras in the water. with no floatation attached, they will sink.

For diving the Canon D20 has an advantage with the best ergonomics. Image quality is good for its class with least noise reduction smudging or highlight clipping. The Nikon AW110 is a very good overall performer for its class in image quality and has least chromatic aberration. The Olympus TG-2 gains an advantage in low light with its f2 lens. For video with real time sound, its sound gets terrible when immersed in water.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBFwthdyXRQ
The Pentax WG-3 also has an f2 lens, but its images were rather dull in this test
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnxn_Ng-1U8
The Panasonic TS5 seems to produce some nice images, and it has the best video options, but its autofocus is sluggish.

A peculiar thing about the Nikon AW110 is that they package it with a neckstrap and advise against using a neckstrap in the water for safety reasons. An aftermarket wriststrap should be purchased for it.

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Why is the Leica M8 so good?

Q. Why is the Leica M8 good what makes it Unique from the Dslr's?

A. Well, in a lot of ways, in 2013, the Leica M8 is actually not so good by current standards. It's a crop sensor digital camera with, what is now considered, poor high ISO noise redux. The M9 is another story however.

The reason the M8 used to be considered a great digital camera and still is if you're on a budget, is that it is a rangefinder camera. That in itself makes it unique from DSLR's because it is simply not a Single Lens Reflex camera.

If you want to study up on the differences between rangefinders and SLR's, there are hundreds of in-depth discussions all over the internet. Essentially it boils down to rangefinders being smaller, quieter, better at manual focusing in low light and due to the lack of a flipping mirror, viewing is more of the moment as well as handheld slow shutter speeds more free of vibration. The problem is that there are limitations to composition and use of macro and longer telephoto lenses as well as zoom lenses with rangefinders. Also, some folks just don't like focusing through them.

Whats-more, Leica build quality far exceeds those of most popular manufacturers. They hand-assemble their camera and lenses with higher quality materials and more tightly fitting parts. This results in cameras and lenses that feel very enjoyable to use but also that last through extreme abuse and continue to work well for decades.

Leica is also world renowned for the high optical performance of their lenses. They are virtually devoid of optical abberations commonly found in Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus and other more popular lensmakers products.

Hope this is useful!

Original Question

photographers,and enthusiasts HELP?

Q. I am a beginner to photography and I am thinking of getting the canon EOS 600D. soes anyone own it and could tell me how well it performs and or can someone who owns canon in general help me out?

A. If you have an issue, tell us so we can help you.
Yes, Canon has sold more than a million 600Ds (to make you feel better) so there are lots of owners of it. You will not go wrong buying it.

Here are some tips:

1) Read photography blogs or tips online to be a better photographer. Any camera can do only limited things but with some tips, you will be able to take your camera to the next level. You will have better chances for better photos.
2) Buy some prime fast lens like 35mm or 50mm with F1.8 or so. For Canon or Nikon, you can get one for around $100-$150. With this lens, your DSLR will be able to take photos in low light too. Plus for taking photos for people and pets, they give nice bokeh- background blurring that you see in portraits taken by professionals.
3) Read your camera manual. You will be amazed to know how much your camera can do besides that AUTO button.
4) Work with your camera. Your camera can do only certain things for you. When you are taking a photo, it tries to guess what it is shooting and would set up Aperture, Shutterspeed, ISO, color mode etc to shoot a photo for you. Many times that piece of glass (I mean lens) and that sensor does not know that you shooting in backlight or in snow. It does not kow if you are taking photo outside in broad sunlight or indoor well-lit place. If camera does not know accurately what it is shooting, it will probably give you a bad photo. Now instead of blaming your camera for a bad photo, if you are willing to work with your camera, your camera can take better photos for you. Learn some basic photography tips and help out your camera when it struggles. Set a proper mode like Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Sports and tell your camera where and what you are shooting. If you camera takes too bright or too dark photos, set the Exposure Compensation and tell camera to take less or more light. With your little help, you and your camera can make a great pair and together you will be able to take better photos.

Enjoy Photography.
http://photography-with-any-camera.blogspot.com/2013/05/best-digital-slr-for-beginners.html

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