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

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What is a really good advanced point and shoot digital camera?

Q. My old camera, a Canon Power Shot S5IS is acting weird. Time for a new one I think.

What a a really good advanced point and shot digital camera that would be a step or two up from the Power Shot S5 IS?

My daughter shows horses, so I need something that can capture moving subject well and is good in low light conditions!!!

I want a camera that feels/looks like a SLR, but is not. I am thinking about a Nikon Coolpix L820or maybe an Olympus Stylus SP-820UZ?

Thanks!

A. You'd do better to put a Tamron 18-270 or 18-250 (not 18-200) lens on a small DSLR body like a Sony A37, or other brand of your choice to keep it affordable chose an earlier camera model. The lens can stay with you when you upgrade provided that you don't jump ship from the brand. They can all be used in auto mode just like a P&S only you can develop your skills at your own pace.

http://www.amazon.com/Tamron-18-270mm-3-5-6-3-Built-Cameras/dp/B004FN1W2S/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1375040281&sr=1-1&keywords=tamron+18-270+sony

But look at the dinky little DSLR Canon recently put on the market:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/2013/07/26/just-posted-canon-eos-100d-rebel-sl1-review

But if you must have a bridge camera then Pentax made the X5 just for people like you:
http://www.dpreview.com/products/pentax/compacts/pentax_x5

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Best Digital Camera in 2013?

Q. I'm looking for a digital camera with the following:

* Awesome, detailed shots for both amateur and professional photography use
* Fast, extreme action modes with instant, non-blurry shots (no delay unless optional)
* Full 1080p Quality Video with Excellent Sound and no buzzing/noises
* Great Image Stabilization
* Lovely Zoom with little to no shaking and annoying sounds
* Ability to record beautifully in both low light and very bright settings
* Easiness to learn, maintain, and adjust to
* Durable and lasts for maybe 20 years

A lifetime warranty for a camera product would be nice, but I doubt it exists. I've looked at the newest Canon Rebel (zoom/sound issues), Nikon D7100 (seems too stiff in certain settings), some Panasonic models, etc. I am on a budget and want to record high quality music videos and shorts, and take fancy pictures with the camera I am seeking. I want to spend no more than maybe $650 on my ideal product. What are your suggestions and knowledge of expertise?

A. I have a dream that someday anyone who decides to take up photography as a hobby will first know and understand this: "It isn't the camera its the photographer."

A person with zero knowledge of light, composition and exposure will be unable to use any camera in any mode other than Program or Auto, allowing the camera to determine ISO, aperture and shutter speed. Even then, zero knowledge of just composition will usually produce mere snapshots.

In 42 years I have never owned a camera that made really good pictures.

In 42 years I have never owned a camera that made really bad pictures.

However, in those 42 years I have used a camera to make some really good pictures and some really bad pictures. The camera is just a tool and gets neither credit nor blame for my results good or bad. That's all on me.

Buy the least expensive DSLR you can find. Read & study the Owner's Manual. Then enroll in photography classes. Take notes. Practice. Make changes to aperture or shutter speed or ISO only when you understand why you're making them and what the results will be.

A 20 year old digital camera will be as useless as a 20 year old computer is today.

In many states a "lifetime" warranty is considered 7 years. Some high-end lenses (translate as a lens costing a few thousand dollars) have a 5 year warranty. Most DSLR bodies have a 1 year warranty.

Original Question

Digital Camera for wildlife photography help?

Q. I am planing a couple trips in the next year. First trip is to go up to Alaska or Canada and I want to try and get some nice Polar Bear and Musk Oxen shots. Then I am going to be going out to Yellowstone to try and photograph wolves and finally I will be taking a trip to Australia and New Zealand and am hoping to get some great landscape and animal shots. But now I have to figure out what is going to be the best camera for me to get. I have a budget of around $3500.

Right now I am looking at the Nikon D 7100, Nikon D 7000, Cannon EOS 7 D, and Sony Alpha SLT-A77.

I am also then figureing on getting either a 300mm or 400mm lens then buying a 2X teleconverter. I'm trying to do all this for $3500 or less I know its going to be tough. Obviously I can not afford the real nice lenses in the 300mm zoom so how much is this going to affect my quality if I get a little bit cheaper lens? My goal is I want to have nice enough pictures to where I could blow them up and hang them up around my house with out the image getting grainy or fuzzy. I'm looking at blowing them up to 24 x 36 and maybe bigger for landscape shots.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much for your time.

A. You might get to see these animals, but don't get your hopes up too high. The Nikon D7100 with 18-105mm could be a good choice of camera for most of your shots. A super duper great telephoto to get the kind of shots you are dreaming of will blow your budget. For less ambitious but pretty good shots you could get the Nikon 70-300mm AF-S VR (the good 70-300, not the cheapo). Forget about a 2X teleconverter. The 70-300mm lacks a tripod collar, and it will be front heavy. You will want to bring a tripod. You need to think about what day pack you will carry it in, as the tripod must fit. There are some decent travel tripods. However, the light duty ballhead on some of these may be barely adequate with the 70-300mm. You need to assemble something with a good medium duty 3 way pan head, like maybe the Manfrotto 804RC2 or the Induro PHT2. BTW, if you want to point a panhead higher than about 30 degrees, the trick is to put the quick release plate on backwards.
Which brings us to, when do you expect to do this?
Winter, aurora watching?
You will need serious clothes.
http://www.martingrumet.com/yellowknife01-30-2013-02-2000.jpg
Carry your camera in a padded case with several handwarmer packs. Have an extra charged battery in your pocket. Two layers of glove liners with handwarmer packs inside can probably give you adequate dexterity without freezing your fingers.
Also have a clean, dry cotton handkerchief in the bag to wipe off condensation.
Getting focused in the dark could be a problem. You might be able to lock on autofocus on a distant street light, and switch to manual. Or you could spend more money on an older style AF-D prime lens like a 20mm or 24mm, and be able to dial to infinity in the dark.
For aurora shots set white balance to daylight. Practice with your equipment at home before you go on your trip. Maybe ISO is 800. More gets noisy. Exposure time maybe 20 seconds. More shows star trails. Also the aurora is dynamic, and more exposure makes it look blob like.
http://www.martingrumet.com/yellowknife02-05-2013-01-2000.jpg
http://www.martingrumet.com/yellowknife02-05-2013-02-2000.jpg
About midnight to 2am is often best activity, although not always.

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What are some really cheap HD cameras under 200$?

Q.

A. The best camera under $200 is currently the Nikon P310.

Well, maybe under $200. Nikon had a $100 instant rebate that expired on Mar 30, 2013. Check back periodically to see if that rebate is extended or not. Otherwise, you may be spending about $50 more, which is still a good deal.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/842326-REG/Nikon_P310B_Coolpix_P300_Digital_Camera.html

This camera normally sells for $300+, but it has just been discontinued for it's replacement, the P330. Since this is an annual (or semi-annual) event with most camera manufacturers (of compact cameras), you can often pick up an outstanding camera at a low price when they first become discontinued.

However, when this happens you have to act farily quickly as the stock is limited to what is on the dealer's shelves.

Why do I like the P310?

First, it has manual exposure controls (prorgam, shutter/aperture priority, manual), This gives you maximum flexibility in composing your photos.

Second, it has a fast f/1.8 lens, which rivals even the better grade DSLR lenses. What does this mean? Superior low-light performance, as the camera will gather 2 to 4 times more light than the typical compact camera.

It also does up to 1920x1080p @ 30fps "full" HD with stereo audio. But I am not much into video so that is not something I often use. If I want to do video, I have a camcorder for that.

And I own this camera, so it is not something I would recommend without having some experience with it. While the zoom range of this camera is less than those ridiculously high-powered zooms on bridge cameras, the lens on the P310 is vastly superior to those cameras. So while you won't be able to take a photo of a bird from a mile away, you will be able to take better photos within the range of the P310's zoom.

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Best Digital Camera Under 200 Dollars 2013 ?

Q. Best Digital Camera Under 200 Dollars ? what is the best camera i can buy for 200 dollars or less

A. Definitely, the Canon PowerShot SX500 IS http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00908BMVE/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00908BMVE&linkCode=as2&tag=laptop058-20

It takes really great photos and videos at 1080 pixels. It has a good image stabilization and auto focus as well as a nice 30x zoom which is great. This camera has received tonnes of positive feedbacks and iI think is the best you can get for less than $200

Original Question

Digital Camera for wildlife photography help?

Q. I am planing a couple trips in the next year. First trip is to go up to Alaska or Canada and I want to try and get some nice Polar Bear and Musk Oxen shots. Then I am going to be going out to Yellowstone to try and photograph wolves and finally I will be taking a trip to Australia and New Zealand and am hoping to get some great landscape and animal shots. But now I have to figure out what is going to be the best camera for me to get. I have a budget of around $3500.

Right now I am looking at the Nikon D 7100, Nikon D 7000, Cannon EOS 7 D, and Sony Alpha SLT-A77.

I am also then figureing on getting either a 300mm or 400mm lens then buying a 2X teleconverter. I'm trying to do all this for $3500 or less I know its going to be tough. Obviously I can not afford the real nice lenses in the 300mm zoom so how much is this going to affect my quality if I get a little bit cheaper lens? My goal is I want to have nice enough pictures to where I could blow them up and hang them up around my house with out the image getting grainy or fuzzy. I'm looking at blowing them up to 24 x 36 and maybe bigger for landscape shots.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much for your time.

A. You might get to see these animals, but don't get your hopes up too high. The Nikon D7100 with 18-105mm could be a good choice of camera for most of your shots. A super duper great telephoto to get the kind of shots you are dreaming of will blow your budget. For less ambitious but pretty good shots you could get the Nikon 70-300mm AF-S VR (the good 70-300, not the cheapo). Forget about a 2X teleconverter. The 70-300mm lacks a tripod collar, and it will be front heavy. You will want to bring a tripod. You need to think about what day pack you will carry it in, as the tripod must fit. There are some decent travel tripods. However, the light duty ballhead on some of these may be barely adequate with the 70-300mm. You need to assemble something with a good medium duty 3 way pan head, like maybe the Manfrotto 804RC2 or the Induro PHT2. BTW, if you want to point a panhead higher than about 30 degrees, the trick is to put the quick release plate on backwards.
Which brings us to, when do you expect to do this?
Winter, aurora watching?
You will need serious clothes.
http://www.martingrumet.com/yellowknife01-30-2013-02-2000.jpg
Carry your camera in a padded case with several handwarmer packs. Have an extra charged battery in your pocket. Two layers of glove liners with handwarmer packs inside can probably give you adequate dexterity without freezing your fingers.
Also have a clean, dry cotton handkerchief in the bag to wipe off condensation.
Getting focused in the dark could be a problem. You might be able to lock on autofocus on a distant street light, and switch to manual. Or you could spend more money on an older style AF-D prime lens like a 20mm or 24mm, and be able to dial to infinity in the dark.
For aurora shots set white balance to daylight. Practice with your equipment at home before you go on your trip. Maybe ISO is 800. More gets noisy. Exposure time maybe 20 seconds. More shows star trails. Also the aurora is dynamic, and more exposure makes it look blob like.
http://www.martingrumet.com/yellowknife02-05-2013-01-2000.jpg
http://www.martingrumet.com/yellowknife02-05-2013-02-2000.jpg
About midnight to 2am is often best activity, although not always.

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can i take my digital camera into a freezing environment?

Q. hi I'm trekking to everest base camp, where temperatures can get well below freezing and wanted to know how my digital camera will function. i understand you can get freeze proof, underwater type cameras, but would a regular digital still function, does it just mean short battery life or would it not turn on at all.
Same question for my iPhone (not for calls, purely for the camera capability)

A. Some things I did in the course of taking this picture:
http://www.martingrumet.com/yellowknife01-30-2013-02-2000.jpg
I kept handwarmer packs in my padded case to keep the camera warm in transport.
I had a clean cotton handkerchief in there to wipe off condensation.
I used two layers of glove liners with handwarmer packs to have enough dexterity to operate the camera without getting my fingers frostbitten. I kept my hands in my pockets a lot.
I used a tripod with a quick release plate. I mostly walked around with my open tripod tucked under my arm. I thought out the shot a lot before deploying the camera to minimize exposure.
I carried a spare battery in my pocket.
I brought a lot of handwarmer packs. I could have bought more at the supermarket if needed.

I don't know if it will come up on your Everest trip, but for pictures like this I had a toothbrush in my camera bag.
http://www.martingrumet.com/yellowknife01-31-2013-10-2000.jpg
A toothbrush? It is to clean the snow off of the raised metal letters on the plaque to make them readable.

Original Question

Best Phone/ Tablet to have in 2013?

Q. What is the best phone or tablet to have right now? Im looking for:
-speed
-at least an 8GB camera
-screen resolution
oops I meant 8MP

A. LOL. This is purely subjective and eveyone's going to have their own personal opinions on it.

Here's MY thoughts on what is the best for 2013. This only applies to ME and what I like about the devices.

Phone: Samsung Galaxy Note II (SGH-I317M)
- 5.5" screen (no need to squint)
- perfect size for portability and mobility (yeah, I can fit this in my front pant pocket without issue and it's in an Otterbox Commuter case too)
- touch and digital S Pen inputs
- excellent for note taking and drawing (no fatigue; accurate and precise pen input)
- exactly duplicates pen on paper with real palm rejection allowing a more natural and ergonomic feel
- split screen multi-window view (ie. can view email, browse web and take notes at the same time)
- attach my 1TB drive via USB OTG cable (but requires external power source to power the HDD)
- attach USB hub and hook up to external display via smart dock (at the same time); can turn it into a multimedia hub or micro computer

Tablet: Microsoft Surface Pro
- runs full Windows 8 Pro 64-bit OS without any 3rd party bloat (can even install Linux)
- full HD resolution with touch and digital pen inputs
- can reuse standard computer peripherals without the need for an adapter
- USB to gigabit ethernet support (avoiding common hassles with Wi-Fi and its inherent weaknesses)
- USB3.0
- run full Windows Programs, none of the trimmed down mobile stuff
- actual ultrabook/notebook hardware in tablet form

The only issue is that the camera is rather poor in the Surface Pro, but who cares. I won't use it anyways. The Note 2 can handle that or my dedicated digital camera.

This is the tablet I am currently eyeing to upgrade from my Note 10.1.

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Best Digital Camera Under 200 Dollars 2013 ?

Q. Best Digital Camera Under 200 Dollars ? what is the best camera i can buy for 200 dollars or less

A. Definitely, the Canon PowerShot SX500 IS http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00908BMVE/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00908BMVE&linkCode=as2&tag=laptop058-20

It takes really great photos and videos at 1080 pixels. It has a good image stabilization and auto focus as well as a nice 30x zoom which is great. This camera has received tonnes of positive feedbacks and iI think is the best you can get for less than $200

Original Question

What is the best all around digital point an shoot camera of 2014?

Q. I am a casual photographer an would like to know the best all around best digital point an shoot camera of 2014. i hope that it would not cost me a lot of money for fine new features for my purchase, I currently have a Canon Power Shot SX 260 HS for photography needs an I wonder if I can upgrade of my present camera.

A. If you really want to step up, there is a series of cameras that is sometimes called enthusiast. dpreview.com has a comparison of them, but fair warning, they ain't cheap.
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/6489685206/enthusiast-compact-camera-2013-roundup

Of all of them, the Sony RX100 is my favorite.

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Which camera should I buy?

Q. I need a really good camera in april (2013), I'm thinking of buying a nikon 1 J1 but I'm not sure, the nikon 1 J2 is too expensive if you look at the differences with the J1 . Shoul I buy a nikon 1 J1? Or is there a better camera in the market which is cheaper or around the same price? It must be digital and have a (not too) big lens. thanks!

A. Look at the Nikon V1. They are ridiculously low priced right now ($299) while stock is left or until Dec 30. If you wait until April 2013, this deal (and all remaining V1s) will likely be gone.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/823590-REG/Nikon_27504_Nikon_1_V1_Mirrorless.html

The original MSRP of $899 for the V1 was way too overpriced, but at $299, it is very attractive.

The V1 is an upscale version of the J1, and may or may not be to your liking, but at the price they are selling for, it is an easy decision. The main differences are that the V1 has an electronic viewfinder, and lacks an internal flash, when compared to the J1. It is also slightly larger and heavier, as it has a larger battery, giving about 25% more capacity. The V1 also has both electronic and manual shutters, whereas the J1 only has an electronic shutter.

Oddly enough, the V1 is priced about $100 less than the least expensive J1 that I can find, but if you buy the optional flash for the V1, it will be about $30 more than the J1.

Some reviews have the J1 with a slightly better image than the V1. I am highly skeptical about that as they are essentially the same camera; same sensor, and same digital processor, same lenses.

The only thing I can fathom is that the J1 has a different set of presets than the V1 (which is the old Canon trick), and/or not every reviewer necessarily knows what they are doing anyway.

There is one under Awboater's Christmas tree.

Original Question

What camera should I get?

Q. I'm looking for a point and shoot camera that I can use above and under water. I'm not completely sure to what depth under water but I would love to use it while scuba diving which I'm guessing would require a housing? High res is important.

Links would help immensely with any option(s) listed. Thanks!

A. Lots of info on waterproof cameras out there.
http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/digital-cameras/new-waterproof-cameras_roundup.html
http://www.waterproof-camera.org/

Popular Photography � April 2013
Sony Cyber-shot TF1 - $198 (need reviews)
Fujifilm FinePix XP60 - $198
Pentax WG-3 GPS - $297
Nikon Coolpix AW110 - $347
Olympus Stylus TG-2 - $379
Panasonic Lumix TS5 - $399
http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/side-by-side?products=sony_dsctf1&products=fujifilm_xp60&products=pentax_optiowg2gps&products=nikon_cpaw110&products=oly_tg2&products=panasonic_dmcts5
http://snapsort.com/compare/Fujifilm-FinePix-XP60-vs-Sony-Cyber-shot-DSC-TF1

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