I am in the market for a new Digital Camera. I take a lot of pictures at train museums and one of the most important features is a good wide angle ability. Many times in museums it is tough to get the whole engine in the picture. I am looking to spend anywhere from around $200 to $300. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Eric

Eric,

Almost any digital camera you can buy will be capable of decent photography of the type you seek, and the vast majority of them may even do a better job of capturing an image indoors than most film cameras.

Your question revolves more around the capability of digital cameras than actual railroading, so let me start: Most digital point-and-shoot cameras, like most point-and-shoot 35mm cameras before them, are equipped with an optical zoom capability that ranges from the 35mm equivalent of 28-80 or 28-105. You will most likely want the wide angle, which will usually be the default setting when the camera is turned on. If a lot of what you're doing is indoor work, it's unlikely you'll need any digital zoom, which is a different way of saying the zoom is done by cropping away at the available image, not by focusing a lens closer. There's also such a thing as "shutter lag", a brief gap between the shutter being pushed and the image being captured. In a museum that may only affect someone walking into the picture; if shooting 80-mph (or even 8-mph) trains it becomes critical and difficult to contend with.

Do not become a victim of the megapixel wars. If you will do most of your viewing on the computer or in small prints, you won't even need a 2-megapixel camera, let alone a 5- to 8-mp one. Only if you are making very large prints (bigger than 8x10) or submitting potential cover/full-page shots to magazines or printers will you need 4+ megs. The bigger files just eat up your CDs or storage space, and they won't look any better on your computer.

It's entirely possible, as a result of the megapixel craze, that your "perfect" camera can be found used or remaindered VERY cheaply at a flea market, camera store, or eBay. Two years ago I bought a 2MP 1999-vintage Epson D850Z for $50--the approximate value of the CompactFlash card he left in the camera--and sold quite a number of images that camera produced, including at least one in Trains Magazine.

Other things to remember:
*Small cameras are easily carried around. They are also easily stolen, dropped, or lost. At times bigger is better.
*If possible, choose a camera that uses AA batteries. Then get a recharger with a car adapter outlet. You will use up batteries faster than you used to use up film. But AA batteries can be bought cheap at any grocery/auto parts/etc. store, whereas proprietary or special batteries force you to a Radio Hut, an electronics store, or the like. Think slide film versus print film 10-20 years ago.
*If you buy an older camera, consider that some of them are literally incapable of handling bigger-capacity memory cards. The camera's internal workings will not be able to deal with such large numbers as "15,386 pictures left". Test before you buy.
*You may prefer an optical viewfinder to a screen--I know I do.
*For indoor work, a time exposure on a tripod will beat almost any built-in flash, and the colors that change can usually be corrected in any basic photo-editing software (usually included along with the camera when bought new). Separate hot-shoe flash capability only shows up on expensive single-lens reflex digital cameras.

Now, looking in my newspaper's ad inserts, I'm seeing not shortage of cameras that could meet your described needs for as low as $100--less if you accept off-brand or no-brand stuff.

Hi Eric - I got my Sony Mavica about 5 years ago, and have used and abused it since. It uses a 3.5" floppy disk as "film" so you can simply change to a new disk as you use up the old one - about 24 shots at medium quality. Just shove the disk into your computer to print hardcopy or email an image.

Unfortunately since then i got a used laptop with an external floppy drive that broke the other day. Not the camera's fault, but inconvenient right now. I suppose there is probably a patchcord to plug the camera into one of the funky plugs on the laptop but i don't have one and wouldn't know how to use it if I did.

Still, the old Mavica has proven its durability and reliability in every other way in the past few years. You could sure do worse.

dave

I think you can find yourself a Sony Mavica in the dumpster behind almost any pawn shop these days.................

Seriously............. in locomotive terms, that's a wood-burning Climax next to today's SD90MACs.......... I haven't even LOOKED for floppy discs in over five years, maybe ten...........

Eric,

Because of my job people always ask me advice on such things, and I have narrowed my responses down to two things;

Make sure you get good glass.

And

What do you want to do with it?

For the first, in the $300 and below range, often times the biggest differentiating factor is the quality of the lens. Kodak has a reputation for putting really good glass in mid-priced cameras.

As for "What do you want to do with it?" the differentiating factor is output. If you want your pictures to appear in a railroad hobby magazine or to print really nice at 4x6 you need to be in the 4 megapixel range. If you want to do magazine cover shots or make prints in the 10x14 range, you need at least 6 megapixels.

And yes, I used these answers to decide my own transformation to digital.

When I switched to digital (from 20 years of Kodachrome and 2 years as a Astia devotee) I picked a Canon Digital Rebel which was 6.3 megapixels at the time. I already had Canon lenses, so I knew the glass was good, and I knew that 6.3 megapixels was good for the cover of the rr magazine I sometimes write for.

Rob

Well Sandy, I did fire up a Shay to rescue a train when two diesels dropped dead on the line a decade or so ago.

Simplicity, durability and robustness have a lot to recommend them, especially getting things bounced around out on the road. I also have a Sony Trinitron color TV I got in 1971, still works. Perhaps Sony is a subsidiary of Lima?

No floppies? I suppose you have those liners for the cup holder that I have heard about. When I don't use it to support my coffee or Guiness, I can read them but not record on them. Not particularly useful, since when my external drive was working I could do either. We don't all need or want the latest technology - if you want to subsidize the development costs for a few years until it is proven and I can get it (if it survives) at cost effective used prices, be my guest. Somebody has to, I suppose.

dave

You can get a USB external floppy drive for about $50 at CompUSA. If you do buy one, try to get USB 2, it's a lot faster.

Obviously, $50 is a lot of money just to read floppies, but if you need the capability, it's an option.

I recommend the Fuji S5000. You can find a factory refurbished version on Ebay for $250. You won't find a better camera for a better price. Only a few "wish it hads" of the camera: (1) no "bulb" capability..max shutter length is 2 seconds, (2) power-up time is a bit long if the camera auto shuts itself down and a train is headed your way, (3) multiple shot feature (think autowinder) reduces file to single megapixel. Other than that, it's a jam-up camera if you don't need 8mp photos. I have used it on the 2mp and 3mp settings almost exclusively. This will get you up to a 8x10 image without a problem. If all you need is 4x6 prints or stuff to post to websites, you can shoot 'em at 2mp or 50mp (although not with this camera!) and see zero difference. The S5000 has a maximum capability of just less than 6mp (5.7 or something, but they call it 6.)

See sample photos here: http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php?userid=1559 (only the day shots...night shots are from a Canon 20D) BTW: If you want to spend $1000, get a Canon Rebel XTi.

My son recommends one of the Sony CyberShot series, some of which are as cheap as the $150 range with a Carl Zeiss lens. They have a large screen on the back which makes viewing images good. They are used by his company, a food processor (read as wet environment) and seemingly hold up well with a lot of uninformed folks manhandling it. Any production problems or other incidents are routinely documented with digital pics.

Most mags or other publications will accept 5 megapixel and over for publication if that is part of your plan. I got a Minolta a few years ago and it has taken really good pics, although pricing and size have come way down. I rarely need the high resolution feature, and mostly choose 1 meg or smaller to download and store easier.

Bob Kutella