Cockpit digital cameras?

Anybody have any suggestions for digital cameras to take in the cockpit?

Looking for:
Small, so easy storage in the cockpit. Shirt pocket compatible. I've also
got a Powershot S50, which is too thick for my purposes, although length and
width is fine
Decent resolution (5 MP or above?)
Large storage card capacity (1 GB?)

Don't need:
Professional quality (this will primarily be for snapshots)
Interchangeable lenses
Bulk

Anybody already been through the process of evaluating and selecting who
would like to share their experiences?

Thanks,
Bullwinkle

I am just going through this process. A good place to start is
http://www.dpreview.com/. Go to Buying Guide - Features Search on the
left menu and select the criteria that are important to you. E.g. I
used:

Format - Ultra Compact (to keep it small)
Zoom wide (W) - 28mm (to get a wide angle lens for those nice
panorama shots out of the cockpit)

You can also add a "Sensor photo detectors" criterion but any cameras
that come up with above criteria will be 5 Mega pixels or more. I am
looking closely at the Canon PowerShot SD800 IS and the Panasonic
Lumix versions, I might go with the Canon but have not decided yet, a
friend of mine who is a professional aerial photographer has it for
daily use and seems to be pretty happy with it.

Hope this helps,

Markus

On Jun 13, 10:48 am, Bullwinkle wrote:
Anybody have any suggestions for digital cameras to take in the cockpit?

Looking for:
Small, so easy storage in the cockpit. Shirt pocket compatible. I've also
got a Powershot S50, which is too thick for my purposes, although length and
width is fine
Decent resolution (5 MP or above?)
Large storage card capacity (1 GB?)

Don't need:
Professional quality (this will primarily be for snapshots)
Interchangeable lenses
Bulk

Anybody already been through the process of evaluating and selecting who
would like to share their experiences?

Thanks,
Bullwinkle

Markus

Have used an Olympus as a PHD (Push here dummy) camera for years. It often gets
to take the pictures my D80 can't because I can't get it in the cockpit safely...

The key to good pictures is
1] the photographer
2] the lens quality
3] pixel count
4] format (JPG, RAW TIFF etc.)

I would consider the C-5500 Sport Zoom if I was looking for a rugged, cheap and
cheerful 5Mp camera that can still take great pictures. Most of the expensive
"features" on more expensive models are just brochure clutter. The C7000 series
is an alternative if you want the features...

Quite often getting the picture is more dependant on simplicity and speed of use
of the camera. The Olympus guys are good here. Similarly, if it's going to be in
the glider it had best be able to handle some abuse.

FWIW I have taken some pics from the back seat of a K13 with my D80 and a
18-200VR zoom. Really amazing (technical)quality pictures - now if we could just
do something about the user...

Bruce wrote:

I would consider the C-5500 Sport Zoom if I was looking for a rugged,
cheap and cheerful 5Mp camera that can still take great pictures.


Probably what's needed is a camera that is still available today.


Jack

Jack wrote:
Bruce wrote:

I would consider the C-5500 Sport Zoom if I was looking for a rugged,
cheap and cheerful 5Mp camera that can still take great pictures.



Probably what's needed is a camera that is still available today.


Jack
Not necessarily - many digital cameras get very little use. They take as good
pictures a couple of years later, and cost a fraction of new. That way, when it
lands in the mud puddle it hurts less...

The PC style obsession with continually reducing cost means that some of the
older versions are more rugged too.

If you just want something that will take a simple wide angle 5Imp picture there
are cell phones that can do that. No pop up lens, no focus needed (wide angle at
hyper focal distance) and loads of pixels. Some of them even have half way
decent lens quality - a fixed focus lens is easier to make.

On Jun 13, 5:12 pm, Markus Graeber wrote:
I am looking closely at the Canon PowerShot SD800 IS

Just got one of these - I think it's rather good. The killer feature
is the 28mm wide-angle lens - no other camera the size has one, and
while it doesn't sound much wider than (say) 35mm it makes a big
difference to what you can fit in the frame. The image stabilisation
should also help with zoom shots.

Worth noting that the other new Canon SD - the 900 - has no wide angle
(37mm), and no image stabilisation, trading them for more megapixels
(which you don't need) and a titanium body (ditto).


Dan

Bullwinkle wrote:
Anybody have any suggestions for digital cameras to take in the cockpit?

Looking for:
Small, so easy storage in the cockpit. Shirt pocket compatible. I've also
got a Powershot S50, which is too thick for my purposes, although length and
width is fine
Decent resolution (5 MP or above?)
Large storage card capacity (1 GB?)

Don't need:
Professional quality (this will primarily be for snapshots)
Interchangeable lenses
Bulk

Anybody already been through the process of evaluating and selecting who
would like to share their experiences?

I'm interested in this too, but I'd suggest another couple of things
that would be nice:

- no pop-out lens. A camera without a pop-out lens can be mounted on
the canopy rail close to the canopy without fear of the lens
ramming the perspex and damaging something.

- low power consumption and without an automatic 'off timer' or with
one than can be disabled.

If you don't mind dropping to a mere 3 Mpixels, I notice that Nikon
Coolpix 775s are selling cheaply on eBay. It looks like a suitable
camera for use in a glider, though having handled one, they are almost
too small for easy one-handed operation and they do have a pop-out lens.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

On Jun 13, 11:13 am, Martin Gregorie
wrote:
Bullwinkle wrote:
Anybody have any suggestions for digital cameras to take in the cockpit?

Looking for:
Small, so easy storage in the cockpit. Shirt pocket compatible. I've also
got a Powershot S50, which is too thick for my purposes, although length and
width is fine
Decent resolution (5 MP or above?)
Large storage card capacity (1 GB?)

Don't need:
Professional quality (this will primarily be for snapshots)
Interchangeable lenses
Bulk

Anybody already been through the process of evaluating and selecting who
would like to share their experiences?

I'm interested in this too, but I'd suggest another couple of things
that would be nice:

- no pop-out lens. A camera without a pop-out lens can be mounted on
the canopy rail close to the canopy without fear of the lens
ramming the perspex and damaging something.

- low power consumption and without an automatic 'off timer' or with
one than can be disabled.

If you don't mind dropping to a mere 3 Mpixels, I notice that Nikon
Coolpix 775s are selling cheaply on eBay. It looks like a suitable
camera for use in a glider, though having handled one, they are almost
too small for easy one-handed operation and they do have a pop-out lens.

--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

ive got a sony something or another 7 megapixel camera that i got at
Best buy a few years back. it would fit in a breat pocket on a
shirt. its always taken some nice pictures during my flights in the
cherokee, and some really amazing shots of the landouts!

Martin Gregorie wrote:
Bullwinkle wrote:

Anybody have any suggestions for digital cameras to take in the cockpit?

Looking for: Small, so easy storage in the cockpit. Shirt pocket
compatible. I've also
got a Powershot S50, which is too thick for my purposes, although
length and
width is fine
Decent resolution (5 MP or above?)
Large storage card capacity (1 GB?)

Don't need:
Professional quality (this will primarily be for snapshots)
Interchangeable lenses
Bulk

Anybody already been through the process of evaluating and selecting who
would like to share their experiences?

I'm interested in this too, but I'd suggest another couple of things
that would be nice:

- no pop-out lens. A camera without a pop-out lens can be mounted on
the canopy rail close to the canopy without fear of the lens
ramming the perspex and damaging something.

- low power consumption and without an automatic 'off timer' or with
one than can be disabled.

If you don't mind dropping to a mere 3 Mpixels, I notice that Nikon
Coolpix 775s are selling cheaply on eBay. It looks like a suitable
camera for use in a glider, though having handled one, they are almost
too small for easy one-handed operation and they do have a pop-out lens.


If you want a new model that does not have the pop up lens look at the Olympus
Stylus 720 / 770SW

They are resistant to the kind of abuse that will leave many of their
competitors in expensive kit form. Particularly useful is low temperature
capability.

The 770SW even has a manometer function for enriching your EXIF information with
altitude.

Limited optical zoom range because of the internal movement design, but you
can't have everything.

The perfect camera for you - if you can accept the compromises and cost?

Bruce wrote:
Martin Gregorie wrote:
Bullwinkle wrote:

Anybody have any suggestions for digital cameras to take in the cockpit?

Looking for: Small, so easy storage in the cockpit. Shirt pocket
compatible. I've also
got a Powershot S50, which is too thick for my purposes, although
length and
width is fine
Decent resolution (5 MP or above?)
Large storage card capacity (1 GB?)

Don't need:
Professional quality (this will primarily be for snapshots)
Interchangeable lenses
Bulk

Anybody already been through the process of evaluating and selecting who
would like to share their experiences?

I'm interested in this too, but I'd suggest another couple of things
that would be nice:

- no pop-out lens. A camera without a pop-out lens can be mounted on
the canopy rail close to the canopy without fear of the lens
ramming the perspex and damaging something.

- low power consumption and without an automatic 'off timer' or with
one than can be disabled.

If you don't mind dropping to a mere 3 Mpixels, I notice that Nikon
Coolpix 775s are selling cheaply on eBay. It looks like a suitable
camera for use in a glider, though having handled one, they are almost
too small for easy one-handed operation and they do have a pop-out lens.


If you want a new model that does not have the pop up lens look at the
Olympus Stylus 720 / 770SW

They are resistant to the kind of abuse that will leave many of their
competitors in expensive kit form. Particularly useful is low
temperature capability.

The 770SW even has a manometer function for enriching your EXIF
information with altitude.

Limited optical zoom range because of the internal movement design, but
you can't have everything.

The perfect camera for you - if you can accept the compromises and cost?

Its an interesting beast. I see the zoom range is 38mm - 114mm: 28mm
wide angle would be nice to have for gliding.

Judging by a quick search (and a look at eBay) the 720 was never
released in the UK or was never popular. I didn't find one on offer
though there are plenty of 720SW and 725SW cameras. Is that the case
elsewhere as well?


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |