All:

We have a nice Panasonic digital and are very happy with it. What I'd like
to find is something very small and easily transportable (in a pocket, fanny
pack, etc.), and not complicated.

The Panasonic is terrific for many things, but it's a pain to carry and for
candids. Any suggestions? I'll take them and then go to the comp site.

Diana

I'm interested in what others have to say too.

K Barrett

"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
.. .
All:

We have a nice Panasonic digital and are very happy with it. What I'd like
to find is something very small and easily transportable (in a pocket,
fanny pack, etc.), and not complicated.

The Panasonic is terrific for many things, but it's a pain to carry and
for candids. Any suggestions? I'll take them and then go to the comp site.

Diana

Try the Pentax Optio range. Size of a credit card and have terrific
super-macro setting for those nice close-ups. Large 3"LCD screen as well
plus many other features.

I am using the Optio S5z which is now been superseded. Am looking to
upgrade soon. All the photos I have posted have been taken with this camera
and can also be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/65086147@N00/

More info here http://www.pentax.com.au/pentax/inde...D=2&pageRef=1&

BTW, I don't have any financial interest in Pentax - just happy with the
quality of the photos.

Cheers

John



"K Barrett" wrote in message
...
I'm interested in what others have to say too.

K Barrett

"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
.. .
All:

We have a nice Panasonic digital and are very happy with it. What I'd
like to find is something very small and easily transportable (in a
pocket, fanny pack, etc.), and not complicated.

The Panasonic is terrific for many things, but it's a pain to carry and
for candids. Any suggestions? I'll take them and then go to the comp
site.

Diana

A good place to ask about cameras. Looks like the Pentax is a good one
that John recommends.
I would look for one with:-
1... automatic focus
2... steady shot
3... Lythium-ion battery & charger
4... universal memory stick with decent capacity.

Of course you could do the Comparameter camera deal & Dp review & will drive
you silly!!
Go to your big box camera store like Circuit City or Best Buy, they usually
have demo models so
you can actually hold & get the feel etc.
Good luck & let us know what you get.
Cheers Wendy

"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
.. .
All:

We have a nice Panasonic digital and are very happy with it. What I'd like
to find is something very small and easily transportable (in a pocket,
fanny pack, etc.), and not complicated.

The Panasonic is terrific for many things, but it's a pain to carry and
for candids. Any suggestions? I'll take them and then go to the comp site.

Diana

The wife got me this Kodak easyshare Z812 IS camera for Christmas. About
$279. Has a great zoom with macro mode. Settings for automatic everything
or manual everything for whatever your mood or need is.

Looks fairly new and is likely state of the art. Small enough to put in
your pocket yet has the features of the expensive and bulky 'bigboys'.

http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQueri...q-locale=en_US.

You can check out the post 'New Camera, New Phal, Name???' and see the
results of the use of this camera. First orchid shot I ever took after
reading and playing with the camera for about 1 hour. I should have reduced
the size of the photo, but the attachment is 'native', direct from the
camera.

Vito



"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
.. .
All:

We have a nice Panasonic digital and are very happy with it. What I'd like
to find is something very small and easily transportable (in a pocket,
fanny pack, etc.), and not complicated.

The Panasonic is terrific for many things, but it's a pain to carry and
for candids. Any suggestions? I'll take them and then go to the comp site.

Diana

I have a lot of catching up to do here. I've been doing a serious inventory
after a massive repotting spree. Considering I can only work in the GH about
4 hrs a day (5 on a good one), it's taken a lot of time and I'm not done
yet.I've switched over to potting in styrofoam (with a little sphagnum) and
topped withbark to hold the stuff down. This is so I can water with a spray
system indescriminately. Everything gets the same water (vandas get an extra
cycle). Catts in 8"pots are going crazy and I'm thrilled. Dendrobiums are
slower to respond but are doing very well.
Anyway, the point here is cameras. I wanted a serious point-and-shoot, one
that could be a point-and-shoot but had the options of an SLR without having
to be one. I found it in a Canon Powershot G9. It has phenomenal digital
power zoom and just about all you could ask for in a not-SLR. Price is about
$450 and uses Secure digital memory disks. I got a SmartDisk Photobank which
is a portable harddrive that runs on batteries. So when out taking pictures
(and some of the pics can be big like 4000x3000pixels so you can magnify
without loss of clarity) and my mem card fills up, I just pop it out and
insert it into the Photobank to download and then put it back into the
camera. The Photobank holds 80GB which is a whole heck of a lot of pictures.
I also holds sound for your records as well as your mp3s. Anyway, google
powershot g9 and you'll be inpressed with the specs. I'll show you some
soon. I promise. Really.
Gary

"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
.. .
All:

We have a nice Panasonic digital and are very happy with it. What I'd like
to find is something very small and easily transportable (in a pocket,
fanny pack, etc.), and not complicated.

The Panasonic is terrific for many things, but it's a pain to carry and
for candids. Any suggestions? I'll take them and then go to the comp site.

Diana

My wife has one of these, and it's much easier to carry around than my SLR:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...al_Camera.html

I'm thinking of getting one for myself for travel...

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!


"K Barrett" wrote in message
...
I'm interested in what others have to say too.

K Barrett

"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
.. .
All:

We have a nice Panasonic digital and are very happy with it. What I'd
like to find is something very small and easily transportable (in a
pocket, fanny pack, etc.), and not complicated.

The Panasonic is terrific for many things, but it's a pain to carry and
for candids. Any suggestions? I'll take them and then go to the comp
site.

Diana

Wow, thanks, everyone! Great info here, as always. I'm shooting it all over
to Frank. He's the *compare* guy.

Diana

"V_coerulea" wrote in message
. ..
I have a lot of catching up to do here. I've been doing a serious inventory
after a massive repotting spree. Considering I can only work in the GH
about 4 hrs a day (5 on a good one), it's taken a lot of time and I'm not
done yet.I've switched over to potting in styrofoam (with a little
sphagnum) and topped withbark to hold the stuff down. This is so I can
water with a spray system indescriminately. Everything gets the same water
(vandas get an extra cycle). Catts in 8"pots are going crazy and I'm
thrilled. Dendrobiums are slower to respond but are doing very well.
Anyway, the point here is cameras. I wanted a serious point-and-shoot, one
that could be a point-and-shoot but had the options of an SLR without
having to be one. I found it in a Canon Powershot G9. It has phenomenal
digital power zoom and just about all you could ask for in a not-SLR.
Price is about $450 and uses Secure digital memory disks. I got a
SmartDisk Photobank which is a portable harddrive that runs on batteries.
So when out taking pictures (and some of the pics can be big like
4000x3000pixels so you can magnify without loss of clarity) and my mem
card fills up, I just pop it out and insert it into the Photobank to
download and then put it back into the camera. The Photobank holds 80GB
which is a whole heck of a lot of pictures. I also holds sound for your
records as well as your mp3s. Anyway, google powershot g9 and you'll be
inpressed with the specs. I'll show you some soon. I promise. Really.
Gary

"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
.. .
All:

We have a nice Panasonic digital and are very happy with it. What I'd
like to find is something very small and easily transportable (in a
pocket, fanny pack, etc.), and not complicated.

The Panasonic is terrific for many things, but it's a pain to carry and
for candids. Any suggestions? I'll take them and then go to the comp
site.

Diana

Does she say how long the AA batteries last? Has she ever had to replace
them yet?

K Barrett

"Ray B" wrote in message
news:OPtdj.3156$ZI4.727@trnddc08...
My wife has one of these, and it's much easier to carry around than my
SLR:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...al_Camera.html

I'm thinking of getting one for myself for travel...

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!


"K Barrett" wrote in message
...
I'm interested in what others have to say too.

K Barrett

"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
.. .
All:

We have a nice Panasonic digital and are very happy with it. What I'd
like to find is something very small and easily transportable (in a
pocket, fanny pack, etc.), and not complicated.

The Panasonic is terrific for many things, but it's a pain to carry and
for candids. Any suggestions? I'll take them and then go to the comp
site.

Diana

Stupid questions for the group:

Can any tripod mount to any camera? Is there a standard? Have you a tripod
recommendation?

What is EV compensation? Do you ever use it? If that's too difficult a
question just say so and I'll google it

Do you ever alter the brightness of the flash?

Do you ever set the ISO sensitivity?

Do you use the picture/scene settings or do you just set it on Auto and
forget it?

The most I ever do is set the focal length to Macro and decide whether or
not to use the flash. The bulk of my shots are macro and auto focus. I do
not set anything else. I don't use Flash +/-, EV+/-, scene selections, etc.
I shoot everything sized for the web (400 x 600?) I rarely shoot a picture
at full resolution.

I have a Nikon coolpix 7900 at my disposal which is really rather nice, but
it has so many options, icons for which all show on the LCD. They make me
pause to interpret them whilst I'm setting up a shot. So I figured I'd ask
to see if anyone really uses these options, so I'd know if I had to commit
the instruction manual to heart....

K Barrett



"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
.. .
All:

We have a nice Panasonic digital and are very happy with it. What I'd like
to find is something very small and easily transportable (in a pocket,
fanny pack, etc.), and not complicated.

The Panasonic is terrific for many things, but it's a pain to carry and
for candids. Any suggestions? I'll take them and then go to the comp site.

Diana

Try the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3, I just got one recently and it has an
excellent lens. It's not the smallest of cameras but definitely pocket
size, 10x zoom lens that starts out at 28mm wide angle. I got one for $240
he http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...ails/495324917 I am very
happy with mine, here's a closeup of my cat that shows how well defined the
details are.

Diana Kulaga wrote:
| All:
|
| We have a nice Panasonic digital and are very happy with it. What I'd
| like to find is something very small and easily transportable (in a
| pocket, fanny pack, etc.), and not complicated.
|
| The Panasonic is terrific for many things, but it's a pain to carry
| and for candids. Any suggestions? I'll take them and then go to the
| comp site.
|
| Diana

She got the camera last Christmas, and is still on the first set. Of
course, most of her shots are in decent daylight, so using the flash is
bound to chew them up faster, but I'd guess she's looking at several hundred
shots per set.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!


"K Barrett" wrote in message
. ..
Does she say how long the AA batteries last? Has she ever had to replace
them yet?

K Barrett

"Ray B" wrote in message
news:OPtdj.3156$ZI4.727@trnddc08...
My wife has one of these, and it's much easier to carry around than my
SLR:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...al_Camera.html

I'm thinking of getting one for myself for travel...

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!


"K Barrett" wrote in message
...
I'm interested in what others have to say too.

K Barrett

"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
.. .
All:

We have a nice Panasonic digital and are very happy with it. What I'd
like to find is something very small and easily transportable (in a
pocket, fanny pack, etc.), and not complicated.

The Panasonic is terrific for many things, but it's a pain to carry and
for candids. Any suggestions? I'll take them and then go to the comp
site.

Diana

With the exception of really small or thin cameras, I have never seen a
camera without the female threaded tripod connector - including the
single-use ones from the convenience store. There are so many brands out
there, it's hard to make a recommendation. I have a Bogen, which is sort-of
the Mercedes of tripods, but mine is quite old, from a period when they
tried to capture the serious amateur. I don't think you can touch one for
under $300 now. Go to a camera shot and

Exposure Value Compensation allows you to "tell" the camera to over-, or
underexpose the shot, depending on the subject and background, and the
lighting conditions. Point-and-shoot cameras are set to give proper
exposure at the midpoint between black and white reflectances (AKA an 18%
gray). Typically, the camera's light metering tries for an average of the
whole frame. If you're trying to shoot a flower in a large display, the
"target" blossom may get lost in that average. Maybe an easier example is
shooting someone with snow-covered mountains in the background. The snow
reflects light so well that the camera will shorten the exposure, and the
face will be too dark. The EV compensation allows you to "play" with it, to
get it right.

When shooting flowers, I try to avoid using the flash, preferring natural
light. However, when forced to use artificial lighting, I typically put a
diffuser in front of the flash to "soften" it. Waxed paper and translucent
plastic (I have been known to hold one of my S/H pots in front of it) are my
diffusers of choice.

I use the ISO adjustment to compensate for the light level, as that affects
the shutter speed, hence degree of shake in hand-held shots. The higher the
ISO setting, the more pixelated the image will be - like being more grainy
with higher-speed film - but with the number of pixels in a camera these
days, unless you're blowing it up to poster size, you'll never see it. My
old Canon D30 is a 3 megapixel camera, and I have had photos blown up to 24"
x 30" and they look great.

The picture/scene settings are simply presets to adjust EV, aperture,
shutter speed, and in the case of my camera, whether it's a single shot or
burst mode of multiple shots. The auto mode allows the camera's "brain" to
do a super, all-over average, based upon what it sees. Generally speaking,
they all work pretty well, but sometimes if my "artistic eye" takes over, I
find myself going to aperture mode, opening it up or stopping it down to
control the depth of field, then I use the ISO and EV settings to control
the exposure.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!


"K Barrett" wrote in message
. ..
Stupid questions for the group:

Can any tripod mount to any camera? Is there a standard? Have you a
tripod recommendation?

What is EV compensation? Do you ever use it? If that's too difficult a
question just say so and I'll google it

Do you ever alter the brightness of the flash?

Do you ever set the ISO sensitivity?

Do you use the picture/scene settings or do you just set it on Auto and
forget it?

The most I ever do is set the focal length to Macro and decide whether or
not to use the flash. The bulk of my shots are macro and auto focus. I
do not set anything else. I don't use Flash +/-, EV+/-, scene selections,
etc. I shoot everything sized for the web (400 x 600?) I rarely shoot a
picture at full resolution.

I have a Nikon coolpix 7900 at my disposal which is really rather nice,
but it has so many options, icons for which all show on the LCD. They
make me pause to interpret them whilst I'm setting up a shot. So I
figured I'd ask to see if anyone really uses these options, so I'd know if
I had to commit the instruction manual to heart....

K Barrett



"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
.. .
All:

We have a nice Panasonic digital and are very happy with it. What I'd
like to find is something very small and easily transportable (in a
pocket, fanny pack, etc.), and not complicated.

The Panasonic is terrific for many things, but it's a pain to carry and
for candids. Any suggestions? I'll take them and then go to the comp
site.

Diana

What did I do there????

That fist paragraph was supposed to end with:

Go to a camera shop and handle a few, considering sturdiness/stability,
weight, and simplicity of operation. If you're going to use it with a
point-and-shoot camera, you need not get the weight-holding capacity
necessary for an SLR with big lens and flash.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!


"Ray B" wrote in message
news:zcNdj.352$Ug5.254@trnddc06...
With the exception of really small or thin cameras, I have never seen a
camera without the female threaded tripod connector - including the
single-use ones from the convenience store. There are so many brands out
there, it's hard to make a recommendation. I have a Bogen, which is
sort-of the Mercedes of tripods, but mine is quite old, from a period when
they tried to capture the serious amateur. I don't think you can touch
one for under $300 now. Go to a camera shot and

Exposure Value Compensation allows you to "tell" the camera to over-, or
underexpose the shot, depending on the subject and background, and the
lighting conditions. Point-and-shoot cameras are set to give proper
exposure at the midpoint between black and white reflectances (AKA an 18%
gray). Typically, the camera's light metering tries for an average of the
whole frame. If you're trying to shoot a flower in a large display, the
"target" blossom may get lost in that average. Maybe an easier example is
shooting someone with snow-covered mountains in the background. The snow
reflects light so well that the camera will shorten the exposure, and the
face will be too dark. The EV compensation allows you to "play" with it,
to get it right.

When shooting flowers, I try to avoid using the flash, preferring natural
light. However, when forced to use artificial lighting, I typically put a
diffuser in front of the flash to "soften" it. Waxed paper and
translucent plastic (I have been known to hold one of my S/H pots in front
of it) are my diffusers of choice.

I use the ISO adjustment to compensate for the light level, as that
affects the shutter speed, hence degree of shake in hand-held shots. The
higher the ISO setting, the more pixelated the image will be - like being
more grainy with higher-speed film - but with the number of pixels in a
camera these days, unless you're blowing it up to poster size, you'll
never see it. My old Canon D30 is a 3 megapixel camera, and I have had
photos blown up to 24" x 30" and they look great.

The picture/scene settings are simply presets to adjust EV, aperture,
shutter speed, and in the case of my camera, whether it's a single shot or
burst mode of multiple shots. The auto mode allows the camera's "brain"
to do a super, all-over average, based upon what it sees. Generally
speaking, they all work pretty well, but sometimes if my "artistic eye"
takes over, I find myself going to aperture mode, opening it up or
stopping it down to control the depth of field, then I use the ISO and EV
settings to control the exposure.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!


"K Barrett" wrote in message
. ..
Stupid questions for the group:

Can any tripod mount to any camera? Is there a standard? Have you a
tripod recommendation?

What is EV compensation? Do you ever use it? If that's too difficult a
question just say so and I'll google it

Do you ever alter the brightness of the flash?

Do you ever set the ISO sensitivity?

Do you use the picture/scene settings or do you just set it on Auto and
forget it?

The most I ever do is set the focal length to Macro and decide whether or
not to use the flash. The bulk of my shots are macro and auto focus. I
do not set anything else. I don't use Flash +/-, EV+/-, scene
selections, etc. I shoot everything sized for the web (400 x 600?) I
rarely shoot a picture at full resolution.

I have a Nikon coolpix 7900 at my disposal which is really rather nice,
but it has so many options, icons for which all show on the LCD. They
make me pause to interpret them whilst I'm setting up a shot. So I
figured I'd ask to see if anyone really uses these options, so I'd know
if I had to commit the instruction manual to heart....

K Barrett



"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
.. .
All:

We have a nice Panasonic digital and are very happy with it. What I'd
like to find is something very small and easily transportable (in a
pocket, fanny pack, etc.), and not complicated.

The Panasonic is terrific for many things, but it's a pain to carry and
for candids. Any suggestions? I'll take them and then go to the comp
site.

Diana

Thanks for all the info Ray! You're a pal for taking the time to type all
that up! Believe it or not I understood it, *G* (there's a first time for
everything!)

As to the Canon's battery life I expected that she hadn't yet replaced them.
(So does she use coppertops or energizer bunnies? *G*) I kind of like that
one can just go to any store and buy AA batteries when needed. Rather
liberating.

K

"Ray B" wrote in message
news:wqNdj.353$Ug5.148@trnddc06...
What did I do there????

That fist paragraph was supposed to end with:

Go to a camera shop and handle a few, considering sturdiness/stability,
weight, and simplicity of operation. If you're going to use it with a
point-and-shoot camera, you need not get the weight-holding capacity
necessary for an SLR with big lens and flash.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!


"Ray B" wrote in message
news:zcNdj.352$Ug5.254@trnddc06...
With the exception of really small or thin cameras, I have never seen a
camera without the female threaded tripod connector - including the
single-use ones from the convenience store. There are so many brands out
there, it's hard to make a recommendation. I have a Bogen, which is
sort-of the Mercedes of tripods, but mine is quite old, from a period
when they tried to capture the serious amateur. I don't think you can
touch one for under $300 now. Go to a camera shot and

Exposure Value Compensation allows you to "tell" the camera to over-, or
underexpose the shot, depending on the subject and background, and the
lighting conditions. Point-and-shoot cameras are set to give proper
exposure at the midpoint between black and white reflectances (AKA an 18%
gray). Typically, the camera's light metering tries for an average of
the whole frame. If you're trying to shoot a flower in a large display,
the "target" blossom may get lost in that average. Maybe an easier
example is shooting someone with snow-covered mountains in the
background. The snow reflects light so well that the camera will shorten
the exposure, and the face will be too dark. The EV compensation allows
you to "play" with it, to get it right.

When shooting flowers, I try to avoid using the flash, preferring natural
light. However, when forced to use artificial lighting, I typically put
a diffuser in front of the flash to "soften" it. Waxed paper and
translucent plastic (I have been known to hold one of my S/H pots in
front of it) are my diffusers of choice.

I use the ISO adjustment to compensate for the light level, as that
affects the shutter speed, hence degree of shake in hand-held shots. The
higher the ISO setting, the more pixelated the image will be - like being
more grainy with higher-speed film - but with the number of pixels in a
camera these days, unless you're blowing it up to poster size, you'll
never see it. My old Canon D30 is a 3 megapixel camera, and I have had
photos blown up to 24" x 30" and they look great.

The picture/scene settings are simply presets to adjust EV, aperture,
shutter speed, and in the case of my camera, whether it's a single shot
or burst mode of multiple shots. The auto mode allows the camera's
"brain" to do a super, all-over average, based upon what it sees.
Generally speaking, they all work pretty well, but sometimes if my
"artistic eye" takes over, I find myself going to aperture mode, opening
it up or stopping it down to control the depth of field, then I use the
ISO and EV settings to control the exposure.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!


"K Barrett" wrote in message
. ..
Stupid questions for the group:

Can any tripod mount to any camera? Is there a standard? Have you a
tripod recommendation?

What is EV compensation? Do you ever use it? If that's too difficult a
question just say so and I'll google it

Do you ever alter the brightness of the flash?

Do you ever set the ISO sensitivity?

Do you use the picture/scene settings or do you just set it on Auto and
forget it?

The most I ever do is set the focal length to Macro and decide whether
or not to use the flash. The bulk of my shots are macro and auto
focus. I do not set anything else. I don't use Flash +/-, EV+/-, scene
selections, etc. I shoot everything sized for the web (400 x 600?) I
rarely shoot a picture at full resolution.

I have a Nikon coolpix 7900 at my disposal which is really rather nice,
but it has so many options, icons for which all show on the LCD. They
make me pause to interpret them whilst I'm setting up a shot. So I
figured I'd ask to see if anyone really uses these options, so I'd know
if I had to commit the instruction manual to heart....

K Barrett



"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
.. .
All:

We have a nice Panasonic digital and are very happy with it. What I'd
like to find is something very small and easily transportable (in a
pocket, fanny pack, etc.), and not complicated.

The Panasonic is terrific for many things, but it's a pain to carry and
for candids. Any suggestions? I'll take them and then go to the comp
site.

Diana