[CALUG] modest camera for linux ??

[Bryan J Smith]

o  Regarding Linux ...

Just pull your card and load it that way.  It's much faster.  In my over 2 
year-old Gateway P-7811FX notebook, my SD is connected directly to a PCIe x1 
bridge.  With 16GB Class 10 SD cards, I break 50MBps reads, over twice the 
"best, realistic" speed of USB 2.0.

If you shoot RAW, then you'll need something like CinePaint (fka FilmGimp), 
LightZone, etc... to get better than 8-bit color/channel.  The GIMP only does 
JPEG-style 8-bit color/channel.  If your camera only does JPEG, then The GIMP is 
fine.

o  Regarding cameras ...

Megapixels don't matter at 1/2.5-1/1.8" CCD sizes.  Anything 5MP or higher will 
already have major light drop-off.  So focus on image quality (IQ), aperture 
(f-stop, lower is better, allows more light in) and features.  You're not going 
to be able to blow up more than 4x6" before you see issues, so it really doesn't 
matter.

Before the other vendors started going wider angle in the last generation, 
Panasonic was about the only Point'n Shoot vendor with a wide angle -- not just 
28mm, but down to 25-24mm.  The wider the angle, the more you can fit more of 
the scene in the view without having to stand back.  Today I wouldn't get 
anything with less than 25mm equivalent (or lower) wide angle, which more and 
more vendors are offering.  Yes, there is a huge difference between 25mm to 28mm 
to 30mm+.  I keep a Point'n Shoot on me most of the time, so I don't miss 
anything and I don't have to change lenses (I have a dSLR system), and it's a 
25mm equivalent wide angle Panasonic.  I usually go for the DMC-FX series, which 
are 5x or so, very tiny bodies, and typically $160 if you go 1 generation back 
(difference is typically little more than a MP increase).

I don't care about zoom reach because Point'n Shoot is a PITA when it comes to 
telephoto.  A quality, entry-level dSLR with cheap, 2-lens kit (wide angle + 
telephoto zoom) only runs about $600-700 these days.  It's telephoto zoom will 
be 300-450mm equivalent (200-300mm in APS-C sized, like the Nikon kit w/Nikor 
55-200, Pentax kit w/DA 55-300[1], etc...) and will kick a $400 prosumer silly 
thanx to having 10-20x the surface area in its CCD/CMOS sensor, even if the 
aperture is f/5.6 or so (you can go higher ISO thanx to the sensor, to make up 
for the extra f-stop at f/5.6 than f/4-4.9 on a prosumer).  And if you're 
striving for pro-type tele shooting, forget it with a prosumer, it'll cost 
you[2].

I hate superzooms -- be it a prosumer Point'n Shoot or a 12-15x zoom lens on a 
dSLR.  The latter suck almost as hard as the former (yes, I have the Tamron 14x, 
18-250 which is a 28-380mm equivalent) when it comes to IQ and blowing up to 
24x36".  Heck, even on 1080p (1920x1080) displays they start to show their 
weaknesses in comparison.

-- Bryan

Notes/References:  

[1] The cheapest, current gen (i.e., uses the same 12MP Sony sensor as other 
systems) 2-lens kit I've seen in the US is the Pentax Kx with DA-L 18-55 
f/3.5-5.6 and DA-L 55-300 f/4-5.8.  The 55-300 is a good, entry-level telezoom 
and you'll find Pentax is known for its "standard build qulity" (whereas other 
systems have flimsy kit lenses -- as PhotoZone.DE always says, "up to standard 
Pentax build quality, and that's a good thing").  The only negative I see most 
people state about Pentax is that it's not Canon or Nikon (although Pentax 
doesn't market in the US much at all, but the Kx is still the #1 selling 
entry-level in Japan, and it costs far more there than the US).  I keep a Kx as 
a backup camera for my system.
  PopPhoto DA 55-300 review:  
http://www.popphoto.com/Reviews/Lenses/Pentax-DA-55-300mm-f-4-5.8  (it's less 
than $200 extra in the 2-lens kit over 1 lens, which is a steal)
  DPReview of Kx:  http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentaxkx/  

[2] In the rain (weather sealed), unedited, original 14.6MP size shot JPEG (even 
better in 12-bit RAW, but that won't show on your typical panel, only good 
panels or prints):
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebs413/4859054536/sizes/o/in/photostream/  
  With this lens:  
http://www.popphoto.com/Reviews/Lenses/Lens-Test-Pentax-SMCP-DA-200mm-f-2.8ED-IF-SDM-AF 
 
It's the only 200mm (306mm equivalent) f/2.8 I know of that is only 5" long, 
which means I can take it into any stadium without a media pass, hence why I 
bought Pentax (and their APS-C only sized lenses as standard).  Other people 
like Olympus's even smaller 4/3rds (although Pentax has made bodies and lenses 
no bigger, while the sensor is).  It really is flawless, I've never seen results 
remotely as good without renting a $25K f/2.8 lens that is several feet long for 
not that much more reach.  I don't have that kind of money, or the hundreds of 
dollars to drop per shoot to rent (I do it for fun, not profession).

Yes, I'm biased to Pentax, but I live in Florida.  I've been out in 5 hours of 
continuous rain (at an event I can't take cover), Florida style, not-so-light, 
rain (which is atypical, although Maryland can have Florida like storms every 
now and then), hence my bias for weather/environmental sealing (and not what 
some say is "weather resistant" in other systems).


-- 
Bryan J  Smith             Professional, Technical Annoyance 
Linked Profile:           http://www.linkedin.com/in/bjsmith 
------------------------------------------------------------ 
"Now if you own an automatic ... sell it!
You are totally missing out on the coolest part of driving"
-- Johnny O'Connell