Best Digital Camera for inflight shots is the....?

[Going2Baja]

Hi all - I pulled out my 5 year old Olympus the other day to catch a side by side approach into LAX but it failed to take a good pic. W/ fathers day nearing I thought this would be a good request.

I'd like anyones input on what camera they use that will produce good inflight photos during the day or night. I think most all do great durung the day on the ground but I'm guessing not all are good at capturing good night shots.

Thanks in advance for the input!!!

Baja.

 

[JediNein]

Rebel XT or XTi, it's a 'small' digital SLR that takes the picture when you want it, not half a second or an hour later. You can go nuts with the lens, but I find the 28-135 IS with a rubber wideangle hood works very well to catch side-by-side approaches and the occasional overhead or below airliner without scratching canopies or windows.

The dollar cost goes way up for lenses to catch shots at night, unless you are using a tripod and and/or have time.

Taken at night, handheld, Rebel XT w/28-135 IS: http://www.smugmug.com/photos/125598771-M-2.jpg
Long exposure, tripod, Rebel XT w/28-135 IS:
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/125598891-M-2.jpg
Just after sunset, , Rebel XTi w/28-135 IS: http://www.cirruspilots.org/public/pix/showpic.php?id=382

 

[DrewBlows]

I borrowed my sisters Cannon EOS 20D with a telephoto lens for a week to take some pictures. It took fantastic pictures of airplanes on the ground and during takeoff and landing. My "holy grail" was an air-to-air at altitude. This proved very elusive. I wasn't able to get any pictures I was happy with. The best one was a Southwest 737 but the sun was on the other side of the airplane so it wasn't very good. Even with a telephoto lens, it was impossible to fill the frame at altitude. You may have better luck on approach. Another problem I had was the CRJ as a photo platform. It's windows are waaaaaaaaay too small.

 

[Going2Baja]

Thanks for the great replies but I do currently have a Nikon D60 digital SLR but this is WAY to big to carry on a trip by trip basis. I'd like to get a compact that also shoots video. Not sure what I'd do w/ it but it sounds like a good idea to have for that ONE time tha a videa camera was needed.

Baja

 

[JediNein]

There's always the Powershot TX1 and SD850/750... but they do have the built-in delay when trying to take a shot.

 

[grog_sit_reserv]

panasonic lumix dmz tz3

7.1Mpix 10x optical zoom. Image stabilization, video capability with ability to save frames from movies, Great outdoor photos check it out on Amazon

$300 from Costco. Great Camera. Small form factor.

 

[Mookie]

Baja,

just don't take it to Mexico with you...:beer:

mookie

 

[Going2Baja]

Mook - I've been taking all my gear to Baja and so far no worries. Heck, I could bring in weapons and no one would ever know (not that I would ever!) There really isn't a difference between my $1k Bose/digital camera/ or a laptop is there??

Baja.

 

[CF34-3B1]

I've got a Nikon P4

Boots up way faster than the older CoolPix series, and takes good pictures.

8MP and most important for inflight use, it has vibration reduction.

Small enough to fit in the flight bag easily. Lithium Ion battery lasts for a 4 day trip with no recharging.

Get a big SD card, the pics are usually 1/2 a Meg each

 

[Mookie]

baja,
NOT EXACTLY what I meant....

 

[mushroom]

I have a Canon Powershot A620 that I always have with me in my flight bag. I have taken a lot of excellent shots from the cockpit with it. I've had it for a while, and as is always the case with tech stuff there are some newer Canon models with other numbers that have made some improvements on the A620 (more zoom, little bit higher megapixels, etc.). One or more of them have image stabilization nowadays, which might be helpful for inflight shots. At any rate, I believe they have all kept the good general features of the camera, which include the fact that it uses AA batteries instead of teeny hard-to-find batteries. I can find AA's anywhere in the world, and occasionally I have needed to. The fact that the camera uses the AA's also makes it slightly larger than other cameras, which I like. I hate teeny digital cameras you can't hold on to. The A620 also has one of those variable angle swing-around LCD screens that is not fixed in one position to the back of the camera. I find that very useful in a lot of situations. Not all of the newer Canons have the variable-angle screen, though some or all have a bigger screen than the A620 has.

If you have never looked at Digital Photo Review, check it out. They are a great site with a ton of camera info. http://www.dpreview.com/ And the original review of camera can be found at http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canona620/ It was an "Editors' Choice--Highly Recommended" camera.

Hope any of this is helpful.

--m

 

[Cobra]

Problem with small point and shoot cameras is that their focus mechanisms have trouble with focusing when it comes to having some medium between the camera and the object being photographed (pax window, cockpit windscreen, etc.) Focus mechanisms in SLR's are completely different than the compacts and have a much faster reliable means of focusing. So it's a tradeoff, size versus performance. Another thing, people get wrapped up around pixel count, the reality of good pictures revolves more so around the glass than megabytes.

Look into the Olympus for smaller than normal SLRs (E-1). Dpreview.com is the standard for forums when it comes to digital photography.

Hope this helps,

G

 

[Going2Baja]

baja,
NOT EXACTLY what I meant....

What happens out of Country stays out of Country - No evidence!!

 

[Going2Baja]

AA batteries are key for the reasons stated above. Also - do any of the small Dig have a mode to focus at max range for the far away shots so the camera won't get confused w/ the windscreen?

Thanks for all the great replies and website links!

 

[CA1900]

Baja -- I'm absolutely thrilled with the Canon compact digitals. I currently have an SD600, and it takes fantastic shots. And yes, it has an infinity focus option that's easy to get at. Put it in manual mode (more options), and simply push the macro button. In manual mode, it cycles between normal, macro, and infinity. (Auto mode is just macro and normal.)

It's smaller than a pack of cigarettes, and can hold 700+ highest-quality shots on one 2GB SD card. It's around $300. It does use a rechargeable lithium battery; if you want something that uses AAs, the Canon A-series cameras will fit the bill. But I greatly prefer being able to slip it into my shirt pocket -- if it's too bulky, it'll stay in my bag, which defeats the whole purpose of having it with me.

But that's personal preference -- if AA power is more important to you, there are plenty of those as well. I still recommend the Canons -- they have a user interface that's much more logical (I think) than some other brands. I recommend avoiding the Sony cameras that use their proprietary Memory Stick storage. It's roughly twice as expensive as other standard memory, such as SD cards or CompactFlash cards.

One big thing that's important to me: an optical viewfinder. In really bright sun, a camera with only a screen can be really hard to use, because the sun washes out the screen. It's nice to have a regular lens to look through to frame the shot outdoors, especially if you're trying to get a distant object (like an airplane) into the frame.

 

[mushroom]

Looks like 1900 beat me to the focus answer. What I originally wrote was:

There may be some cameras out there with that focus feature but I'm not sure. One way I get around it is to hold my camera right up next to the windshield and press the shutter button halfway down so that the camera focuses on infinity (I can see what it's focusing on in the LCD screen when the little green rectangles show up), then while I keep holding the shutter button halfway I bring the camera back close to me and re-compose the shot; then I press the shutter button all the way down. Seems to work pretty well for me.

But I certainly agree about the opinion of Canons in general. Great cameras. The A620 does have an optical viewfinder too, as well as several other of their models.

"mushroom is not a paid endorser of the Canon Powershot A620 or any other Canon product..."

 

[Swass]

It's a little on the large side to take everywhere but I shoot a D80 with a Nikkor 18-200mm lens for most of my photos. It does about everything from portraits to sports. I have tons of other lenses but that's another thread and probably another forum...

 

[navigator72]

I shoot with a Canon rebel XT with a 17 -85mm image stabilized lens. The image stabilization is a must if your in a plane shootiing.

 

[nikoz1200]

Canon SD800IS. Widest angle of any P+S camera. Does great in low light.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_sd800is.asp

 

[acaTerry]

Had prety good luck with a minolta e550