Members BottomHeavyKate Posted February 18, 2009 Members Share Posted February 18, 2009 So I'm looking for a new digital camera. I've decided first to go with the Olympus Water/Shock/Freeze proof camera. It will be great for my hunting, fishing, camping trips, and hold up better to my clumbsiness - which is the reason I'm shopping for a new camera anyway So I've got all the models lined up and I basically have to decide between the standard one and the wide angle lens one..... What the hell is a wide angle lens? How does it affect the pictures? Here are the ones I'm looking at.... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2070070012%2050001000&StoreType=-1&CompareItemList=N82E16830111211%2cN82E16830111240&bop=And Then I start saving for the big fancy DSLR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members T. Alan Smith Posted February 18, 2009 Members Share Posted February 18, 2009 My camera(digital) is an Olympus. It's several years old now, but I still like it. It takes excellent pictures, but it's slow. What I like about it is you can adjust the aperture, shutter speed and such if you want...or there's preset adjustments to make people like me really look like we know what we're doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BottomHeavyKate Posted February 18, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 18, 2009 I guess I just don't know which one of those will be better..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WillPlay4food Posted February 18, 2009 Members Share Posted February 18, 2009 I'm not some hot-shot photographer, but IMHO generally a wide angle lens will stuff more into an image. For example, if you're taking panorama or landscape shots, you'll get more of the countryside into the shot. From the tech specs:Non wide angle = f=6.7 - 20.1 mm (38 - 114 mm equivalent in 35mm photography) Wide angle = 5.0 - 18.2 mm (28 - 102 mm equivalent in 35mm photography) Looking at the specs, you aren't losing about as much in the zoom department as you gain in the wide department. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BottomHeavyKate Posted February 18, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 18, 2009 I'm not some hot-shot photographer, but IMHO generally a wide angle lens will stuff more into an image. For example, if you're taking panorama or landscape shots, you'll get more of the countryside into the shot.From the tech specs:Non wide angle = f=6.7 - 20.1 mm (38 - 114 mm equivalent in 35mm photography)Wide angle = 5.0 - 18.2 mm (28 - 102 mm equivalent in 35mm photography)Looking at the specs, you aren't losing about as much in the zoom department as you gain in the wide department. Excellent thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassplayer7770 Posted February 18, 2009 Members Share Posted February 18, 2009 I have an older model Olympus that still works. If you check out 82Daion's Skjold thread, you can see some pics I took on Saturday in Skjold's shop. It's a durable camera, that's fo sho! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members P-Lyte Posted February 18, 2009 Members Share Posted February 18, 2009 A wide angle lens will take in a wider area of view when not zoomed. For example, you wouldn't have to back up as far to get the whole gang in the frame for that big group shot. Also, if you like to take scenic shots at all wide angle is generally a huge plus as it sees more of the landscape. The wide angle version has an equivalent 28-102mm lens. The standard version has a 38-115. There is a huge difference in angle of view at the wide setting. 28 is MUCH wider than 38. There is not a huge difference in magnification at the long end of the zoom. 102 really isn't much less than 115. Basically for the extra $50 bucks you're getting much more versatility in the types of shots you can get without sacrificing anything else. FWIW I'd get the wide angle version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lokidecat Posted February 18, 2009 Members Share Posted February 18, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassman1956 Posted February 18, 2009 Members Share Posted February 18, 2009 I just picked up a few Magnavox keychain cameras. Maybe a phone quality pic, maybe a little more, we'll see when they get here. They aren't that fantastic, but hey, it's a $7 camera. So I can take one sailing with me, and not worry if it takes a swim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WillPlay4food Posted February 18, 2009 Members Share Posted February 18, 2009 FYI, 50mm is about what the human eye perceives. Just thought I'd throw that out as a point of reference (IIRC, the human eye is roughly 46mm). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr.Mow Posted February 18, 2009 Members Share Posted February 18, 2009 I'm not some hot-shot photographer, but IMHO generally a wide angle lens will stuff more into an image. For example, if you're taking panorama or landscape shots, you'll get more of the countryside into the shot.From the tech specs:Non wide angle = f=6.7 - 20.1 mm (38 - 114 mm equivalent in 35mm photography)Wide angle = 5.0 - 18.2 mm (28 - 102 mm equivalent in 35mm photography)Looking at the specs, you aren't losing about as much in the zoom department as you gain in the wide department. Yah, what he said..Also, Olympus make a nice compact, those shock, water proof ones are pretty good.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BottomHeavyKate Posted February 18, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 18, 2009 Now THAT is what I was looking for....sweet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WillPlay4food Posted February 18, 2009 Members Share Posted February 18, 2009 Now THAT is what I was looking for....sweet! Like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. (Make sure you take good ones) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BottomHeavyKate Posted February 18, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 18, 2009 Yah, what he said.. Also, Olympus make a nice compact, those shock, water proof ones are pretty good.. My mom works at a chemistry lab and she went to an Olympus conference. She said they had these on display under running water and it worked perfectly. I fish and I routinely drop my camera from my tree stand The wide angle lens will be cool for those mountain landscape pictures I love to take too.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members P-Lyte Posted February 18, 2009 Members Share Posted February 18, 2009 If you want a little more zoom power, I'd consider this one as well: http://www.pentaximaging.com/digital-camera/Optio_W60_-_Ocean_Blue/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Goofball Jones Posted February 18, 2009 Members Share Posted February 18, 2009 Get some user reviews of the 1030 SW here, look at "owner's opinions". I personally have no experience with this camera or Olympus other than their excellent OM-4ti from "back in the day":D: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Olympus/oly_stylus1030sw.asp Get some samples of what kind of pictures this takes from users of the camera. Sure, you're going to get some bad pictures because some people take bad photos. . But this will give you an idea of what others use the camera for: http://www.pbase.com/cameras/olympus/stylus_1030_sw All these shots from underwater were taken by it for example: http://www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow/blueholepalau&page=2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BottomHeavyKate Posted February 18, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 18, 2009 Get some user reviews of the 1030 SW here, look at "owner's opinions". I personally have no experience with this camera or Olympus other than their excellent OM-4ti from "back in the day":D: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Olympus/oly_stylus1030sw.asp Get some samples of what kind of pictures this takes from users of the camera. Sure, you're going to get some bad pictures because some people take bad photos. . But this will give you an idea of what others use the camera for: http://www.pbase.com/cameras/olympus/stylus_1030_sw All these shots from underwater were taken by it for example: http://www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow/blueholepalau&page=2 Wow - excellent resource.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr.Mow Posted February 18, 2009 Members Share Posted February 18, 2009 My mom works at a chemistry lab and she went to an Olympus conference. She said they had these on display under running water and it worked perfectly. I fish and I routinely drop my camera from my tree stand The wide angle lens will be cool for those mountain landscape pictures I love to take too.... Back in my teens I used to sell cameras on weekends and Olympus were always a good bet (having said that, nearly anything from Canon, Nikon, Olympus or Pentax is ok).. I like the Oly compact digitals, very user friendly, take nice pics, well made, can't really go too wrong and the waterproof, shock proof thing is pretty cool, we get a great TV commercial here on OZ TV for them with a big mastiff dog named Norm! Foy you, the wider one would probably be better (landscapes n stuff), the zoom tele difference between a 102mm and a 114mm is fairly minimal, but the difference between a 28 and 38 is huge.. 38 is about as hopeless as can be for a wide angle.. I'd definitely pony up the extra for the wideangle one.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassman1956 Posted February 19, 2009 Members Share Posted February 19, 2009 I have a Canon top-end 3meg G-1 from the day... It has survived me well for studio photog of my artwork, and numerous vacations and etceteras. Also, we've gone through a number of Canons at work. They're an excellent choice. Very user-friendly. And really, ours put up with some abuse at work! Get thrown into tool bags, dangle off belts, bang against stairwell walls, ride on golf carts, even fall down 35' tunnel shafts. Well, okay, they don't normally don't survive those tunnel falls. But, nothing else does either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dravenzouk Posted February 19, 2009 Members Share Posted February 19, 2009 Couple of points to consider. First, the earlier link to DPReview is excellent - lots of great info there. Also check out http://www.steves-digicams.com/ - TONS of excellent info/reviews/etc. on all things digital camera. If anything there is too much, and it's easy to get overloaded. About the wide angle thing: The little graphs posted earlier explain "wide angle" kind of but they leave out a crucial consideration. It's not simply a wider frame that you get (that's actually a panorama, not a wide angle). It's more like a wider view compressed into the same frame. You DO get some distortion of the image & perspective with a wide angle lens. You've probably seen pictures taken with a "fisheye lens", yes? And you've seen how everything is all scrunched together and sort of bent, right? Well, a fisheye lens is nothing more than an extreme wide angle lens. And all wide angle lenses distort like that to some degree. A 40-50mm lens is sort of "normal", like what the human eye generally sees. An 18mm lens is pretty much a fisheye and is obviously distorted. Anything in between will be distorted in varying degrees depending on which end of the scale they fall. So be mindful of this when purchasing a "wide angle". The effect isn't necessarily "wrong" or anything - it can of course be really cool. Just be mindful that you WILL get SOME distortion of your images and make sure that's what you want. Another nice thing about wide angle lenses is that they have a deeper field of focus, and generally bring in more light per f-stop, so it's a bit easier to catch a good shot sometimes. For this reason, something like a 32-34mm is great to have for a "snapshot" camera or one that is mostly used for action shots (sports events, concerts, etc.). One more thing about digital cameras - and my pet peeve. Just about all affordable digicams have a bit of an evil little thing called "shutter lag". This is a short time between when you press the button and when the actual photo is taken. I find this unbelievably annoying and extremely frustrating. If you take anything other than posed still shots or landscape scenery pics, this delay often makes the camera essentially useless. So, when shopping for cameras, look very hard at that spec. Make sure that there is the smallest possible lag that you can get, or better yet none at all. Try the cameras out and don't even consider ones that have a noticeably long delay. Many of them feel like it takes seconds between "click" and shutter release. Be prepared to spend more for one that has no appreciable lag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Narcosynthesis Posted February 19, 2009 Members Share Posted February 19, 2009 The wide angle just allows you to zoom out a bit more and get more in teh shot - traditionally landscape style photography used this a lot, but it can also be handy trying to get the whole family in the shot when you are already backed up against the living room wall... If you are looking for a 'tough' camera, you pretty much have the choice of the Olympus, Pentax or the new Canon - out of the three Olympus will probably be the simplest and easiest to use - in my experience (mostly selling the cheaper ranges, though we have had the 1050 in) they have a very simple interface and ignore a lot of the fiddly settings that most people completely ignore. On the wide angle note, I was out last night playing with my old 35mm Canon SLR and a friends 17-40mm f4L lens, now that is wide... (he bought it for his 350d camera, where it is more of a normal walkabout lens, but we thought we would take the opportunity to use it properly. So much nicer than the kit lens on a 350d/400d too, dammit, I don't need to be spending more money on camera kit...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members P-Lyte Posted February 20, 2009 Members Share Posted February 20, 2009 Another nice thing about wide angle lenses is that they have a deeper field of focus, and generally bring in more light per f-stop, so it's a bit easier to catch a good shot sometimes. Again, not to pick on you dravenzouk, but that's not exactly true. It is impossible to let in more light per f-stop. f-stops are always constant in photography. f2.8 will always let in the exact same amount of light regardless of what focal length is being used. What the extra light gathering does in wide angle lenses is make it easier to achieve wider apertures when designing the lens. Producing fast wide angle lenses is much cheaper than making fast telephoto lenses. Just price out a 28mm f2.8 lens versus a 300mm f2.8 lens to see the difference. But they're still the same f2.8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dravenzouk Posted February 20, 2009 Members Share Posted February 20, 2009 This isn't entirely true. Most wide angle lenses have corrective elements that prevent, or at least greatly reduce, distortion. Fish-eye lenses, by design, do not contain these corrective elements. You can have an 18mm lens that is fish-eye and another 18mm lens that is not. Again, not to pick on you dravenzouk, but that's not exactly true. It is impossible to let in more light per f-stop. f-stops are always constant in photography. f2.8 will always let in the exact same amount of light regardless of what focal length is being used. What the extra light gathering does in wide angle lenses is make it easier to achieve wider apertures when designing the lens. Producing fast wide angle lenses is much cheaper than making fast telephoto lenses. Just price out a 28mm f2.8 lens versus a 300mm f2.8 lens to see the difference. But they're still the same f2.8. I stand (mostly) corrected. That said, what I stated still is "somewhat" true (which is the same as "not entirely/exactly" I know). The point was that wide angle lenses DO distort the image somewhat, and that it is generally easier to get a "faster" lens when going wide angle. Even the corrected wide angles still have some distortion - it simply isn't possible to completely eliminate it. Take the little chart/diagram posted earlier in this thread. If you tried to fit all the stuff in what is shown as "28mm equiv." into the frame shown as "50mm equiv.", there is no way to do that with out some squeeze/compression/distortion/etc. The better corrected lenses do a great job of minimizing the effect, and most folks would never know the difference, but it IS still there. Anywho, I think we mostly agree, and are just nitpicking or saying the same thing in different ways, so it's cool. I was just trying to make sure the OP knew what she was looking for with a more complete understanding of what's going on. That chart/diagram was a bit misleading, and so was my explanation apparently. Thanks for checking me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members P-Lyte Posted February 20, 2009 Members Share Posted February 20, 2009 Yeah. Sorry for the nitpicking. Its just that I know lot more about photography than I do about playing bass and I tend to get carried away. You're right about some distortion in wide angle lenses, but the distortion is really a result of the correction. Wide angle lenses are corrected so that a scenic shot with an off-center horizon line will still let the horizon appear straight (wide-angle lenses wouldn't be much good for landscapes if they didn't). That correction causes some distortion in the corners (kind of like flattening a world map) but it's an entirely diferent type of distortion than fish-eye. There I go nitpicking again. I'll shut up now... (runs back into lurker cave) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xOriginalNinjax Posted February 20, 2009 Members Share Posted February 20, 2009 I read the thread title wrong. *slowly backs out of thread* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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