Whats a good camera for lasers?

[Things]

One downside of expensive cameras is that shots with the beam coming towards the camera can result in nasty accidents.

That is true. The last few shots I posted, the camera took a few hits from the laser. However, there appears to be no damage, and the laser is only 500mW total. Combine with fog, fast scanning and me trying to dodge the beams with the camera, it's not a huge problems. Just gotta be careful with static beams.

I mainly bought it since I'm also into weather, and photography seems like a fun hobby. It doesn't match a DSLR, but it's the closest a point and shoot will ever get

 

[Trevor]

I love my Canon A590 IS. Had it for a couple years, does everything I ask. Takes great beamshots.

-Trevor

 

[FireMyLaser]

I recently got this camera:
Digital Camcorder | Full HD Camera | VPC-CG20 Specs | Xacti SANYO

I bought it because I mostly use camera for filming. But it is also ok for pictures. It was less than $200 and I'm happy with it. It was a few similar cameras in the store but I picked this one because it sees 445nm as blue instead of purple like the others did.

Here are two samples I did in 1080p HD:
Coin in macro mode:
YouTube - HD Camera Test - Coin Macro

Laser smoke:
YouTube - HD Camera Test - Laser Smoke

Pictures:

Please excuse the quality of these last pictures, I took them very hasty, it is just to show how it shows the colors of 445nm vs. 405nm:

One big flaw is that it didn't come with an editing software for the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 (.MP4) format, and I can find one for the life of me that doesn't degrade the quality.

 

[jib77]

I recommend the Canon S95. Its got a much bigger chip than most point-and-shoots cameras, it does HD video, manual focus, and fits in your pocket.

 

[Bionic-Badger]

If you've got a tripod virtually any point-and-shoot will do so long as you can adjust the white balance (virtually any can do that), and manually adjust the exposure (though often they'll take pictures just fine anyway).

For point-and-shoots I love Canons. The trick to getting a good Canon? Buy an older Canon from Amazon or eBay, preferably a G-series Canon which are Canon's highest end point-and-shoots. You don't need the newest and greatest, though I'd prefer one that will work with CHDK. This would mean G7 or newer, though I have a G6 and it takes nice photos too. I got a G9 for $300 on eBay. Bide your time and you can get something good.

I've got a Nikon DSLR as well. It takes great shots, but it's usually just easier to use the P-n-S cameras. Get an SLR if you want better light capturing capability or more specialized lenses. If you're on a tripod your P-n-S will be sufficient.

I recommend the Canon S95. Its got a much bigger chip than most point-and-shoots cameras, it does HD video, manual focus, and fits in your pocket.

The S90 and its upgraded S95 cousin are great, but at $400 or so, it's about twice the budget of what people are specifying here. I love the LCD on it; so much better quality than the G9's. I was disappointed with the G9 at first, but then found that its LCD was just inferior to the S90's, and that its photos were still excellent.

 

[Tech_Junkie]

I have 2 tripods, one 8" with extendable legs an a 5'. I do have a 3rd one, short one coming from PriceAngels. Mine always moves to push the button then the starting blur. grrrrr :yabbmad:

Use the 10 second timer to delay the shot, so the camera stabilizes.

I recommend the Canon S95. Its got a much bigger chip than most point-and-shoots cameras, it does HD video, manual focus, and fits in your pocket.

Can you post some pictures in a darker room at something around 5 feet away?

 

[jib77]

Can you post some pictures in a darker room at something around 5 feet away?

I do not own one, if I had $400 I would. It would be much easier than carrying my Nikon D90 around. I have played with its predecessor the S90, and as Bionic Badger stated the S95 is just an update to an already awesome camera.

There is a sample gallery over at dpreview: >>LINK<<

 

[RoDnSuE]

Lordy, I'm behind the times. I still have an OLD Sharp 8mm flipcam. All it has is composite audio/video output

And the batteries haven't even been charged in 3+ years. Guess they are toast by now.
Guess I need to upgrade huh.

 

[Tech_Junkie]

I do not own one, if I had $400 I would. It would be much easier than carrying my Nikon D90 around. I have played with its predecessor the S90, and as Bionic Badger stated the S95 is just an update to an already awesome camera.

There is a sample gallery over at dpreview: >>LINK<<

:thinking: How can you recommend something you dont own?

Sorry, I'm a skeptic. I'd never fork out ~$400 over someones word that never actually owned the camera.

 

[Bionic-Badger]

Can you post some pictures in a darker room at something around 5 feet away?

The photos of my 445nm laser, and all the photos from my Burning Man trip were taken with an S90. It has an F/2 lens and the largest sensor of point-and-shoots. The S95 has some additional improvements.

Here are some photos I took using the S90. All were handheld photos, auto-ISO.

Environment lighting for context (also about 5ft away):

Photo of stuff on table from about 3ft:

100% crop:

 

[Trevor]

:thinking: How can you recommend something you dont own?

Sorry, I'm a skeptic. I'd never fork out ~$400 over someones word that never actually owned the camera.

I would for Ken Rockwell's word. It's one of the best point-and-shoots out there right now.

-Trevor

 

[Bionic-Badger]

I would for Ken Rockwell's word. It's one of the best point-and-shoots out there right now.

-Trevor

But he owns the camera.

 

[Trevor]

But he owns the camera.

Whoops, my phrasing was terrible. I did know that. :crackup:

-Trevor

 

[jib77]

Sorry, I'm a skeptic. I'd never fork out ~$400 over someones word that never actually owned the camera.

Nor would I, even if they owned it. Recommendations are just a tool to narrow the focus. I would need to hold it in my hands and be able to fully test it(in a real photo store, not Best Buy etc.).

 

[Bionic-Badger]

I got this S90 after reading Rockwell's review, but not because of it. The features that caught my attention were the control ring in the front (the first in any camera), the quality F/2 lens on front, and the larger sensor. I was sick of having cameras that just wouldn't perform well in low light, and yet didn't want to haul around a DSLR for that purpose. Now I try to remember to bring it any time I go out.

As for the feel, it's like all the LCD-only Canons of that size, only it has the control ring on front that gives you two methods to change the settings without menus. Beautiful large LCD too.

The S95 adds some nice features, but not really ground breaking. The rear wheel isn't "loose" like the S90 which could lead to accidental rotation, and there are some features like its supposed HDR support and "hybrid IS" that are supposed to improve photography, but they're not deal making for me. They also have the HD video and stereo audio, but video doesn't matter much to me. The S95 is about $100 more than the S90; you'll have to judge whether those added features are worth $100 more. I'm pretty satisfied with the performance of my S90 and would definitely buy it again. It also survived dust storms in Burning Man, when other cameras didn't, and that was while taking photos during them.

 

[Things]

I just took these comparison pics. Both at exactly the same time, at exactly the same position with no flash or long exposures, both on auto mode.

Canon A640IS:

Fuji HS10:

Once again, blurryness because I don't have my tripod mount. Oh and, 'scuse the mess