Author Topic: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong  (Read 21099 times)

Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #25 on: 07 February, 2018, 10:14:45 pm »
I'm still using one of Pentax's first digital SLRs - the *ist D.

Memory is a Compact-flash card.  :o
If it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is...

LEE

  • "Shut Up Jens" - Legs.
Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #26 on: 07 February, 2018, 10:25:32 pm »
Compact Flash (ironically the least compact of all the flash memory) is still used in the latest high-end cameras.

I just bought 16Gb for the 5D.  I like it, it's less susceptible to being carried away by an Ant than an SD card.
Some people say I'm self-obsessed but that's enough about them.

Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #27 on: 07 February, 2018, 10:54:12 pm »
Just remembered:  I have a Fuji Finepix 610 somewhere.   Battery life is measured in single frames!   :o   It took decent enough shots though.
I've got a Fuji Finepix 2800 that I had before the Pentaxes I mentioned above. I still take it out occasionally when riding, because it's lighter and easier to stick in a saddlebag. I've never felt the need to replace it for that purpose.

Gattopardo

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Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #28 on: 08 February, 2018, 05:11:13 am »
Think I have a sony mavica somewhere.  Stored photos on proprietary sony sticks or disc.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #29 on: 08 February, 2018, 08:28:13 am »
I just turned up an 8 Mb (yes, really Mb) CF card that was knocking about behind my monitor.  My card reader can't see it, though.

Anyone ever have an IBM Microdrive?  There was a time when the idea of having a whole gigabyte in the camera was thrilling.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Samuel D

Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #30 on: 08 February, 2018, 08:47:55 am »
Which was the last camera to have a CompactFlash Type II card slot?

Zipperhead

  • The cyclist formerly known as Big Helga
Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #31 on: 08 February, 2018, 02:21:42 pm »
Anyone ever have an IBM Microdrive?  There was a time when the idea of having a whole gigabyte in the camera was thrilling.

I remember giving two of them to Valiant when my camera that used them (Olympus E20) wore out.
Won't somebody think of the hamsters!

LEE

  • "Shut Up Jens" - Legs.
Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #32 on: 08 February, 2018, 03:09:11 pm »
I'm loving the 5D & 40mm f/2.8 "pancake" combination out on the street*

It's a properly sharp lens (click to enlarge).  Yes, the 13Mp sensor lacks detail if you crop too much but if you frame carefully and expose correctly, it's still a winning combination.

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* The mean streets of Winchester.
Some people say I'm self-obsessed but that's enough about them.

Vince

  • Can't climb; won't climb
Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #33 on: 08 February, 2018, 03:10:13 pm »
I have a Sony DSC P71 from 2002. It still works, with the exception of forgetting the date, time and next file name whenever the batteries are changed.
I suspect there is a dead battery that powers the RTC.
216km from Marsh Gibbon

LEE

  • "Shut Up Jens" - Legs.
Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #34 on: 08 February, 2018, 03:13:12 pm »
I have a Sony DSC P71 from 2002. It still works, with the exception of forgetting the date, time and next file name whenever the batteries are changed.
I suspect there is a dead battery that powers the RTC.

Let's see some images...get out there.

Some people say I'm self-obsessed but that's enough about them.

LEE

  • "Shut Up Jens" - Legs.
Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #35 on: 08 February, 2018, 03:21:35 pm »
OK, Photo Challenge now started.

Post NEW photos from your >10 year old gear.  That's 2008 cameras, 2007 cameras..but nothing 2009 or newer*

The challenge is finding batteries and adapters to squeeze a few final moments of glory from that old hardware and prove that it can still hack it.

*2009 is "the modern age" as far as Digital Cameras are concerned.  Canon Launched the 5D Mk2 in 2008, 21Mp and 1080p video (used for TV).  That really moved the bar up to the point where any camera newer than that was really capable of good results.
Some people say I'm self-obsessed but that's enough about them.

Charlotte

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Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #36 on: 15 February, 2018, 03:22:56 pm »
I'm planning on getting a few more years of service from my Nikon D3s.  Fuck megapixels, anyway.
Commercial, Editorial and PR Photographer - www.charlottebarnes.co.uk

David Martin

  • Thats Dr Oi You thankyouverymuch
Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #37 on: 15 February, 2018, 04:25:58 pm »
I'm still getting good service from the D80. As long as I am shooting at iso 400 or lower (pref iso 200)
"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes

LEE

  • "Shut Up Jens" - Legs.
Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #38 on: 15 February, 2018, 05:08:52 pm »
I'm planning on getting a few more years of service from my Nikon D3s.  Fuck megapixels, anyway.

Assuming your LEL portraits are done using a D3 I don't see any reason to upgrade.
Interestingly the good condition ones retail at around £650 now.  That's a hell of a good reason for Nikon users to pick one up.

I'm still loving the 5D.  This was shot at 400 ISO and it holds together well, although I was careful to get the exposure spot on.  I pushed the shadows a little and added some contrast but nothing extreme.  As many people have reported over the years the noise comes across as pleasing "grain".  I'll try and test that out at the extremes.

Click to zoom
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Some people say I'm self-obsessed but that's enough about them.

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #39 on: 16 February, 2018, 12:20:52 am »
Big Tom taken on my trusty compact IXUS 70 purchased in 2007.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #40 on: 16 February, 2018, 08:18:10 am »
I'm planning on getting a few more years of service from my Nikon D3s.  Fuck megapixels, anyway.

Quite.  DP Review went into dithyrambs when Nikon brought out the D1x (or maybe D1s) with a whole 2.7 Mp. The FFCT glossy mag used to require "at least" 4 or 5 Mp for a full-page shot. Current resolution levels are wondrous, but away beyond anything I'll ever need.

I wonder where I put my old D40???
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

LEE

  • "Shut Up Jens" - Legs.
Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #41 on: 16 February, 2018, 05:37:13 pm »
A 2Mp camera is close enough to HD to fill a 1080p x 1920 screen without a real problem (which is saying it's enough for the majority of TVs and Computer monitors in the Western World).

Clearly you have almost no option to crop into a 2Mp image without it looking bad very quickly but, if you frame the shot well and don't crop, you can happily print a 10x8* in my experience.

*When viewed from an appropriate distance. 
This is a key part of the whole image sharpness/detail equation and there are formulas to calculate how far you should view images from, depending upon the pixel count and the printing resolution (pixels per inch). 
Billboards are incredibly low-resolution but appear pin-sharp when viewed from the correct distance.

Get it right in the viewfinder, rather than relying on cropping later, and 7Mp and above seems more than adequate*

* I just looked back at some of my 7Mp Canon S70 images and you can crop quite a lot.

I wonder just how many people actually test the limits of modern camera sensors of 24Mp and greater.

Here's a 7Mp image from my old S70  and a fairly substantial crop into it. The crop would make a perfectly acceptable 10x8 or more(you can zoom into it)

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The drawback with these older cameras isn't the lower pixel count, it's the speed that they tend to operate, poor low-light ability and poor dynamic range.
They force you to get everything spot on...which is no bad thing.


Opinions??
Some people say I'm self-obsessed but that's enough about them.

Kim

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Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #42 on: 16 February, 2018, 05:56:49 pm »
And the rubbish battery life.

My canon A620 still works fine.  It takes perfectly respectable photos for something with those optics, and being a Canon you can run third-party firmware that gives you Proper Camera features.  The weakness is that it's bulky, gnashes its way through 4 AA batteries, and faffing around with SD cards in order to use a camera that, in decent light, is only marginally better than my phone is inconvenient.  I only usually get it out because, unlike my phone/tablet, it's got a tripod mount and a flash.


But, as a way to arbitrarily restrict yourself so you actually think about composition etc, then most of these seem to be a reasonable halfway point between current cameras and film.

LEE

  • "Shut Up Jens" - Legs.
Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #43 on: 16 February, 2018, 06:14:40 pm »
Never forget that dropping a 10 year-old compact camera has less of a financial impact than dropping a modern Smartphone.

The Apple iPhone X is £959  (I had to double check that was correct) whereas a rather wonderful "classic" Canon S100 is most likely 10% of that on Ebay (and, with a wrist strap, less droppable).
Some people say I'm self-obsessed but that's enough about them.

Kim

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Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #44 on: 16 February, 2018, 06:17:34 pm »
Never forget that dropping a 10 year-old compact camera has less of a financial impact than dropping a modern Smartphone.

Which makes them the cyclist's friend.  Assuming they're reasonably compact and aren't battery hogs.

fuaran

  • rothair gasta
Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #45 on: 16 February, 2018, 06:20:04 pm »
Even if you don't drop it, the Canon will still die with a "lens error".

LEE

  • "Shut Up Jens" - Legs.
Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #46 on: 16 February, 2018, 07:03:00 pm »
Even if you don't drop it, the Canon will still die with a "lens error".

Never had that error in 15 years of Canons
Some people say I'm self-obsessed but that's enough about them.

SoreTween

  • Most of me survived the Pennine Bridleway.
Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #47 on: 16 February, 2018, 07:29:41 pm »
OK, Photo Challenge now started.

Post NEW photos from your >10 year old gear.  That's 2008 cameras, 2007 cameras..but nothing 2009 or newer*

The challenge is finding batteries and adapters to squeeze a few final moments of glory from that old hardware and prove that it can still hack it.
Not old enough to be a challenge IMO, for example this:

was taken last Sunday on a 2006 Casio EX-Z70.  Great little pocket sized camera, I use it all the time.  I was gutted a few weeks ago when it got switched on in my work bag, the lens got pushed and it became unusable (lens error).  Fortunately iFixit has a tear down so I did last time I was home,  all it needed was to manually retract the lens and reassemble it.  Battery life is still great, the 2Mb card in it pops straight into this laptop or the desktop at home.
Our digital before that was also a casio but that one ran on 4xAA.  A new set would start to go flat as you opened the packet, be half gone as you shut the door on the camera and drained in 5 shots, less if you used flash.  We've probably still got it knowing us, I won't be digging it out.
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hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #48 on: 16 February, 2018, 11:57:24 pm »
Even if you don't drop it, the Canon will still die with a "lens error".

My first IXUS 70 did indeed die of a lens error at 6 weeks.
Amazon replaced it and the replacement has worked faultlessly since late summer 2007.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Old Digital Cameras - Still going strong
« Reply #49 on: 17 February, 2018, 11:00:14 am »
My old 2006 D40 can still hack it:



ISO 800, no less, and my lovely 70-300 Tamron at the short end. Then we got indoors again, bloody quickly.

I love this wee camera: it's always been very obliging in a good-doggie sort of way (cynomorphism). I bought it in 2009 at about half price after Nikon discontinued them, and used it on cycling shoots as a "no great loss" camera. Only fly in the soup: I used the strap temporarily on an electric uke that I subsequently gave away without thinking, strap and all. :facepalm:
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight