Which camera would be good for Glasto?

[glastoman417]

Last time I took a camera to Glasto was 2005, most of the pictures looked a bit rubbish and the mechanism seized up, so I haven't bothered taking a camera since.

However, this year I'm reviewing Glasto for my mates music blog so it would be nice to have some pics to go with it.

I've looked at the reviews, and it seems that every camera ever made has a whole load of problems! So I'm hoping someone who takes a camera with them to glasto can give a personal recommendation?

Ideally I'm looking for something:

Under £200 (though nearer to £50 would be preferable ;-)

Minimum shutter lag

Fast multiple shot thingy

Good in low light (i.e. evening gigs in tents)

Will take reasonable pictures despite being operated by someone who isn't a photographer

Fairly robust

Not to akward for popping into my day rucksack

[mandypants]

I'm hoping my new one will be good enough, I've just upgraded to a Kodak Easyshare C813 zoom digital camera, they were selling them off in Tesco for just under £50, can't find them on the website though. Looks pretty good, 8.2mp, 3x zoom, pretty compact and my old Kodak Easyshare survived Leeds fest a couple of times.

[FforFreddie]

If you want compact cameras that work well in low light with no flash, then I would recommend Fuji. I have a Fuji F31fd which is 6MP but has superb low-light skills. I've also got an underwater case for it which protects it from knocks, water and other liquids!

I bought a camera for a prize recently which was this one. It has an ISO setting of 1600, which negates the need for flash except for the darkest places.

They've stopped selling the F31fd, but you might get it on eBay, however they are still quite in demand as far as I know.

[r0cky]

If you want compact cameras that work well in low light with no flash, then I would recommend Fuji. I have a Fuji F31fd which is 6MP but has superb low-light skills.

Edited May 3, 2009 by r0cky

[FforFreddie]

I like to keep the camera always in my pocket (or attached to my belt), so I take a compact camera with me.

The Fuji F31 is fantastic in low-light, takes effortless photos in candle-light, ideal for stone circle. Yes the photos are a little noisy, but it's the best available for low-light in a compact form. It takes good photos with no effort required.

In bright, daytime shots, I prefer Canon compacts to the Fuji's output though.

There is the new Fuji F200EXR, which seems OK, but some aspects of it I'm not yet convinced about - but still waiting for more time and more reviews on. I've seen some strange artefacts and noise reduction, and the video mode was poor.

The Canon Digital Ixus 980IS is about @£240, this has a slighter larger sensor than the other Canon compacts, so is slightly better in low-light, but no HD Video. I'm hoping for the replacement of this in Sept, i.e. larger sensor + HD Video.

Edited May 3, 2009 by FforFreddie

[r0cky]

But, what is great with the F31 is that the battery is fantastic - it survived all last year, going through six memory cards with shots and filming - by the time we got back to the car it still had half of its life left.

[strudders]

Great thread as I am looking today

Canon Powershot A480 Silver Digital Camera

Looks great have a look at these pics from the Prog gig. Check down the bottom and the flickr link

Look the business

prices is good as well

Cheapest price I could find.

have fun!

[Forgibas]

I'd think one of the primary things you'd want to think about, no mater what camera you get is a strong, waterproof case! When your shuffling around in a crowd and your bags getting boshed, you want to make sure that your camera's going to survive the bumps. I would suggest looking at Panasonic, they have Leica lenses and their build quality is top notch.

Personally, I use a Yashica T4 film camera for the festival - one of the best point and shoot's ever made, solidly built, waterproof and gets you amazingly sharp pics like the one below!

.

[glastoman417]

Cheers for all the pointers! I'll go through them and try to decide which one to go for!

[Toilet Duck]

I would suggest looking at Panasonic, they have Leica lenses and their build quality is top notch.

[mouth]

Last time I took a camera to Glasto was 2005, most of the pictures looked a bit rubbish and the mechanism seized up, so I haven't bothered taking a camera since.

However, this year I'm reviewing Glasto for my mates music blog so it would be nice to have some pics to go with it.

I've looked at the reviews, and it seems that every camera ever made has a whole load of problems! So I'm hoping someone who takes a camera with them to glasto can give a personal recommendation?

Ideally I'm looking for something:

Under £200 (though nearer to £50 would be preferable ;-)

Minimum shutter lag

Fast multiple shot thingy

Good in low light (i.e. evening gigs in tents)

Will take reasonable pictures despite being operated by someone who isn't a photographer

Fairly robust

Not to akward for popping into my day rucksack

[idledown]

i use a nikon d300 or a d80

[FforFreddie]

I'm tempted to bring my D200 but am worried about getting drunk and leaving it somewhere, although I know it will take awesome shots, albeit increasingly less well composed as the cider takes effect.

[glastoman417]

I'm tempted to bring my D200 but am worried about getting drunk and leaving it somewhere, although I know it will take awesome shots, albeit increasingly less well composed as the cider takes effect.

[Forgibas]

I was thinking how amazingly cheap storage is these days. With a few 8gb cards you can snap anything and everything all weekend. When you compare it to the old days of film cameras costing a fiver for 36 exposures or whatever!

Edited May 5, 2009 by Forgibas

[glastoman417]

I'm tempted to bring my D200 but am worried about getting drunk and leaving it somewhere, although I know it will take awesome shots, albeit increasingly less well composed as the cider takes effect.

[glastoman417]

I'm thinking of going waaaaay over budget for a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ6.

I hate buying digital cameras (and indeed mobile phones) because every review you read, when you think you've found the right one, the review will finish off with "but it takes grainy pictures" or whatever.

This one though is the highest rated on C-Net http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/digitalcameras/0...49301691,00.htm and no real negatives other than the screen could be bigger.

A few people on here have recommended panasonics, but I'm just wondering if I should stick to a cheaper model, i.e. do you have to have photography skills to really get the most out of a camera like this, or will it take better pictures regardless?

Seems a lot of money to spend on something that I could break / leave somewhere, but it would be nice to have some good pictures to keep me going until the following year ;-)

[muddyslingbax]

I have a Samsung NV and it's bloody marvelous. Saying that i'll probably go lose it this year. ah well...

Edited May 12, 2009 by muddyslingbax

[Al the CAT]

I've got a Panasonic FX3 compact and a FZ8 bridge camera. I took the compact to Glasto last year and it was excellent, but would have preferred a longer optical zoom. The FZ8 is superb, but let down by noise quite a bit. There are examples on my Flickr page (link below)

I am tempted to trade them in for a TZ6 though for this year

[chuckley]

having seen the ridiculous distance from pyramid stage to barriers i now need a 5x optical and I only have 3x.

im so mad the stages are so far awayyyyyyy

[tinpottery]

I just take Felt tips and paper.

[dwukky]

not the height of "new" but if you could get your hands on something like a canon G9 your in for a treat. Carried that last year, didn't seem to drain - the other alternative for beyond amazing is the old nikon P5100 - they are very cost effective and carry a ridiculous for the body zoom

actually considering you haven't specified RAW/NEF then a 5100 might be what your looking for.

Biggest piece of advice regardless of camera is a waterproof box and lots of "small" cards - use the card, plonk in box - at least then if you lose the camera you haven't lost EVERY picture on it!

I really should get around to putting up somewhere all the snaps of last year.... if only for archival reasons