looking for camera with immediate focus

[Jorgy]

I was thinking about this issue a bit more............

Other posters are right many new cameras can set, focus and shot very quickly......in good or normal (top side) light......

If you go with reviews, look at the camera's ability to focus in low light, many of the quick the normal camera's become reaaaaaal slow as light drops......which is underwater.........I think.......

A strobe would address the light issue.....but it gets costly very quickly........

Also try a search on posts by Nemrod, recently he put together what seemed to be a great P&S system based on a $250ish camera......I guess you could buy the camera and housing to start and then as your experience grows you can build the system.......

I liked the idea of knowing the end point, and that the final system can deliver great shots.............

Hope this helps............M

 

[ScubaJoy65]

take a look at the new panasonic lumix p and s'es.
they come with a new feature called continuous focus. in this mode the lens if continually focusing on a small box in the middle of the viewfield. no need to press the shutter button halfway. this is a boon to u/w photography and its a technology that we will see in all p and s in the future.
the lumix also comes with a great leica lens with a wide angle(28mm)
these two features makes the new lumixes my top choice when i upgrade my camera some time this year.
the only thing holding back this camera is the relative rarity f its underwater housing. but it does have one.

oh and they are exceptional value at 150 to 250 dollars depending on model of course

This sounds interesting. Have you used the Panasonic Lumix? U/W? Which model? (I looked and there are many from which to choose.)

 

[rab1412000]

This sounds interesting. Have you used the Panasonic Lumix? U/W? Which model? (I looked and there are many from which to choose.)

hi i dont have one but its the camera i want to get next
ive been reading a lot of reviews on the lumix series and they all say great things about it.
here is one comparison, the lumix lz-8 which retails for 145 bucks in amazon

Budget Camera Group Test (Q4 2008) Review: 8. Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ8: Digital Photography Review

another guy on scubaboard posted vids on his tz-7
its one of the few cameras that can shoot HD video and zoom in and out while doing it.
i posted a few questions in his thread, you should ask him about your inquiries.

panasonic is the biggest producer of lcd tvs in the world and they lost bigtime last year. i think part of the direction of the company is to move away from tvs and other major consumer electronic items and concentrate on less expensive items like cameras and video/mp3 players. thus we see aggressive development of technology and pricing with these new generation of lumixes.
canon better watch out, i believe panasonic will be a major player in the p and s market starting this year.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/un...u-w-case-dmw-mctz7-hd-video-test-results.html

 

[ce4jesus]

Panasonic makes a nice P&S however

they come with a new feature called continuous focus

continuous AF is not a new feature. Its been available for several years on some models. Its benefit is somewhat dubious in actual practice. Consumes battery, sometimes it will increase lag time as it "hunts" for a focus lock. I have always found that halfway depressing the shutter button is faster and more controlled. In any case, you'll want to make sure the camera you choose has a housing that's within your budget. Cheers,

 

[rab1412000]

Panasonic makes a nice P&S however continuous AF is not a new feature. Its been available for several years on some models. Its benefit is somewhat dubious in actual practice. Consumes battery, sometimes it will increase lag time as it "hunts" for a focus lock. I have always found that halfway depressing the shutter button is faster and more controlled. In any case, you'll want to make sure the camera you choose has a housing that's within your budget. Cheers,

its true that continious af has been around but the technology used by panasonic for its new cameras seems to be different. i think the call it iAF or something like that. some reviews i read also seem to praise this feature but these are all topside usage reviews.

 

[Michael Folise]

Usning a Nikon Coolpix 5400 (old P & S) with a notorious problem for low light focus I always used the half press prefocus and this seems to solve all the problems. I really don't understand the issue as with the old Nikonos system we had to zone focus (i.e. pre-focus) anyway.