Small digital camera for students?

[Ko.Fe.]

I don't think shutter lug is big deal to learn about composition and such for street photography.
How many students will have dead batteries in the middle of the day this is the question. How many will drop it.
Maybe bunch of refurb, cheap cameras on AAA, AA batteries.

 

[f16sunshine]

Kudos to you Juan!

Kudos to you Juan!

Hi Juan

I think your best bet for an inexpensive camera as you describe is really the iPhone 4/4s.
They can be had for under $100.
You may even find a way to get some used ones that have been collected via retail trade in programs for much less money or even free given the education aspect of your project.

Used through a an app such as Mattebox

The shooting experience will be as close to what you describe as is possible with an inexpensive digital camera.
As well it will be familiar for them to use and allow them to focus on your lessons rather than learning a new device.
Most digital cameras have much more bells and whistles than an iPhone and could be distracting for younger students.

Sounds like a fun and worthwhile project. I hope you keep us up to date on your experience with the kids.

Cheers!

 

[Gregoyle]

An Olympus E-PM1 can be had for $100-150 on eBay (less if you bid on auctions). Add an Olympus 15mm f/8 manual focus body cap lens and you have a tiny street shooting camera. It'd be 30mm equivalent instead of 35, though. They could also use the kit lens at a specified focal length if necessary.

As far as size and cost go with good image quality in digital, I can't think of much better.

Edit: you can see some good examples of street photography with this lens in the flickr group here.

-Greg

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

An Olympus E-PM1 can be had for $100-150 on eBay (less if you bid on auctions). Add an Olympus 15mm f/8 manual focus body cap lens and you have a tiny street shooting camera. It'd be 30mm equivalent instead of 35, though. They could also use the kit lens at a specified focal length if necessary.

As far as size and cost go with good image quality in digital, I can't think of much better.

Edit: you can see some good examples of street photography with this lens in the flickr group here.

-Greg

Wow, Greg, that looks just perfect!
I'd like one for myself too!
Thank you very much!!!
Cheers,
Juan

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Hi Juan

I think your best bet for an inexpensive camera as you describe is really the iPhone 4/4s.
They can be had for under $100.
You may even find a way to get some used ones that have been collected via retail trade in programs for much less money or even free given the education aspect of your project.

Used through a an app such as Mattebox

The shooting experience will be as close to what you describe as is possible with an inexpensive digital camera.
As well it will be familiar for them to use and allow them to focus on your lessons rather than learning a new device.
Most digital cameras have much more bells and whistles than an iPhone and could be distracting for younger students.

Sounds like a fun and worthwhile project. I hope you keep us up to date on your experience with the kids.

Cheers!

Thank you Andy... Here in Colombia things are a bit complicated... Little to no film available, little to no processing options available, and streets are not a safe place for carrying cameras or smartphones, so nothing's easy in any way, but we'll keep trying!
Cheers,
Juan

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

To those who have used the E-PM1:
Can its shutter speed be easily/quickly changed?
I want speeds to be set manually, and that will be the only in cammera setting to be considered by the young photographers for being changed constantly in Manual Mode, to avoid wrong autoexposure. (Aperture, ISO and focus distance won't be touched...)
I have never used digital cameras except for Nikon mount DSLRs, so I know nothing about types of sensors, kinds of cameras, etc., so I don't know what cameras can receive that f/8 body cap... Any other model/brand interesting in any way?
Thanks!
Cheers,
Juan

 

[Gregoyle]

Juan,

Yes, the E-PM1 has one dial on the back that you can assign to shutter speed. I think you would need to use the quick menu to set ISO though if you want to go all manual (the quick menu is still pretty fast, but not like a dedicated dial). Aperture wouldn't be a problem with a fixed f/8 lens.

The body cap lens is Micro 4/3 mount, so it will work on and Micro 4/3 camera from Olympus or Panasonic. Come to think of it, any of the older Micro 4/3 cameras from Olympus would work for your purposes, and some of the others would have more dials for manual control. The major improvements over the years in Micro 4/3 have been in high iso and autofocus. I mostly thought of the E-PM1 because it is small and cheap.

If I were you I'd check out any of the older Olympus Micro 4/3 cameras and see if you could get a good deal on them. The E-PM1 is ridiculously small, but the others are still compact, and have more dials for full manual control.

-Greg

 

[kuuan]

An Olympus E-PM1 can be had for $100-150 on eBay (less if you bid on auctions). Add an Olympus 15mm f/8 manual focus body cap lens and you have a tiny street shooting camera. It'd be 30mm equivalent instead of 35, though. They could also use the kit lens at a specified focal length if necessary.

As far as size and cost go with good image quality in digital, I can't think of much better.

Edit: you can see some good examples of street photography with this lens in the flickr group here.

-Greg

I'd think that a used NEX with a Sigma 2.8/19mm AF lens ( which has a manual focus ring that is working alright ) could be another, similar alternative

 

[Scrambler]

I'd think that a used NEX with a Sigma 2.8/19mm AF lens ( which has a manual focus ring that is working alright ) could be another, similar alternative

I'm not sure the NEXi are easy enough to pre-focus unless you use a manual focus lens, adding expense. Certainly you CAN lock the settings, and the focus.

 

[Addy101]

I tried it with my first generation Nex 5 and Sigma 19/2.8.
Set the camera to MF (Menu > Camera > AF/MF Select)
Find something at the desired distance to focus on, as there is no distance scale.
Shoot as long as you want to.

I don't expect the M3/4's to be any different, as the 17/2.8 doesn't have any distance scale either - unless the cameras have one build in.

For your intended use it doesn't matter what you use, m4/3's or Nex (or if you find a good deal, a Samsung NX). Just get a first (or second) generation model on the cheap.

 

[Gregoyle]

Another thought would be a camera like the NEX 5 with one of those old Vivitar or Quantaray 24mm f/2.8 lenses that were made in all the major mounts. They have a distance scale and pretty decent image quality, especially in the middle where APSC sensors can see, and they are super cheap.

-Greg

 

[kuuan]

I tried it with my first generation Nex 5 and Sigma 19/2.8.
Set the camera to MF (Menu > Camera > AF/MF Select)
Find something at the desired distance to focus on, as there is no distance scale.
Shoot as long as you want to.

right, it works the same as with adapted manual lenses, incl. magnification and focus peaking.

 

[B-9]

why not a zoom lens?

The Canon G1/2/5 cameras seem to fit the bill nicely.

I really like the Sony DSC-V1, and even better my Contax T* SL300 which accepts SD cards.

There are so many options, trying searching for old shutterbug issues/reviews 2004-2009

 

[panerai]

I would look at the Panasonic LX3. It has manual operation to set F stop and shutter. Also has manual focus.

Camera also has pre-sets, so it can be set up and saved, so always ready to go. While I have done this with other formats. I never tried manual control pre-sets, so not 100% on this.

Has a 24 mm wide angle Leica lens which was highly rated

Here's the PDF link to the camera and page 58 has the manual control information

http://service.us.panasonic.com/OPERMANPDF/DMCLX3.PDF

DON

 

[peterm1]

I bought a Lumix GF1 18 months back. They are very cheap to buy these days being a few years old. These very capable 4/3 cameras still produce excellent images and are small for an interchangeable camera. I always use mine in aperture priority mode. You could use it with one of the Panasonic lenses designed for it but I do not own one so cannot advise regarding that. But the camera does have an AF/MF switch on its back so manual focusing would not be an issue. Neither should there be a problem in getting 35mm equivalent with such a lens. Alternatively if you buy a suitable adapter an advantage of this camera is that you can use any manual focus system lens be it Canon, Nikon etc. The slight hitch is how seriously you wish to limit yourself to 35mm equivalent as for that you will you need what used to be regarded as an ultra wide lens (around 18mm). But if you are willing to go a little longer, a 28mm lens (56mm equivalent) could be found very cheaply from Nikon, Canon, Pentax etc. I must admit this would be my option but I must confess I prefer slightly longer lenses.

Another option in this regard could be a Sony NEX with adapter which also allows you to both mount a legacy MF lens and shoot in aperture priority mode. The advantage being that has a bigger sensor and hence a 28mm lens will give you 35mm equivalent. Earlier models of this marque can also be found very inexpensively.

Both cameras have no lag especially in MF mode.

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Thank you all for the great ideas!
Cheers,
Juan

 

[robbeiflex]

Hi Juan,
Old Lumix TZx point and shoots have P, S, A and M modes from around model x=8 or 9 and up and are often under 100€ used but solis cameras. I'm not sure about manual focus though.

Cheers,
Rob