Railfanning Cameras- Kodak C190

[Cody J]

For Christmas I got a laptop from which I am typing this message and a Kodak Easyshare C190. It's main use is for railfanning. I am very impressed with it's 12.2 MP and 5x Optical Zoom. It even has Burst Mode but Burst Mode can only take 3 pictures and it takes a while to process and it takes a while to process even 1 picture.
Just my input if anybody is considering to buy that camera for railfanning or far any matter.

Cody

[rich1998]

if anyone is interested, here are some links about this camera.
http://www.google.com/search?pz=1&cf=all&ned=us&hl=en&q=Kodak+C190&btnmeta%3Dsearch%3Dsearch=Search+the+Web

i use the canon powershot a590. it cost me $100 about 6 months ago. does ok videos. i use a tripod which helps a lot at times
lots of wells and bhistles
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=canon+a590&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=g10

i bought the close up lens and lens adapter for in house work. helps when posting suggestions in the forums.
a picture is worth a thousand words.
sometimes i have to adjust the brightness and contrast in photos as they are sometimes too dark in the forums.
i am learning how to use the camera to overcome that issue.

lex

[Cody J]

Thanks Lex. And I figured out how to take train pictures on my camera. It doesn't take long to process, it just shows the pic for about 5 seconds. As soon as the pic comes up just press the shutter button again. In case anybody elso got this camera

[rich1998]

you should be able to do decent videos. the specs for your camera say 640 X 480 at 30 fps.
mine will do 640 X 480 at 20 fps and my videos are acceptable.

i transfer the photos to my pc and do any processing later for uploading to photo bucket or you tube.
lex

[jward]

i got my son a c182 for christmas. we're going the go down to csx at demmler and see what goodies are laying over in the yard. already he's taken 3 or 4 movies of the dog......

[Cody J]

LOL . How many megapixels and optical zoom does the C182 have?

[jward]

12.2 megapixels, and i think 3x zoom.

[Cody J]

Not bad. Mine is 21.1 and 5x zoom

[rich1998]

i just spent nearly an hour looking at the specs for the kodak c190 and it is an impressive camera. it is amazing how the digital camera technology is changing so rapidly.
my canon a590 camera is almost ancient compared to todays cameras. It is 8.0-megapixels, and 4x optical zoom. only about two years old.

lex

[Cody J]

Sorry. When I put that my camera had 21.1 MP I meant 12.1. I got a new computer with large keys so it takes some getting used to. Sorry
I think my brother used to use a Canon A590 until this Christmas he got a Canon Rebel XSi.
In my personal opinion I would rather have the camera I have (C190) rather than an enormously large and heavy camera but then again I don't go railfanning often.

[jward]

i grew up using the old manul slr cameras. i like them and wish i could afford a digital one. i am currently shootiing with a canon a570, which i've had for 2 years. i don't like the wayit sets exposures, but i love the burst mode. you could have a train with 12 engines, and i'd get 2 photos of each one. it's response is that fast.....

my son has been videoing the trains rolling by the apartment all weekend, and i'll have to upload them and see what they look like on the monitor screen. believe me he's one happy 9 year old.

[Cody J]

Lol. I'm not sure when I got my first camera but it was about $20. It was 2 MP, no zoom and it was a piece of junk. If I had a camera as nice as your son has at age 9 I would have been very happy. Oh well, that's the past and I have a much better camera now. I also wish that I live near train tracks. The nearest activ ones are about 45 minutes away and I dont drive yet and my brother who is the only one other than me that likes trains is in Columbus.
My Burst Mode is pretty stupid. It takes 3 pictures than takes a while to process them. I have better luck when not in Burst Mode. My camera takes the shot pretty quickly and processes it quickly but it then shows the picture for about 7 seconds. As soon as it starts showing the pic I press the shutter button and the process continues until I'm done.

[rich1998]

after reading this thread, i realized my canon was not the best for videos so i purchased the sony dcr-hc42 handy cam. the canon restricts me to 3 minutes and so so video.

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Sony-DCR-HC42-Camcorder-Review.htm

a guy in a club I belong to has a hot dog stand he parks right near an old railroad station on a csx line.
hot dogs, coke and a ring side seat where csx freights come into and pull out of a yard is the best. occasional amtrak also. watched a rail grinder a month ago. Noise, smoke, water spray.
lex

[jward]

rail grinder s are great at night. that's when they did the line by the house last summer. we stood outside and watched it go by.