I actually read some of the article on tht website...its in South America, Not Iceland!

But that's the right technique... Except that any sufficiently long exposure is going to saturate your sensor. But you can use successive exposures of 15s. The only catch is that in some cameras, to compensate for the "hot pixels" that show up during long exposures, they take a "dark" shot of the same duration and subtract it from the other. The end result is that you camera is operational only 50% of the time, so you can miss some.

Another technique is to trigger the lightning, so you know where and when. And believe it or not, this is was what I did a Very Long Time Ago (shooting rockets dragging a wire to make a temporary quarter-mile-high lightning rod) in science station devoted to lightnings.

CHDK is a replacement firmware you cannon camera to give a whole bunch of "high end" and extra functions to cheaper point and shoots.

http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/SX120IS

Looks like the version for your camera is in Beta and only works with a certain firmware.

There is a good description starting here: http://chdk.setepontos.com/index.php?to ... 8#msg69728

-Rob A>

I see it! .. His sideburns are Santa's nose correct?

Yep
That diagram you made helped alot.

The date on the first link is 2 years old. LOL

hmm after reading some of that its all beyond my tiny brain. Think I'll leave well enough alone

I am almost sure i am going to invest in a nice cannon digital and tripod at the end of the year or beginning of next year.
Anyone got a clue as to which camera would be okay for a beginner?
I was thinking possibly the 300-600 dollar range.

SLR or compact? What kind of pictures?

What are the differences?

SLR isn't that with the lens removable?
And compact you can't?

Correct me if I am wrong, (and so not a photographer)

One thing i definitely would like to be able to do is add and remove different lens's.

Good lenses are expensive. A single lens can cost more than the camera body.

On the other hand, point and shoot cameras usually have zoom lenses. My pocket camera can macro focus down to about 12 inches, depending on the zoom setting. For distance zoom, when the camera is fully zoomed, it is about equivalent to the 150mm telephoto I had for my 35mm SLR. My pocket camera cost less than the 35mm SLR I bought back in 1970 and has almost as much functionality.

Obviously you aren't a photographer. For me, the only drawback of my pocket camera is I don't have total control of the exposure and focus. (Plus it has a slow lens.)

My pocket camera has a variety of modes that cover everything from night shots and fireworks, to back lit subjects, to taking pictures in the snow. It's amazing how easy it is to take good pictures ... if you read the manual and know a little bit about photography.

In my opinion, a digital single lens camera makes sense only if you know enough about photography to be able to take advantage the extra features. (Or if you really need the extra features.)

I've talked myself out of purchasing a dSLR camera three times in the last couple of years... because photography is no longer a passion of mine and my pocket camera works for 100% of the photography I really need to do.

I remember that project Rob; had a Canon a40 at the time and unfortunately couldn't take advantage of the CHD project.

Rod, some further thoughs.

Make a list of what you want to do and what features you need.

My list included: custom white balance, reasonable macro capability, exposure control, enough resolution for posting picture on the web, and it had to use standard batteries (i.e. if the batteries died, I could stop at any store that sells batteries and get new batteries for it.).

A mid-range pocket camera satisfied all of those conditions when I bought my camera 6 years ago. Plus it has a lot of useful other features that weren't on my list.

Rod, to give you an idea of what a good 6-year old point and shoot camera can do, this is a picture of quack grass in bloom. No editing, just the picture straight from the camera.

Quite highter on the DSLR side: price, weight, bulk, technical complexity, quality of pictures.

For $300-600 you have a high-end compact or an entry-level DSLR.

Things Not To Be Fooled Into with compact cameras:

- The more pixels the better. The high pixel count on the small sensor means small photosites and this means noise (this fad is fortunately ending, the Canon G12 has less pixels than its predecessor). 12MPix is enough for most purposes.

- The longer the zoom the better. Utter foolishness on compacts without a viewfinder because you can't take a picture at arm's length with this kind of magnification (about workable on "bridge" cameras, those that look a bit like DSLRs but have an electronic viewfinder and no interchangeable lenses). In practice the equivalent of a 400mm(*) is about the limit of usability with a rear screen.

- Burst mode: during the burst you are blind, because the sensor is busy taking the picture. Forget about following moving objects. Most objects taken a long zoom ranges are moving (unless you are stalking Long zoom range and no usable burst mode doesn't make the long zoom range very useful.

- Artistic pictures: these cameras, by design (short focal length for the average picture due to small sensors), have an almost infinite depth of field, so it is very hard to isolate your subject from its background.

- RAW output: the sensor dynamic range is barely above the 8-bit of a JPEG, so RAW won't let you do more things later. On some camera, RAW isn't really RAW anyway.

- "Scene" modes are of dubious values. 85% are utterly useless.

- Video. Being able to shoot short videos is OK. If you are really in video, get a video camera.

Things That Are Useful On Compact Cameras (in decreasing order):

- Wide angle. Look for cameras that have a wide angle at least equal to 28mm and if possible smaller

- AF speed. One of the weak point of all compacts. Manual focus is too slow to be useful. Yes another reason they make very poor 'action' cameras. But some are better than others (**).

- Sensitivity: the more ISO the better (but this may mean very heavy-handed in-camera processing, leading to "plastic" skin, for instance). A camera that can give a clean 800ISO is OK.

- Program, Aperture/Speed priority, and Manual modes (usually the big mode dial has "PASM"). These will teach you photography and when you move to DSLRs you will fell at home quickly.

- Availability of optical complements (wide-angle, close-up). This means mostly the ability to attach them to the lens or the front of the camera (this rules out many camera with an automatic retractable lens).

- Connectivity: flash hot-shoe (the build-in flash is often too weak and external flashes can be directed elsewhere that smack in the face of the person you are taking the picture of). Remote control (by wire, infrared/radio often have a 2s lag), USB control.

OMG, this looks like the G12 For less money, Canon also makes the S95 which has a good reputation (a bit less complete, but smaller/lighter as well).

There is also a new class of cameras, that look like DSLRs, with interchangeable lenses but no optical viewfinder. They may be a option (slight preference for the Panasonic).

(*) Due to a long tradition, the viewing angle of cameras is expressed as the focal length of a lens giving the same angle on a 24x36 film camera. On compact and bridges, depending on sensor size, this is between 5 to 9 times the real length (this ratio is sometimes called the "crop factor"). For instance a bridge with a 72mm (real) zoom can frame the same thing than a 24x36 film camera with a 500mm zoom 72mmx7=500mm)

(**) The well known "newfie test". Take a large dog and tell it to sit. Walk away. Tell the d*mn dog to get back and sit. Walk away again. Reiterate 10-20 times until the dog understands and you can get as far as 50 yards. Aim the camera at the dog. Call the dog and shoot in burst mode. Oops. Start shooting in burst mode and call the dog. Nurse your eye after dog-induced camera impact. Recover the SD card from the camera debris. Count the pictures from dog sitting far way to dog nose close-up. Count the pictures where the dog looks "sharp" (in the photogrpahic sense, don't forget it's a newfie).

lol

To give you an idea of what you get from a DSLR and a not so expensive lens (but not the standard issue one):

Picture has been constrated/sharpened, but DSLR by default produce fairly bland pictures (so that they can be worked on afterwards)

A very nice and sharp picture. I bet you didn't have nearly as much difficulty getting it as I had getting mine. Maybe it's time to break down and get a DSLR.

I agree with what you said in your previous post.

My camera is 4 MPix and the resolution has been more than adequate. At the time I bought my camera, the high end DSLRs were in the 10-12 MPix range.

I really miss two things that a DSLR provides:

• Being able to do things through the viewfinder with the back of the camera held firmly against my face. That is a much steadier configuration than having the camera waving around at the end of your arms.
• Lens speed. My 35mm had an f1.2 lens, I think my point-and-shoot is f2.6. And the f-stop range on the camera is rather narrow.

The depth of field is a good point. It's also rather fixed. I've been fighting that point with my camera recently. A DSLR with a good lens gives you have much more control over the depth of field. This is really an 'artistic' consideration.

I've used burst mode once when I was trying to capture the results of an 'accident' that only lasted a fraction of a second. After dozens tries and hundreds of frames, I finally got the 'perfect' picture.

My camera doesn't have raw output and the dynamic range... well it's less than I'd like. This especially effects pictures that include direct sunlight and deep shadows.

The 'scene' modes are good for people that don't know much about photograph. You can use the manual modes and options to get the same results... if you know what you are doing. That's how I do it.

The flash placement can be an issue. I keep my flash turned off. I wish there were a way to permanently disable it so it wouldn't accidentally get turned back on. (Like the time I was in the middle of a swarm of hungry bugs, sweating like crazy to the point I could barely see through my glasses, and I pressed the wrong sequence of buttons.)

I would consider the Program, Aperture/Speed priority, and Manual modes a necessity if you ever want to advance to a DSLR. Learn to use them. (I learned back in the dark ages with black and white film and a very patient father.)

If Rod understands what we've been talking about, he might actually be ready for a DSLR.