Hello, Everyone, What function or feature would you expect most in your next camera

[Colin Southern]

Seems to me that the issue might be relevant mostly to sports photographers trying to freeze very fast action. In my shots it's not really an issue and as suggested by Kathy I have used flash rather than shutter speed to freeze action in indoor settings.

At high shutter speeds the action freezes anyway, even if the curtains are only moving at a fixed speed. I've taken a photo of a large propellor spinning at ground idle at 1/8000th and there wasn't a hint of movement.

Focal plane distortion can be an issue though.

[RustBeltRaw]

Kathy's point about using higher sync speeds for daylight portraits is one of my reasons for seeking a higher sync speed. Second, while it's true that flash is my main action-freezing mechanism in derby photography, I am still using flash to complement, not overwhelm, the available light. Basically, I fire flashes from the direction the players are traveling in order to give a greater sense of direction and speed. But my primary light source is not flash. That becomes obvious in certain areas. For instance:



Note the skater in green (Roxanna Hardplace). Her face is frozen and fairly sharp, but the parts of her body which aren't facing or covered by the flash are far less crisp. This shot was at 1/250sec, ISO3200, f/2.8. I would love to try 1/500sec, ISO6400, f/2.8, but none of my cameras allow that. My current setup is firing a pair of manual-power, max-zoomed hot shoe flashes across the track, which means that at the far end (about 25ft/8m backward), the flash power is less dominant as a light source. Extra sync speed would help freeze action in non-ideal areas. I've messed with wireless TTL to make up for this problem, but TTL becomes problematic when one is deliberately lighting a subject unevenly with fairly hard light.

Fortunately, this thread only asked for my single most-desired camera improvement. The full list of features on my perfect camera is rather more exhaustive, but since other people seem to be getting into it, I'll join with a partial list.

• Leaf shutter lens system with sync speeds to 1/1000th or faster.
• Rotateable, Canon C100/C300-style landscape grip.
• Static or rotateable portrait grip.
• User-changeable grips to fit different hands/styles.
• Dual CF card slots, with two CF-to-SD adapters included from factory.
• Extremely high battery capacity (5000+mAh), with AA magazine and external power connector separate from battery.
• 1.3x crop factor.
• 60D-equivalent or better high-ISO performance.
• Built-in NDs, up to 4 stops in 1-stop increments.
• Built-in HDR mode, intervalometer.
• Viewfinder with live histogram, shots-to-full-buffer counter, time-to-clear-buffer display, focus peaking.
• AF system as good or better than Canon 1D mkIII.
• At least 12MP.
• 8 frames per second or better.

That list is incomplete, but you get the idea. My ideal camera is a chunky, comfortable, action-oriented beastie.

[MrB]

No noise and beautiful colour at high ISOs.

Yes please - for me too.

Philip

[ajohnw]

My suspicion is that there would be grave risk to the sensor whenever the full sun was visible in the shot if it didn't have a mechanical shutter - and dust management would be a nightmare.

Webcams are shutterless and some cheap compacts - vivicams or some name like that. Some cheaper older compacts had a very simple shutter that was basically closed to allow the sensor to be read without further exposure.

It's not something that I have been into in any depth so just basics. There is a type of sensor referred to as a frame transfer type. Open shutter, expose, close shutter and then read the image. There might be a mechanical rolling shutter in front of the sensor. The other type has a rolling electronic shutter. One way of looking at these is a strip of pixels are cleared, exposed and read, then the next row processed. As I understand it this is more or less how video types work. dSLR's seem to have gone this way to a certain extent as they now have electronic "curtains". A mechanical rolling shutter uses 2 curtains. The 1st curtain starts moving and the 2nd follows it and the space between then sets the exposure. Keep rolling an electronic shutter and it produces video. There can be some interesting problems though. The sensor can be sensitive enough to pick up the light fluctuations in mains lighting that we can't detect so the light level can vary as each strip is exposed. I have a microscope camera that does that so the strips have to be cleared and exposed in sync with the mains voltage changes. So a short exposure can take a longer time in practice as it's done a bit at a time.

I had my dinner half way through this so hope it makes sense

John
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[inkista]

No noise and beautiful colour at high ISOs.

Yes please - for me too.

Philip

You guys might want to look into Fuji X.


Fuji X100s. iso 5000, f/2, 1/60s. handheld. Shot RAW, SOOC. [i.e., in the Lightroom history for the image, I see Import and Export as the only two processing steps.]


Fuji X100s. iso 5000, f/2, 1/60s. handheld. Shot RAW, SOOC.


Fuji X100s. iso 2000, f/2, 1/60s. handheld. Shot RAW, SOOC.

[Colin Southern]

Kathy's point about using higher sync speeds for daylight portraits is one of my reasons for seeking a higher sync speed. Second, while it's true that flash is my main action-freezing mechanism in derby photography, I am still using flash to complement, not overwhelm, the available light. Basically, I fire flashes from the direction the players are traveling in order to give a greater sense of direction and speed. But my primary light source is not flash. That becomes obvious in certain areas. For instance:



Note the skater in green (Roxanna Hardplace). Her face is frozen and fairly sharp, but the parts of her body which aren't facing or covered by the flash are far less crisp. This shot was at 1/250sec, ISO3200, f/2.8. I would love to try 1/500sec, ISO6400, f/2.8, but none of my cameras allow that. My current setup is firing a pair of manual-power, max-zoomed hot shoe flashes across the track, which means that at the far end (about 25ft/8m backward), the flash power is less dominant as a light source. Extra sync speed would help freeze action in non-ideal areas. I've messed with wireless TTL to make up for this problem, but TTL becomes problematic when one is deliberately lighting a subject unevenly with fairly hard light.

We've pretty much got the functionality you need with the 600EX-RT / ST-E3-RT range -- up to 1/8000th with flash. In terms of flash battery power, there are a couple of options you might not have considered:

1. Just hotwire your CP-E4 equivalents to accept a lead from an external 12V power source (eg 12V 7A/H lead acid gelcell battery)

2. Consider using the fake battery approach. Quantum make an adapter that you insert into the battery compartment of the flash and from there you just power it from an external battery (6V). Recycling isn't quite as fast as with the HV accelerators, but it's still pretty quick (you don't get the same voltage drop that you do from internal batteries under load and the inverter can "get on with it" more efficiently. You just need to be careful not to overheat the flash (although the 600EX-RT has thermal protection).

[Shadowman]

Over time I eventually got the features I wanted, started out with Nikon D60 with three focus points horizontally positioned. Eventually got a camera with 39 focus points, bracketing function, and higher ISO/less noise. Most of the other advancements I'd like will be gained through the lens and experience hopefully.

[inkista]

Lex, not sure I should mention these, since I don't know much about them [just keep bumping into mentions on other boards], but you might want to look into the Godox barebulb flashes. In the US, the most reputable dealer/rebranding seems to be Cheetah Lights [and that's saying something since Adorama rebrands them as Flashpoint Streaklights]. These manual flashes are a little bigger than speedlights, can be mounted on the hotshoe, are powered by an external battery pack, output is 150WS or 300WS (depending on the model; by comparison, a 600EX-RT is about 80WS), and can do HSS up to 1/8000s, albeit with some triggering system caveats. They're not cheap, but then neither are 600EX-RTs. A lot of folks seem to like them. (link: massive 200+ page POTN thread).

[AB26]

To me it is not a function or feature I would like most in my next camera, it is the function and/or feature I can do without that matters to me.

The Nikon D4s has all the functions and features I would like in a camera but my budget does not have the feature to get one of those. I work from the top down to what suits my budget.

Imagine, 11 frames per second and each frame is individually exposed and focussed. Wow!

[ajohnw]

You guys might want to look into Fuji X.


Fuji X100s. iso 5000, f/2, 1/60s. handheld. Shot RAW, SOOC. [i.e., in the Lightroom history for the image, I see Import and Export as the only two processing steps.]


Fuji X100s. iso 5000, f/2, 1/60s. handheld. Shot RAW, SOOC.


Fuji X100s. iso 2000, f/2, 1/60s. handheld. Shot RAW, SOOC.

Lets have some BIG shots posted Kathi so we can see just how good it is. Here's a crop from an E-M5 test shot 25,600 ISO 1/15 sec. I deliberately bought up a small square to show the dark noise level.



Edit should add that it has had noise reduced but at 800px it wouldn't need it.

John
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[inkista]

Here. Link to the original size of the middle shot. Knock yourself out pixel-peeping all the black bits:

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5490/1...6fba799c_o.jpg

And your shot is SOOC RAW, too? Sure doesn't match what dpreview has on their widget for that ISO setting on that camera.

Fuji obviously has noise reduction somewhere in what I assume is the hardware path--because it's appearing in the RAW files. Some folks think (and I wouldn't disagree) it can be overdone, and you lose some sharpness (just as you would in post or with a JPEG engine). But the stated wish here was "noise-free and beautiful colors at high ISOs". Fuji's X cameras certainly deliver that.

[pnodrog]

Most of the features I would like have been covered but I would also like inbuilt GPS and WiFi for both download and tethering operation.

[rpcrowe]

If you have built-in GPS n any camera, it might be safer to strip the location out of the EXIF data whenever publishng or sending the image anyplace. This is especially true with shots of home and kids...

[pnodrog]

I recently got a GPS adapter for my camera but only use it for outside shots (scenery, city shots etc) I always have it switched off for social or family shots mainly because it flattens the batteries. However I think it will be very useful next time I travel.

[RustBeltRaw]

You guys might want to look into Fuji X.

Quit tempting me. I already want an X100(s) more than sanity can justify. Those are beautiful files, I want that shutter, and I love the idea of a fixed 35mm f/2.0 compact.

We've pretty much got the functionality you need with the 600EX-RT / ST-E3-RT range -- up to 1/8000th with flash.

True, I can get the higher sync. 600EX-RTs plus FlexTT5s will do that. But since I'm using a fairly hard edge light, the TTL system tends to blow out the skaters' lit sides, and there's a noticeable processing time lag (note that my cameras are a 60D and a 1D mkIII, 60D lags more). I lose shots to incorrect TTL metering. No suprise, given that this is just about the hardest thing you could ask a TTL system to deal with. In asking for a higher sync speed, I am trying to have my cake, and eat it, too. But maybe I'll do the next bout at 1/500th with TTL. And I wonder if the ST-E3-RT provides more accurate metering than the FlexTT5s....

....look into the Godox barebulb flashes.

Those are intriguing tools. I like the extra power and form factor. Might pick one up just because they're interesting. However, the sync problems they're talking about are camera-independent. Whether a trigger will keep up with a camera whose shutter is set above sync speed is one question - my PocketWizards already do that (ran them up to 1/1250th trying to kill ambient once, then remembered sync speed). Whether the camera's shutter sync speed will make it block some of that light is another question, and the latter is my problem.

EDIT: Not sure why I haven't found Flash Havoc before. They do proper reviews. It seems that HSS only works with the CL-180 and CL-360 if you're using their dedicated triggers. Glad to see what someone finally figured out manual-power HSS. I wondered what was taking so long. Given the price of a complete CL-360 with battery pack (307Ws, $730), I think a PCB Einstein E640 (640Ws, $740) is a better bet. Size appears to be the Einstein's only disadvantage, unless I decide to switch to CL-Tx triggers to get the Cheetah's manual HSS (unlikely).

1. Just hotwire your CP-E4 equivalents to accept a lead from an external 12V power source (eg 12V 7A/H lead acid gelcell battery)

2. Consider using the fake battery approach. Quantum make an adapter that you insert into the battery compartment of the flash and from there you just power it from an external battery (6V). Recycling isn't quite as fast as with the HV accelerators, but it's still pretty quick (you don't get the same voltage drop that you do from internal batteries under load and the inverter can "get on with it" more efficiently. You just need to be careful not to overheat the flash (although the 600EX-RT has thermal protection).

Recycle time isn't really my problem. With 12x NiMH cells, I already regularly overheat the 600EX-RTs, mainly while shooting fire performance. That said, you probably remember when I burned down a 580EX II shooting derby, so I tend to err on the side of caution these days. Even with the 600EX-RTs superior/more conservative thermal protection.

Of note: the Bolt CBP-C1 battery packs I use accept parallel arrays of 4x AAs, so they actually run off two 6V systems. Not sure if the CP-E4 does the same, but 12V to a CBP-C1 would probably toast something. Again.

[inkista]

I recently got a GPS adapter for my camera but only use it for outside shots (scenery, city shots etc) I always have it switched off for social or family shots mainly because it flattens the batteries. However I think it will be very useful next time I travel.

I wish I had location-stamping on some of my old film vacation shots. I really do. Most dedicated cameras that do GPS allow for turning it off when you don't want it--it's mostly cellphones where you have to be careful in stripping out geotagging.

Quit tempting me. I already want an X100(s) more than sanity can justify. Those are beautiful files, I want that shutter, and I love the idea of a fixed 35mm f/2.0 compact.

Tell me about it. I rented one for a week to see what all the fuss was about, and now I know (sigh). Luckily for me, a fixed 35/2, while very useful, isn't a "natural" length for me, and I can't help thinking the teleconverter to turn it into a 50 equiv. looks big (proportionally). I'd go for an X-Pro1 (right now the body is cheaper than an X100s) and 35/1.4, except that the X-Pro1 doesn't have the leaf shutter, so the quiet click and flash sync aren't gonna be the same, and it's a bigger combo overall. And, of course, don't want an XE/XM/XA/XT because there's no hybrid viewfinder... Maybe by the next generation the X100 and X-Pro1 will be priced low enough used that I might go for one. But right now, mft is fitting my wallet a bit better. But, oh.... those Fuji colors. The camera really really shines in the blue hour. In full daylight, the magic is a bit fainter, but I do have to say my jaw dropped at how accurate the AWB was.

EDIT: Not sure why I haven't found Flash Havoc before. They do proper reviews.

Happy I could introduce you. Lighting Rumors ain't bad, either.

It seems that HSS only works with the CL-180 and CL-360 if you're using their dedicated triggers. Glad to see what someone finally figured out manual-power HSS. I wondered what was taking so long. Given the price of a complete CL-360 with battery pack (307Ws, $730), I think a PCB Einstein E640 (640Ws, $740) is a better bet. Size appears to be the Einstein's only disadvantage, unless I decide to switch to CL-Tx triggers to get the Cheetah's manual HSS (unlikely).

Actually, I was reading that review as saying you could get any TTL/HSS/tailsync? radio trigger to do HSS with the Godoxes, but as I said, I'm not familiar with the things and I'm not even sure that it's actually doing HSS vs. tail sync/hypersync, since they mention how the timing adjustment on the YN-622x-TX is good for them. And yeah, size may be the only advantage they have over the Einsteins, and the Einsteins will still do tail sync/hypersync with the right triggers, and you can always get a Vagabond Mini for portable power.

[RustBeltRaw]

Tell me about it. I rented one for a week to see what all the fuss was about, and now I know (sigh). Luckily for me, a fixed 35/2, while very useful, isn't a "natural" length for me, and I can't help thinking the teleconverter to turn it into a 50 equiv. looks big (proportionally). I'd go for an X-Pro1 (right now the body is cheaper than an X100s) and 35/1.4, except that the X-Pro1 doesn't have the leaf shutter, so the quiet click and flash sync aren't gonna be the same, and it's a bigger combo overall. And, of course, don't want an XE/XM/XA/XT because there's no hybrid viewfinder... Maybe by the next generation the X100 and X-Pro1 will be priced low enough used that I might go for one. But right now, mft is fitting my wallet a bit better. But, oh.... those Fuji colors. The camera really really shines in the blue hour. In full daylight, the magic is a bit fainter, but I do have to say my jaw dropped at how accurate the AWB was.

Interestingly, the X100 and X100s have the perfect feature combination for me. As you said, the larger interchangeable lenses lose the leaf shutter, and others lose the hybrid viewfinder. So those two cameras are the only members of Fuji's range I'm really interested in. In addition, I don't want to get into another lens system, and the fixed 35mm f/2.0 will remove that temptation.

Actually, I was reading that review as saying you could get any TTL/HSS/tailsync? radio trigger to do HSS with the Godoxes, but as I said, I'm not familiar with the things and I'm not even sure that it's actually doing HSS vs. tail sync/hypersync, since they mention how the timing adjustment on the YN-622x-TX is good for them. And yeah, size may be the only advantage they have over the Einsteins, and the Einsteins will still do tail sync/hypersync with the right triggers, and you can always get a Vagabond Mini for portable power.

HSS requires a flash duration equal to or somewhat greater than the camera's sync speed. I see no technical reason that couldn't be done with a manual power setting, and I assume that's what the Cheetah Lights are up to. But it definitely isn't spelled out that clearly. I've heard of tricks like setting manually-triggered stroboscopic modes which output continuous light for the sync duration, but I haven't been able to make that work with my setup.

Maybe more powerful heads with faster t.1 times are the answer. It's the old-school answer, but the good news about traditional techniques is that the thinking's been done. Still, if someone starts making a manual-power, HSS-capable hot shoe flash below $400, they'll get my money.

[inkista]

Interestingly, the X100 and X100s have the perfect feature combination for me. As you said, the larger interchangeable lenses lose the leaf shutter, and others lose the hybrid viewfinder. So those two cameras are the only members of Fuji's range I'm really interested in. In addition, I don't want to get into another lens system, and the fixed 35mm f/2.0 will remove that temptation.

Yup. If 35/2 is your go-to, the X100/X100S becomes An Object of Desire. My problem is it's not my go-to. The 35 has the advantage of being long/fast enough for portraits, focuses close enough for near-macros, and wide enough for landscapes, so it's more of a swiss-army knife length, and it's understandable why that was the equivalency length chosen. But I most naturally "see" in a 50. So for me, the cost of the camera is more prohibitive.

HSS requires a flash duration equal to or somewhat greater than the camera's sync speed.

If we're talking a single pulse, that's more what I'd term as tail sync (aka hypersync, supersync).

HSS to me is the multiple-pulse deal to simulate continuous lighting, and is timed against the shutter. Both have to trip the light early (before the first shutter curtain opens), but they're different.

Reading the Flash Havoc page again, though, it says very specifically that the Godox flashes are doing pulsed FP/HSS, like Nikon and Canon do, so that settles that question. It also says HSS works with YN-622c, Pixel Kings, and PW TT1/TT5, so maybe the Godox triggers aren't required for HSS.

... I see no technical reason that couldn't be done with a manual power setting, ...

The problem is the pulse timing and cut-off and power available. The pulses keep the light even and reserve power, and require more than a simple sync signal at the beginning of the sequence. That's why tail sync is used instead for manual lights--it just moves the sync timing forward a little. The problem with tail sync is that the majority of the light/power is dumped off a the beginning of the pulse and light is always falling off in the tail. So, you end up in a timing/power crunch, and there's really only a narrow window where a full-power pulse from a manual light and certain shutter speeds are going to give you decent illumination for the duration of the pulse tail that's more or less even. And, obviously, the faster your shutter speed goes, the lower your exposure's going to get and the more power you need.

It's why half the studio strobes tested with the YN-622 "supersync" (again, tail sync) triggers haven't worked, and why having triggers that can adjust the timing [like the PW TTL units] are so key to this feature).