Better cockpit cameras - wide angle and OLED screen

[Eric Greenwell]

I don't recall these cameras being mentioned before:

Samsung TL350 (/WB2000 Europe): 24 mm (equivalent) wide angle to 120 mm
zoom, AMOLED monitor screen, auto and manual modes, advanced panorama,
compact size. ~$350.

Samsung HZ35W (W650 Europe): 24 mm (equivalent) wide angle to 360 mm(!),
GPS position tagging, AMOLED monitor screen, manual modes, compact size.
~$350.

I have no experience with either camera, but I would love to have the 24
mm wide angle and a monitor screen that can be easily seen in sunlight
in the cockpit. These have other features that might be useful, like
1000 fps high speed video, 10 full resolution images in a second,
optical and digital image stabilization.

The panorama modes some of the latest cameras have are intriguing, like
the iSweep mode in some Sony cameras, but I have no idea if any of these
would work well enough in a glider.

The GPS tagging sounds interesting, but I'm not sure it would be useful,
and the two commenters on dpreview.com said it was slow to acquire the
GPS signal.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (netto to net to email me)

- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Feb/2010" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm http://tinyurl.com/yb3xywl

- "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation Mar/2004" Much of what you need to know tinyurl.com/yfs7tnz

[noel.wade]

Thanks, Eric.

For high-quality photos from a simple package, I've loved the three
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ_ series (currently models are the TZ8 and TZ10,
AKA the "ZS7"; previous models such as the TZ5 and TZ7 / ZS3 may still
be available). They have nice Leica lenses, a great 25mm - 26mm wide
angle for scenery/panorama shots, 10x to 12x optical zoom, image
stabilization (great for one-handed shooting in the cockpit), good
auto/intelligent modes, etc. Its not perfect for every occasion, but
it shines as a small in-cockpit camera that can take both wide shots
and zoomed shots (for air-to-air or shooting out a distant peak or
landmark).

Just my $0.02

--Noel

[[email protected][_2_]]

GoPro
http://www.goprocamera.com/

[Craig[_2_]]

On Jun 4, 1:04*pm, " >
wrote:
> GoProhttp://www.goprocamera.com/

Even nicer than the GoPro is the Contour HD.
http://www.vholdr.com/contourhd/helmetcam

Craig

[Eric Greenwell]

On 6/4/2010 9:34 AM, noel.wade wrote:
> Thanks, Eric.
>
> For high-quality photos from a simple package, I've loved the three
> Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ_ series (currently models are the TZ8 and TZ10,
> AKA the "ZS7"; previous models such as the TZ5 and TZ7 / ZS3 may still
> be available). They have nice Leica lenses, a great 25mm - 26mm wide
> angle for scenery/panorama shots, 10x to 12x optical zoom, image
> stabilization (great for one-handed shooting in the cockpit), good
> auto/intelligent modes, etc. Its not perfect for every occasion, but
> it shines as a small in-cockpit camera that can take both wide shots
> and zoomed shots (for air-to-air or shooting out a distant peak or
> landmark).
>

I have the Panasonic TZ5 (28 mm wide equivalent) and like it very much.
The display is OK in cockpit sunlight, but I"d really like to have a
better one, and that's a major reason the Samsung HZ35W with OLED
display is appealing. I'd have to see the display in operation before
making choice, of course.

Surely, someone here NEEDS a new camera and can buy to Samsung to give
us a report on it?

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (netto to net to email me)

- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Feb/2010" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm http://tinyurl.com/yb3xywl

- "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation Mar/2004" Much of what you need to know tinyurl.com/yfs7tnz

[gen]

Thanks for sharing the info. I cannot agree more that wide angle
lenses work takes great photos in the air. I do not look at the LCD
screen at all when I fly and shoot (I fly a single seater), so
personally would not benefit from an AMOLED monitor, but I guess it's
better to have one.

GPS tagging can be done offline as long as you have an IGC (or any
GPS) log file from other sources. I'll post an instruction if anyone
is interested. The problems of integrated GPS unit are the satellite
acquisition speed and the battery consumption. The acquisition can be
quite slow especially when you are circling.

-Gen

On Jun 4, 9:09*am, Eric Greenwell > wrote:
> I don't recall these cameras being mentioned before:
>
> Samsung TL350 (/WB2000 Europe): 24 mm (equivalent) wide angle to 120 mm
> zoom, AMOLED monitor screen, auto and manual modes, advanced panorama,
> compact size. ~$350.
>
> Samsung HZ35W (W650 Europe): 24 mm (equivalent) wide angle to 360 mm(!),
> GPS position tagging, AMOLED monitor screen, manual modes, compact size.
> ~$350.
>
> I have no experience with either camera, but I would love to have the 24
> mm wide angle and a monitor screen that can be easily seen in sunlight
> in the cockpit. These have other features that might be useful, like
> 1000 fps high speed video, 10 full resolution images in a second,
> optical and digital image stabilization.
>
> The panorama modes some of the latest cameras have are intriguing, like
> the iSweep mode in some Sony cameras, but I have no idea if any of these
> would work well enough in a glider.
>
> The GPS tagging sounds interesting, but I'm not sure it would be useful,
> and the two commenters on dpreview.com said it was slow to acquire the
> GPS signal.
>
> --
> Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (netto to net to email me)
>
> - "Transponders in Sailplanes - Feb/2010" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarmhttp://tinyurl.com/yb3xywl
>
> - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation Mar/2004" Much of what you need to know tinyurl.com/yfs7tnz

[Eric Greenwell]

On 6/4/2010 10:33 PM, gen wrote:
> Thanks for sharing the info. I cannot agree more that wide angle
> lenses work takes great photos in the air. I do not look at the LCD
> screen at all when I fly and shoot (I fly a single seater), so
> personally would not benefit from an AMOLED monitor, but I guess it's
> better to have one.
>
> GPS tagging can be done offline as long as you have an IGC (or any
> GPS) log file from other sources. I'll post an instruction if anyone
> is interested.
>

I'm interested!

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (netto to net to email me)

- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Feb/2010" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm http://tinyurl.com/yb3xywl

- "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation Mar/2004" Much of what you need to know tinyurl.com/yfs7tnz