John in Burke, VA wrote:
I remember seeing recommendations for digital cameras. Since I laid mine my
Casio point & shoot down somewhere, I'm in the market for a new one. Thus,
is there an archive of the old posts? I purchased and tried the Panasonic
Lunex DMC-FZ18, but returned it because I don't like the flash results.
They were washed out. The Fugifilm Finepix F50fd looks like it might be
better alternative.

I guess the main questions is: Is the image stabilization at long zooms
sufficient to allow handheld use? My extremely limited experience with my
4x Casio 8 mega pixel camera was that a long stabile zoom would really make
a vast difference when shooting plane to plane.

Because better cameras are introduced all the time, posts older than 6
months may miss the best choices. Here is a good site for selecting
possibilities and investigating them: dpreview.com. Older postings can
still give you a good idea of what makes a good in-flight camera.

Personally, I've used and very much like a wide angle (24mm to 28mm
equivalent). I think I'd like an optically stabilized, optical zoom to
150mm - 200+ mm for glider to glider shots, but I've never tried one. A
100 mm equivalent zoom means I have to get scary close to another glider
to take a good picture, so I rarely do it.

A large, bright, LCD screen seems to make glider/glider shots easier and
safer, but bright enough is hard to find. Big is easy, with LCDs of 3"
now available. Compact cameras with a veiwfinder seem to be vanishing,
but it solves the sunlight washout problem.

I prefer a compact camera. The Panasonic DMC-TZ3 is my current favorite,
but I won't make a decision until March. The larger cameras like the
FZ18 are more capable, but I don't like dealing with them in the cockpit.

Good luck! Let us know what you decide on, and what the runners-up were.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly
* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org