FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)

[Photog Rob]

THE RIGHT COMPACT CAMERA

What, still here? Oh, I see: You've taken photog Rob's "compact or SLR" test, and you've decided to go for the lighter option. You won't regret it! (and if you do, I'll be too far away for you to chase me) ;-)

Now's the time for truth: which compact camera? As always, I won't be giving you specific models - too many fish in the sea, to many women on earth..., er, no, that's illegal in some countries, I recall.

WHAT I CONSIDER "A KILLER COMPACT CAMERA" FOR BIKE TRAVELLING:

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BUILD: Contrary to popular belief, size is not critical since you won't have it in your pocket most of the time (see the bonus on my answer to "digital camera" by "lost1" elsewhere in this forum). Sure, small aluminium or titanium cameras are sexy, but not essential. You want to check for ruggedness, resistance to wear (avoid silvery paintjobs on plastic, they rub away in days inside your panniers), comfy controls, and o-rings or rubber seals at least in the camera back door and shutter release. If you're mostly road-wise, you'll be ok with that. If you plan to cross Cambodia off-roading thru the rainy season, you'll need a wheatherproof camera you can confidently drop in the mud. Pentax has one, and I believe Minolta does, too. By the way, you also need to have your brain checked if you're seriously thinking of doing that.

VIEWFINDER: Yes, that little window you squint through when you snap a pic. You want it big. You want it clear. You want the best viewfinder you can get within your array of candidates. Make sure you take a long careful look through them all, one immediately after the other, and you'll find amazing differences. This is an often neglected point to check. Oh, don't forget to check it in low light if possible.

FLASH: While there are subtle differences obvious to the trained eye, newbies won't find huge variations in power or size. If that's important to you, check the red-eye reduction features, but NO compact camera is free from redeye. If this is citical to you, you want the flash unit to be as far away as possible from the lens. The non-zooming Olympus Mu-1 (Infinity 1 in the US) is particularly wretched on this, although it's a superb camera otherwise.

FEATURES: This is pretty much up to you, but don't let yourself be fooled: many "features" of today's cameras are little more than gimmicks, or seldom-used ones. Here's what I'd look for (in no particular order):

- Self timer: an absolute must, not only to include yourself in the pic, but also to allow the camera to be triggered motionlessly while perched on a table or the bike for shake-prone long exposures.

- A shutter capable of exposures of at least 1 second. The longer, the better.

- Some "slow flash" mode that will blend flash plus long exposure (ask your dealer if you don't know what this is).

- Some form of backlight compensation.

- A DX (film sensibility) range as wide as possible: check the spec sheet on the manual. 25-3200 is ultra-cool for a compact. Also, check the number of gold-plated electrical "finger" contacts you see in the film chamber, you want to see at least four - six is the maximum. Sometimes they're arranged in very close pairs, those count as one. VERY important if you travel outside the developed countries: DX rating should revert to 100 iso if a non-DX roll is used. Some cameras won't take non-DX, or revert to 25 iso, killing all your sunny landscapes in the mountains.

- A decent light metering system: Evaluative (aka matrix) metering is your friend. Centre-weighed is a nice-ish acquaintance. Average is like the tax man, and so is spot metering if you don't know how to use it. If you know nothing about this, check the spec sheet, and stick to reputable brands

- An easy to find battery when you're away from home. AA is best, 2CR5 or CR123 are quite available too. ALWAYS carry at least one set of spares with you (no, I don't mean in the bike, I mean with you when you're shooting: spare battery and spare rolls of film are a must).

LENS: Certainly a zoom lens is best for general shooting unless you are a master of composition with a 35 mm. wide angle. Zoom is cool and I wouldn't recommend a non-zoom point and shoot unless you're heavily into low-light shooting (then the zoom stays home and you take a fast fixed lens - the Yashica T4 with its awesome Tessar design lens is for you).

This said, now repeat after me: I won't crave long zooms on a compact camera. I won't crave long zooms on a compact camera. I won't crave long zooms on a compact camera. I won't crave long zooms on a compact camera... you get the idea. Long zooms are hot, with their great range and their obscene erection-like growth, but unfortunately they are the pits on a P/S (point and shoot). Their luminosities at the long end are pitiful and wide ranges only decrease their resolution and freedom from spheric aberration. If you're now staring blankly at this text, thinking "uh?", take it from me - I'm your friend, and I've warned you. Long zooms on a P/S are a sure recipe for blurry pictures, and disappointing flash images at the long end. Confine yourself to less than 100 mm. and look for the widest low end you can find (38 mm. is blah, 32 better, 28 cool, less would be supercool... if you find one).

FORMAT: 35 mm or APS? Up to you. I won't touch APS, but that's a quirk of mine (and interestingly, 95% of the pros I know). APS cameras can be devilishly small (oh, the Canon Ixus (Elph in the US)...). If you're into exotic or underdeveloped countries, though, I strongly recommend you go with 35 mm. or you run the risk of running out of film for good.
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Of course, your mileage may vary. You're encouraged to detour from this if you have good reason and / or know what you're doing. If not, be a good boy and take it from me as it is. And don't let camera-shop dealers talk you into something different: stick to your guns and I guarantee you'll be fine.

Bonus: If you're going the P/S camera and print film route, I have a golden, golden piece of advice for you: ALWAYS use a film sensibility of at least 400 ISO. Make it you all-around film. Don't take the 100 iso people will be pushing your way except on very, very bright conditions. Go 800 ISO when needed, but make 400 your standard. You'll be rewarded with less blurry pics, less darkies (no, not more overexposures - lab magic!), and sharp, colourful images. Those of you that are now thinking me nuts because of pale colours and increased grain: you're hopelessly outdated, guys. Go grab a couple rolls of Kodak Gold Max 400, Fuji NPH 400, or similarly state-of-the-art-film, shoot it and blow it to 8x10 (or 18x24 cm for us metric people). I reckon you're not going back to your old 100 ISO for your P/S.