Photograhy Experts PLEASE!!!

[BraveMom3]

I'm really interested in finding a SMALL (as in tiny) 35mm camera that I could take to WDW, keep comfortably in a case on my waistpack, and DOES NOT have red eyes in every picture. I've got a pretty small one, with zoom (also want that feature), but has terrible red eyes even with the so-called red eye-reduction feature. Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[tmfranlk]

I'm not an expert, but...

I just bought an Olympia Stylus Epic 80 after reading another thread on this board. It is about 2.5" tall, 4" long and 1.5" thick, give or take a half inch each. I carried around in my pocket the day I was taking some test shots around town and it was great. The pictures all look good and tehre was no red eye in the ones I took at home. There is a zoom as well, which I really wanted.

 

[BraveMom3]

Thanks for the response. I'll check that one out!!

101 days and counting!!!

 

[PhotobearSam]

Aas you can see from my screen name;
I am a PHOTOGRAPHER!!!!

Here is my advice:

1st of all, even with a $900 camera, I still get red eye in some pictures.
The red eye that you see in certain pictures is the reflexion of blood vessels at the back of the eye. It is caused in dark situations when the subject is looking directly at the camera. Children have red eye more often because in dark situations their pupils dilate more than adults.

Here are a few hints to reduce it:

Try taking pictures at an angle from the subject

Make sure that redeye reduction is actually turned on when you use your camera.(you cannot beleive how many people think it is on when it is not)

If all else fails
Cut out a piece of wax paper the EXACT SIZE of the flash on your camera and tape it over the flash using INVISIBLE TAPE (very important)
This may help to difuse the flash enough to avoid red eye but not too much as to loose the intensity of the flash.

If this still doesn't work,
there are several computer programs that can eliminate red eye or you can use a red eye reduction pen to cover it up.

Hope this helps
PM me if you need any more advice or want to ask any more questions.

Just make sure you are extremely comfortable with the camera you will use on your trip and take a test roll before you go to make sure everything is working ok


PhotobearSam

 

[BraveMom3]

Thanks PhotobearSam--

I have noticed that it seems that all the kids have the red eye, but then that's mostly all I ever take pics of!! The camera I have is fairly small, and inexpensive, which I liked when I got it a couple of years ago because I wouldn't be so frantic if something happened to it on vacation. I go(as solo parent) for two weeks with three children, ages 9, 5, and 4, and things can get a bit chaotic!!

The only camera that I've seen that's noticeably smaller is the "Elph" cameras and I think the film and development for those is considerably higher, so I'm glad to hear you're hint about the flash. I'll definitely try that. Thanks!!

99 days and counting!!!inkbounc

 

[jmminarik]

As photobearsam mentions, even better photographers occasionally get red-eye. A major factor in acquiring red-eye is the positioning of the flash with regards to the lens. The closer the two are, the more likely you'll find red-eye. Not guaranteed, but the odds go up.

You're looking for a small camera...which almost by definition will have a close lens and flash. I'm not an expert on 35mm point and shoots, but beyond the 'red-eye' function, look for a camera which has a pop-up or swing-out flash. Our Kodak APS has this flip-up (I think they call it cobra something or another) flash, and compared to our old p&s's, we do get alot less red-eye.

The Canon elph family are really small cameras, but they use the APS format. The film and processing can be signicantly more expensive depending on where you get your processing done. To keep our APS costs down, we usually only buy Fuji film when it's on sale at CVS and then take it to Sam's 1hour processing. For us, the 1-hour processing for double prints is as much as we'd pay for 1 hour processing of 35mm at most drug stores, with the added benefit that the girls working at the Sam's near us are 'regulars' and we have a rapport with them.

The APS/35mm debate is a very deeply religious matter for some people. We use both.

One last thing to keep in mind...the smaller the camera, the more steady your hands need to be. Especially when you're in a situation which requires a flash. The shutter speed will be (usually) that much slower when the flash is required. That's why we bought the slightly larger Kodak aps p&s instead of the much more totable elph.

When we do get red-eye, we use a red-eye pen to take care of it...works reasonably well, so long as you don't mind _everyone_ having the same eye color.

I hope this helps,
Joe

 

[BraveMom3]

Thanks so much for the wonderful info!! I've seen one of the cameras with a flip-up flash that claimed "no red eye", and wondered how the flip-up affected that. I'll have to check how close in size it is to the one I have.

98 days and counting!!!

 

[jmminarik]

One other thing which I forgot to mention, and which has nothing to do with the camera per se. Try taking more 'action' or 'candid' shots. Everyone takes the obligatory posed in front of something 'I was there' photos, but if you try to take more shots of the kids interacting with their environment (i.e. smiling up at Goofy, waving frantically at Mickey, etc), you'll probably get some good photos. Since the kid tend be looking at something other than the camera, the chance of red-eye should go down.

oh, yea, when taking the photo, crouch down to their level...

These are all basic type tips I've picked up since my interest in photography has grown. Kodak has some photo taking tips on their site, and if you do a search for 'photo tips', I'm sure you'll find lots more out on the Internet.

My final tip...shoot lots of photos. If you take 3-4 of the kids hugging Minnie, odds are better you'll get a really good one.

Hope this helps,
Joe

 

[JillU-DVC]

Here's a 2nd vote for the Olympus Stylus Epic 80 - I have this camera and it's GREAT. Never worry about losing the lens cap (it slides to one side, adn the lens pops out). Plus the popup flash has a no-red eye setting, which, while annoying to the people you're taking a picture of, works really well.

What the no-red eye setting on the flash does is flashes a strobe like light, before actually flashing the flash for your picture - it get's people eyes to un-dialate (is that a word? What I mean is their pupil contracts down to get smaller), so you don't get the red eye.

This is a GREAT camera, nice and small, and will also do panaramic photos. Plus I got the version with the remote control, which makes it much easier to be in your own pictures.