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Hello! Im seeking a new digital camera and want to be able to take picts of a friend's special needs kid who doesn't hold eye contact for more than 1 second or so.
I had a Canon Sure Shot from 2008 that i just sold. (I do wonder if i had it on the wrong setting but it would take up to 5 seconds to focus then snap- but too late, already sold it!)
Any advice on a good smaller camera with a quick shutter in the $200 range? Or, if the Canon was good what setting should have it been on? Thanks!
Kids who don't hold eye contact- how do you photograph them? (Camera recommendations please!)
Hello! Im seeking a new digital camera mainly to take picts of a friend's special needs kid who doesn't hold eye contact for more than 1 second or so.
I had a Canon Sure Shot from 2008 that i just sold. (I probably had it on the wrong setting but it would take up to 5 seconds to focus then snap- but too late, already sold it!)
Any advice on a good smaller camera with a quick shutter in the $200 range? Or, if the Canon was good what setting should have it been on? Thanks!
I have a few recommendations that might help. One is a micro four thirds system. Prices vary, but you can pick them up second hand for around your price range. The other is an 'advanced' point and shoot. Again, prices vary and there are many available on the used market.
Either of these cameras will give you the ability to select your own exposure settings, including shutter speed, and you won't experience the 'shutter lag' that is common in most average point and shoot cameras.
Depending on budget, you could consider a Sony E-mount camera with Eye AF (I believe Sony a77 II also has it which uses Sony's SLR-mount). This feature has the camera look for the eye. It works quite reliably to acquire focus on the nearest eye (the camera will evaluate), although whether it will hold from taking a shot until the child is looking is something I am not sure about (you can try it at a store... Sony's Cybershot-RX10 also has this feature).
I suspect you could combine this with object tracking (camera will track the subject(s) in assigned priority), or may be with smile shutter if the child smiles.
Another approach is to use Live View which can help the child assuming you are not pointing the camera at him/her. Ofcourse you may need a fast AF system in Live View todo so, as well as articulating LCD (in other words, try Sony a6000).
Depending on budget, you could consider a Sony E-mount camera with Eye AF (I believe Sony a77 II also has it which uses Sony's SLR-mount). This feature has the camera look for the eye. It works quite reliably to acquire focus on the nearest eye (the camera will evaluate), although whether it will hold from taking a shot until the child is looking is something I am not sure about (you can try it at a store... Sony's Cybershot-RX10 also has this feature).
I suspect you could combine this with object tracking (camera will track the subject(s) in assigned priority), or may be with smile shutter if the child smiles.
Another approach is to use Live View which can help the child assuming you are not pointing the camera at him/her. Ofcourse you may need a fast AF system in Live View todo so, as well as articulating LCD (in other words, try Sony a6000).
Are there are cameras that actually wait for eye contact?? I had no idea. This would be ideal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt518
I have a few recommendations that might help. One is a micro four thirds system. Prices vary, but you can pick them up second hand for around your price range. The other is an 'advanced' point and shoot. Again, prices vary and there are many available on the used market.
Either of these cameras will give you the ability to select your own exposure settings, including shutter speed, and you won't experience the 'shutter lag' that is common in most average point and shoot cameras.
Shutter lag! That is the term i've been looking for and what i do NOT need! I worked with a manual camera back in college developing my own B&W film but i feel so darn behind with these "new fangled digital things!"
Quote:
Originally Posted by dizzybint
my camera is slow for fast shots too... why do you need eye contact for a good photo though..keep snapping and Im sure you ll get some you ll love...
My friend's kid has autism. When he holds eye contact it is such a RARE AND SPECIAL TREAT and not captured often enough due to shutter lag!
Are there are cameras that actually wait for eye contact?? I had no idea. This would be ideal.
Shutter lag! That is the term i've been looking for and what i do NOT need! I worked with a manual camera back in college developing my own B&W film but i feel so darn behind with these "new fangled digital things!"
My friend's kid has autism. When he holds eye contact it is such a RARE AND SPECIAL TREAT and not captured often enough due to shutter lag!
Are there are cameras that actually wait for eye contact?? I had no idea. This would be ideal.
I'm assuming it would hold. Something you may want to try in a store. You may want to use it with face recognition.
I have some experience with this issue of capturing an autistic child who refuses to smile or look at the camera, and in those cases, I have had good success with MF also. Keep the camera discrete (this is where a good live view comes in really handy), focused and wait for a response.
Quote:
Shutter lag! That is the term i've been looking for and what i do NOT need! I worked with a manual camera back in college developing my own B&W film but i feel so darn behind with these "new fangled digital things!"
Another key feature in digital world: Electronic First Curtain Shutter (EFCS). This will dramatically reduce shutter lag (Sony E-mount cameras, for example, have the shortest shutter lag of any ILC with EFCS, about 20ms). This can be very useful in this situation. If you get a camera with EFCS, turn it on.
Here are couple of video on Sony's Eye Auto Focus. It is also available in other cameras (including Cybershot cameras like RX10 and RX100 MkIII).
Sony A-mount (SLR mount) camera: Alpha 77 MkII
Another cool feature is object tracking (with or without burst mode). Similar feature is on a6000 as well:
Object Tracking by Gary Fong: Alpha 77MkII
You can set subject priority and camera will look and track the person with highest priority. In this case, you can set the child as a top priority and capture images when face recognition initiates (when the child turns towards the camera).
Another tip: I often have most success with shy kids, and those intent on giving me a hard time, by using burst modes. These two cameras have capable burst modes that you can extend for several seconds (in JPEG mode, a77 II, for example, can shoot at 8 or 12 fps for 60+ frames... I would pick 8 fps and go for almost 7-8 seconds. Sony a6000 can take 49 frames at 10 fps... and you can keep AF-C/object Tracking on).
Point and shoots are slow. A trick that might work is get the lighting right, put it in continuous mode, don't hold it up to your eye and shoot away. This is the shotgun method and most of your shots will be garbage. But maybe 1% will be good. Sometimes 10% will be "snapshot" quality.
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Kids who don't hold eye contact- how do you photograph them? (Camera recommendations please!)
