Digital Camera Recommendation for Dancers!

I want to save people a lot of time and money by making a strong recommendation for a "pocket" digital camera that is especially good for dancers.



Fuji FinePix F20 ($148 at Amazon)

I've carried a pocket camera with me (pretty much every where I've gone!) since October 2000. I'm now on my fifth camera, having gone from the Canon S100, Canon S200, Fuji F700, Fuji F710, and currently Fuji F30. My needs as social, ballroom dancer has always been foremost in consideration. First, the camera has to be small enough to fit in my pocket, and I should be able to dance comfortably with it. Moreover, the camera's video performance in indoor, low-light settings is paramount. Many cameras can take good videos in daylight, but most have problems in dimly lit studios.

For example, here's a comparison of the same lesson summary taken with my friend's Sony DSC-T30 and my Fuji F30:

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As you can see, the difference is quite dramatic. The Sony is not a cheap camera, by any means. It's actually considerably more expensive than the F20 and F30!

Sony DSC-T30 ($379 at Amazon)
F30 ($269 at Amazon):

Now, the reason I recommend the F20 for most people, rather than the F30, is value. The F20 is priced $120 less than the F30 and is 95% the same camera. Most importantly, the cameras use the same sensor and has the same low-light capability. The only features you'll be missing on the F20 is extended battery life, aperture and shutter priority, and wheel control at the top of the camera. For most people, they wouldn't miss these additions. So, everybody, go get yourself a Fuji F20, and we'll all have more videos and photos to share on the forum.

Here's another comparison I did at my studio with my F30 and F700:


Note, the F700 is no slouch in the video department. In fact, it had the best indoor video performance of any camera I had seen before the F30! I was shocked to see the F700 blown away by the F30 in such dramatic fashion. Literally, the F30 appeared stronger than my eye. I could take videos even in the dark parking lot.

How does the Fuji compare when it comes to still images in low light, action conditions?

Medira said:

How does the Fuji compare when it comes to still images in low light, action conditions?

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Well, still shots depends much on the skill-level of the photographer. In terms of image noise at high ISOs (useful for low-light photography), the Fuji F20 and F30 is in a class of its own compared to other pocket cameras. Focus speed is also very fast. However, the F20/F30 doesn't have an optical viewfinder, so you need to rely on the LCD screen. Even with a refre sh rate of 1/30th of a second, this delay in the image can prevent you from timing the shot correctly.

In terms of action dance shots, you still can't beat DSLRs. I currently use the Canon 30D with 380EX flash for still photography.

Thanks for that much needed info . . . I do need a small in-pocket size camera for those times . . .

I also use a Canon DSLR - a Rebel XTi, as you can't beat 3 fps and a burst of 27 shots. With a normal digital camera, most perfect shots are "missed." With the DSLR, I can fire off lots of shots to get that right one, then erase (garbage can) the ones I don't want.

My wife is now an Advanced level dancer and my son is going for his black belt in May, so I stepped up to the DSLR level for these performances.

How do those Fujis compare to the Canon PS A540, ferinstance?

I have the original Digital Rebel and love it. It's been an amazing camera and it's the only one I use at comps. I'd highly recommend it. (The reason I went for Canon over the Nikon DSLR is the fact that I have a Canon film SLR, so I already had the lenses.)

What I'm looking for is something portable for fun nights out, which is more why I was asking about low light conditions. Thanks for the info!

hey,. thanks for ur recommendation. Can u tell me how long u can take the video?does it have a memory card?

sac76 said:

hey,. thanks for ur recommendation. Can u tell me how long u can take the video?does it have a memory card?

Click to expand...

The camera uses XD cards and will shoot continuous video until the card is full! I remember this was a unique feature when I first got my F700, but I think it's getting more standard now.

I use a 2 GB XD card, which will allow me to shoot up to 60 minutes of 320x240 video or 30 minutes of 640x480 video. After hundreds and hundreds of videos, I've only run out of memory twice -- once was shooting videos at our studio showcase:

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Even the professional videographer was amazed at the quality of my footage!

great thats what i wanted...thanks so much. SO should i go for F30 or F700?

Judging by the comparison between videos from the F30 and F700 (posted earlier in the thread), I would say definitely the F20/F30! F700 was great when it came out in 2003, but it's outdated now.

Ahh... I see there's now a third camera choice with the special Fuji low-light sensor -- the new Fuji31fd, and it's just been reviewed:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilmf31fd/

Anyway, it's a very minor improvement from F30 (new algorithms for face detection).

It looks like some people don't believe the comparisons (check comments on video)!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qz4OrtYr_DY

I showed this thread to DH a while ago because he was looking for a video camera for lessons. He bought one of the recommended cameras (I can't remember which one - I'm not a photographer), and LOVES it. It really does work in limited light. He also likes the fact that it's small enough to put in his pocket -- he can take it dancing and not have to leave it on a table or under a chair! Thanks so much.