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Digital Cameras and Smartmedia?
CuCullin asks: "In the never ending search for a quality digital camera that uses Smartmedia, all I can come up with is the Fuji Finepix 6900. The basics I'm looking for is Smartmedia, 3+ megapixels, and the ability to change lenses (I'm going for wide angle). Has anyone else been on a similar search?"
I wrote up a bug that I found with the device. I haven't received a response from Fuji yet (yes, I sent an email to Fuji directly and didn't just expect that someone would read my journal).
I have been pwned because my
Olympus digital cameras all use smartmedia. So try there.
Why do you want to use Smartmedia cards?
In my experience, it is the most fragile of the four common media card formats, and nor is it the cheapest.
I have worked with various types of media card in PDAs & similar small devices, and I have often seen broken Smartmedia cards. The problem appears to be that because they are so thin, they have no structural rigidity, so slight bending can break the electrical traces, and render the card useless.
Also unlike CF, they don't have any internal logic. This means they don't do wear levelling, so your memory card will have a shorter life. Also they don't talk IDE or USB.
I would personally recommend CF, because it is the cheapest, most robust, available in the largest capacities, and you can get Hard drives in that size, or put them in PDAs.
However, I Don't think you should be choosing the card format first, you should choose the camera first, and buy whatever media format it takes.
Of course, if you already have a large investment in Smartmedia cards, my arguments above may not apply, But remember that digital cameras are expensive, and media prices are falling all the time. It would be foolish to buy the wrong camera, just so you can keep using your Smartmedia cards that could be replaced for $20.
I hope this is useful.
Although I could not find any information pertaining to the Fuji Finepix 6900 on their website I have been doing research in this area ever since Slashdot ran an article talking about Foveon's new CCD chip that is suppost to revolutionize the industry. Although Sigma's SD9 hasn't hit the market yet, other manufacturers have been lowering the prices on their cameras, binging 5 and 6+ Megapixel cameras closer to reach.
For example, Nikon's Coolpix 5000 is a 5Megapixel camera that retails for $1K US, but can be found on the Internet for closer to $700. It has the ability to add and remove lenses, but it is nothing like the bayonet mounts that you may be used to with a standard 35MM SLR. Canon recently came out with the EOS D60 digital camera with a 6.3Megapixel CCD chip , that retails for approximately twice as much as the Nikon. It is suppost to handle almost exactly like a 35MM SLR, including the ability to switch lenses, which is what a professional photographer would want to work with.
But if you are like me, then you will be waiting with baited breath for the Sigma SD9 and its revolutionary CCD chip. Even though the chip itself is only a 3Megapixel chip, the quality of the photographs taken are said to be comparible with 9+Megapixel cameras. Or you could stick with the tried and true 21+Megapixel analog film and emulsion camera.
I haven't lost my mind!
It is backed up on disk...somewhere...
I have a Fuji that uses SmartMedia but it's only 1.3 megapixels and I am in the process of looking for a 3.3 megapixel (or so) replacement.
I'm not planning on using SmartMedia though - from my reading around I have come to the conclusion that CompactFlash is probably the 'best' solution.
SmartMedia is a pretty raw interface to the memory (i.e. it ain't smart at all), and the camera has to support a particular size specifically, much like those older PCs would only take a 16M SIMM and not a 64M one. OTOH CompactFlash has more smarts on the device and requires correspondingly fewer of those little details to be built in. That's why all the really big ones (512M cards, 1G & 4G microdrives) are on CompactFlash.
And of course you would only get something with a memory stick in it if you were addicted to Sony. I ain't.
You might also see so-called 'MultiMedia' Cards appear to be similar to SmartMedia. Possibly they are crappier, since the website suggests that you won't get 'em larger than 64MB (and I can't find any on sale larger than that), and they have been around since 1997.
Really not much else to say. Go ask Google.
Donate background CPU time to fight cancer.
go to steves-digicams.com
He does reviews of almost every new model digital camera of any value.
His site will have a full review of the camera, including sample images and video.
He even breaks down things so someone(like me) with no photography experience can understand things.
Why would you choose a camera based on the memory media? That's the LEAST important feature.
The E Series (E-10/E-20) use both SM, and CF. I have an E-10 with a 1 gig Microdrive. It'll store over a thousand pics.
Available are 2 telephotos (1.5 &3), a wide angle, and a Macro. All of the extra lenses are screw mount, ie. the screw onto the front of the included standard lens.
The E-10 is awesome, and worth every penny.
Taking another posters advice here is the review at Steves-digicams.com The only complaint I've heard about this camera is that the battery life was short. Well I've had mine for almost nine months and the Lithium Batteries that were supplied with the camera are still doing fine. Lots of controls, extra lenses and filters can be threaded on. I would recommend that you get a 64MB SmartCard with it and the cam on normal 640x480 res. you get almost 700 shots per card. It drops to something like 32 shots on the highes res which are hugh files that you do spy type zooming on in Photoshop :-)
I agree that one should choose the camera and then get the media type that follows.
That said, my personal favorite in the digicam arena is Olympus, specifically their C-x000 series cameras (C-2000,C-3000, and I think now the C-4000)
The 2000 series is 2.1 megapixels, the 3000 series is 3.3 megapixels and adds sound recording capability and a few other little things over the 2000 series. The 4000 series is in the 4-megapixel range I think.
All of them support a tube that screws on around the lens and provides a 46mm (or is it 41mm) standard threaded mount that allows you to attach filters (not too necessary with a digital, except for maybe a polarizer) and add-on wide-angle/zoom lenses (I recommend Tiffen lenses - They're cheap and Tiffen is a well-known brand) Currently I have the tube with a step-up ring to 49mm, as I had quite a number of 49mm filters and attachments from the small lens on my old SLR film camera.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
The one bad thing about the C-x000 series cameras is that they're a bit bulky. Not as big as an SLR, but not as small as your average point-and-shoot camera.
I also have a Canon Digital Elph (PowerShot S100) - Light on features, but the portability is wonderful in some situations. Doesn't do external lenses, though, at least not easily.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
You did not say what your price range is. This is an important bit of data.
The Fuji Finepix 6900 does not allow you to changes the lens. It allows yo to add lenses on such as telephoto and wide angle lenses. This is true for many if not all digital cameras in the $500 - $1000 price range. Very high end cameras that cost thousands *do* allow you to actually change the lens like with a non-digital SLR.
I recently did research and purchased an Olympus 3040.
What I was looking for was the camera with the highest quality images for under $500 with the following features:
- ability to add lenses
- ISO of at least 400 for low light conditions
- 1.8 f-stop for low light conditions
- long battery life
- the option for full manual control
- USB interface
- 3 or more megapixels
The Olympus 3040 and the Nikon 995 took the highest quality pictures among all cameras with these features for under $500. I went to the camera store and tried out both. I preferred the single body design of the Olympus over the two part body design of the Nikon. I ordered the Olympus online for $450.
Go to the digital camera area of cnet.com to read the reviews and see the results of the image quality lab tests. You will find the that the Fuji Finepix 6900 had relatively low image quality.
Oh yeah, the Olympus comes with two non-rechargable lithium ion batteries good for up to 1000 shots, and it also accepts four AA batteries. You should buy rechargable 1800 MAh Nickel Metal Hydride batteries. Those are the highest capacity.
Example: Olympus E10 supports BOTH SmartMedia and CompactFlashII (for those 1GiB microdrives), has removable lenses and is 4Mpix, for USD$1000.
PS: Like many have said: SM sucks, go CF!
- The Olympus 3040 does use Smart Media.
- The main difference between the 3030 and the 3040 is the "Super Bright" lens referring to the 1.8 f-stop which lets more light in.
- It also comes with a wireless remote control.
Another good digicam review site is Digital Photography Review at dpreview.com. If you are definitely sticking with Smartmedia, then they have a good features search that will let you find cameras by desired features, including storage type.
Other than that it meets your specs. I have a wide angle lense for it (as well as a telephoto) and it is a 4 mega pixel camera. I am impressed by the image quality. I just wish that it took longer/higher resolution moives. Oh well. My geek friends have been so impressed with it that two of them went out and bought the same camera. The only disadvantage is that it isn't exactly small. If you want something to slide into your shirt pocket look elsewhere.
Lasers Controlled Games!
Smart Media sucks.
I lost all my fishing pictures on a day when I was fishing without a license, and received a $190 fine. I took it in stride, taking a picture of the cop, my buddy and I with our tickets, etc..
Also lost pictures of this hot ass Peruvian girl I met in San Jose smashed out of her gourd.
While I was in vietnam, I didn't even bother taking any pictures because I figured they wouldn't survive the trip back to my desktop. I was able to take one movie clip of a good friend in Korea, but for someone who loves pictures of friends I may never see again, I will once again have to slam Smart.
Stick with CF.
I bought a mindstor digital wallet to disconnect myself from whatever memory card the camera I would eventually choose would use... just slap in a PCMCIA card for the memory of your choice and voila...
And people really bash the memory stick... I don't know why... just because it's a standard of another company does not make it any less better... they can survive going through the laundry! How many solid-state memory formats do you know that can handle that?
I recommend dpreview, however I also agree with the other posters that the media should be your 3rd or 4th criteria.
That said, you also won't be able to get a removable lense for less than a couple grand and most of those cameras are CF only.
I have a CF camera (also a Canon S100) and it's great, my wife has a sony D75 that uses a memory stick which works for her. There are USB adapters for all of the current memory types and my Sharp Zaurus can read SM and CF if needed.
I really love my Canon EOS D30 (predecessor to the D60), because it does in fact have precisely the look and feel of an ergonomically tested 35mm SLR. This probably has something to do with the fact that it is effectively a SLR with a digital back instead of film.
The big advantage is for anyone who wants to focus and set exposure manually. These functions are smooth and intuitive on the D30, as opposed to the cheaper point and shoots and their fiddly buttons.
I had a Nikon Coolpix 990 before the Canon, and the difference was like night and day to me. I never mastered the 990's features; I would study the manual, but the information would leave my brain as quickly as it entered. In dramatic contrast, a single reading of the manual told me everything I needed to know about the D30, and I've taken almost 5,000 pictures with it since I got it in January 2002, the bulk of them using a semi-automatic exposure mode and manual focus.
Unfortunately, these cameras are still mind-bendingly expensive for all but affluent camera nuts like me. But if you like using manual controls and can afford this kind of camera, you'll consider it well worth the price as you use it.
D
The successor to the 6900: the FinePix S602Z. Brand new, it rocks. It has SmartMedia AND Compact Flash slots. You can use them both at the same time.
HTH,
-marius
Also check Philip Greenspun's (of ArsDigita fame) photo.net which is a possibly the best (and original) one-stop photography resource on the net.
The tutorials are fantastic, and the community is incredibly knowledgeable and helpful, you honestly won't find more pros and experts in one place.
Latest digital reviews include the Minolta Dimage 5, the Canon EOS D60 (I so want one of these! Or an EOS-1D if I won the lottery), and the Nikon D100, so it proves that they're very up-to-date.
Check it out!
I think Oly didn't build the power circuits with microdrives in mind, so they say "no". dpreview forum has several people using the 340M with no problem.
In the US, Ritz Camera can get them.
FWIW, I think you're better off getting a media format that will play nicely with your other gear, but if it's a matter of getting the right camerea with the wrong media or the wrong camera with the right media, I'll take the wrong media every time.
CF has its place, but so does SmartMedia. If there is one format to obsolete both, its SD/MMC, which combines most of the advantages of CF with the pinless design and storage density of SmartMedia.
My favorite camera review site is www.megapixel.net. They give a good practical overview without the long winded nebbishy blathering of the other camera sites.
Frankly, the kind of memory should be the last thing you consider. Memory prices have really come down, and even the proprietary stuff like Sony Memory Sticks are cheap these days.
But if you must, Olympus cameras all use Smartmedia. They can also be mounted just like any USB drive, so they don't need any special software. That way you can load your images into any computer with USB.
FWIW, the new Olympus 3020 would probably meet your needs really well.
Sorry, I missed the part about interchangeable lenses. In that case, your choices are more limited. Basically, there are three ways to go with this.
.5-.8 magnification factor. So you could get a pretty wide angle for your G2 or Olympus Camedia. Most of these are off-brand cheapies, so no guarantees on optical quality, but I'm sure the Canon or Olympus branded ones are OK.
First, get a camera with a wide angle zoom. These are very few and far between. The only ones I can think of right now are the new Nikon 5000, and a Minolta model I can't remember. There's also the older Kodak DC4800, which is on sale right now at Ritz for $300. A great deal, but older cameras tend to have noisier images and slower overall operation. All these cameras will give you a lens equivalent to a 28mm for 35mm systems.
The second choice is a good zoom camera with a wide angle add-on lens. The better ones work pretty well, usually with a
Finally, there are the digital SLRs. These are expensive, and so are the lenses. All are excellent, though. The problem is that they usually have a 1.6x magnification factor because of their small sensors, so you'd need one of those super expensive superwides (14mm or 17mm) to get a good wide angle effect. The bodies themselves are around 2 grand, though you can probably get a year old D30 for a little over half that. The downside of an interchangeable lens SLR is that it's difficult to keep the sensor dust-free, and this shows up on your images. The all in one zoom cameras don't have this problem.
RAther than fret over memory card types or interchangeable lenses, figure out what your photographic objective is, and buy the best tool for the job.
If you're interested, there are a few reviews here, here and here which influenced my decision.
I love my 602 and certainly wouldn't have gone for anything else - if you've got any questions feel free to give me a shout.
Ditigal Camera Resource isn't too bad, either.
I have a Toshiba PDR-M70, 3.37MP F2, 3X optical that can take its own wide angle lense, filters, and telephoto lense. They have newer.c dsc/inde x.htm
http://www.toshiba.com/taisisd/isd_svc/sv