Railfan Technology > A good camera for railfanning that is less than $200.

Hello. Does anybody have any recommendations for a good camera that is simple to use & has lots a large memory amount for under 200$ because my old camera is full and I would like a bigger & better camera.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/17 15:40 by railfaneric.

Keep the old camera and download the memory card to a computer or external HD. Add new photos to the memory card or buy a new memory card to place inside the camera for more images.

Have you read the camera manual about how this memory card stuff works?

My older P&S has a card that is obsolete, can't find a new one. Seems to be one msb short. Should be able to save all the jpegs and then re-format the card to clean everything off. Start over again.

It looks like you are going to need to go to Best Buy and WalMart and see what they are offering. You will want a camera with a built in zoom lens in the 35mm equivalent range of about 28mm-140mm. Those will not be the actual focal length of the lens since the digital sensor is smaller than a 35mm film frame. Shutter delay with a cheaper camera is an issue at times since the time between when you release the shutter and the camera calculates exposure and focus on a moving train means the nose of the train might be clipped off. So look for cameras which allow prefocus or extremely short shutter delay.

You want a camera which allows shutter speeds up to 1/1000 second or shorter. You want Shutter priority so you can lock the shutter speed at 1/500 sec at least to prevent perfectly exposed blur images. It is nice if you have an ISO setting between 50 and 1000 for bright sunny days and post sunset photography.

You can find data and reviews on some of these P&S models on www.dpreview.com Don't worry about some cameras not getting high reviews since this site is comparing them to professional line cameras.

Good luck with your search.

railfaneric Wrote:
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> Hello. Does anybody have any recommendations for a
> good camera that is simple to use & has lots a
> large memory amount for under 200$ because my old
> camera is full and I would like a bigger & better
> camera.

Go to ebay and search for Canon A-720

A whole bunch are for sale.  Buy it now prices $30.00 - $90.00

It is an older Point & Shoot 8 mp camera.  It has Image Stabilization

It has a built in flash and shoots video.

It has an SD memory card (easily available).  You can get 32GB card for around $25 - 30,  64 GB for around $35

The thing that sold me on this camera initially was the fact it uses AA batteries.  I DO recommend using the Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries.  Regular batteries don't last as long.

I have 3 of them and I keep one in my car for the occasional grab shot when I don't have my "big" Canon SLR.

I paid $ 149.oo for a new one in 2008 and bought 2 more off ebay for $20.00 and $ 30.00 in 2013 and 2016.

The photo quality is good.  I've had a photo shot with this camera published in Railfan & Railroad Magazine.

Here are several photos I've taken with them.

1.  Portland & Western Rock Train at Tigard, Oregon  5/23/16

2. BNSF SB at Edmonds, Washington take from the ferry   4/1/17

3  Fort Worth & Western North Richland Hills, Texas   3/3/10


Nomosantafe
Portland, Oregon
"Pacific Wonderland"



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/17 07:41 by nomosantafe.

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Nikon Coolpix L340 is a great easy to use point and shoot that looks almost like a DSLR. Cost $150 on line- $180 Target in the store.

It is 20 megapixel. It shoots great video. This camera uses an SD card so the memory is as big as you want to buy. The memory card is extra. That will be $10-$20 depending on the size. Start with 16GB (gigabyte). Not a huge card but it will take a few hundred pics.

Here is one on ebay for $140

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nikon-Coolpix-L340-20-2-MP-28x-Optical-Zoom-Digital-Camera-Black-Free-Shipping-/311838070395?hash=item489aff567b:g:zIAAAOSwA29Y3~80

Good Luck let us know what you do.