Who knows about those binoculars that have cameras built in?

I've been reading up on your camera tips with interest. I am SO needing to upgrade from my old Canon AE-1 (dinosauer!). And you guys take such fab photos!! Anyway, a friend of my thought that I should look into one of those binocular/camera combinations. I am skeptical.....it would seem that both of the functions would be compromised. Anybody know about these?

I'm sceptical, too!

Resin

Aw- the AE-1 is a fine camera. I still use mine sometimes. :)

The only one of the binocular/camera combos that I looked at didn't have the camera looking through the binocular lens. It has it's own smaller zoom lens. It honestly didn't seem well made, but I did not get a chance to review image quality.

This was a while ago, but looking at the selection out there now, they don't seem much improved. As a rule, they have smaller sensors (2-3mp) which will limit detail and your ability to print much larger than 5x7. Noise will also be a problem in the shadows and in low light due to the small lens, and the signal to noise ratio on that small sensor.

They also seem to be limited to about 8x magnification. Which isn't bad, but is easily matched by many zooming digitals. Watch out for the ones that say "digital zoom" or similar - you want Optical zooming.

If you decide to go this route - I'd go to a store where you can try one or two out. (the Bushnell Instant replay series, and the Celestron VistaPix would be good places to start) See how easy they are to use, how quickly you can take the picture (birds move fast - and unlike your AE-1, most non-dslr digitals will lag a bit when you press the shutter). And how well made they are - you don't want it knocked out of service the first time you bump up against a tree.

Good luck. Hope I was helpful and didn't ramble too much.
Liam

Amazon has 10 customer reviews (for starters) on the Celestron VistaPix (attached link).

I'm inclined to think that you would most likely be dissapointed with the intended results.
I would suspect that most of the photos taken are blurred. It's a novel idea to market but has a long way to go to reach my expectations.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007UQNOK/sr=8-1/qid=1208351018/ref=dp_cp_ob_title_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1208351018&sr=8-1

Thanks, rogue-designer for your input. I have a couple of digital cameras but don't like them so much for the reason of shutter lag that you had mentioned. They are OK for the kids, DH or anybody else that can be commanded to "stay still". They are dismal with the cat, though....I get out the AE-1 for him. I want to move on to taking pictures of my feathered friends though so I am now motivated. I take good photos but am not a camera-tech person; getting my equipment dialed in is very intimidating. You all have posted so much good info....it is a good place to start!

Got a pair when they first came out. They only worked in very bright light and then the pictures were lacking color and texture. (l did love the photo program that came with it and use it all the time)
You also had to take the batteries out of the binocs after every use. They would go dead in a day if you didn't. Been pretty soured on them after that.

My daughter bought one about a year ago and is
very disappointed with hers. She never uses it anymore.

I thought they might have gotten better. Mine are at least 6 years old. That is, what?, 50 in technology years.

I found a SHARK brand binocular/camera, still in the package at Goodwill. The price was $13.99. I thought it was worth that to try it out. I should have kept my 14 bucks. Here is an example of the photo that this camera took. It was the only one I took that day, so I won't delete those photos, but I sure wish I'd had my Sony with me then.

Janet

I do keep it in my camera bag for use as binoculars, they are a nice small size, but have not used it as a camera since that day.

Gee, those are better than the ones I took. Mine are all fuzzy and grey looking. I will see if I kept one on file to show you.

About 0.00001 megapixels, I'd guess!!

Resin

Darn, I deleted them. I only took about 5 or 6 shots total, then gave up.
You would think they would have the technology to make a good one.

I don't remember what the MP's were and don't even remember where the paperwork is on it. I just tried to turn it on and the batteries (2 AAA's) are dead. Will have to decide if I want to keep batteries in it or not now. LIke most things these days, this one is made in China. That's about all I can tell you about it.

I think I'm just spoiled to my Sony. ^_^

Janet
edited to say: It sure looked like hubby was smiling on the thumbnail. HAHAHAHA

This message was edited Apr 21, 2008 4:24 PM