I'm looking at MegaPixel Cameras for purchase. I want 8x10 capability and the ability to burst up to 8 or 10 images during a golf swing (I am also a 1 to 3 handicap golfer who studies the swing as if it were another PhD dissertation.) I think the Kodak 260, the Toshiba PDR-M1, and the Nikon CoolPix are candidates, but frankly, I do not know much about digital cameras and need advice.

Charles Ivey charles.ivey@tobin.com

-- Charles Ivey (charles.ivey@tobin.com), September 09, 1998

Answers

Charles-

That's a tough requirement for most digital still cameras - some will burst, but only capture 4 frames, and then only at 1/10th second intervals. The 260's "burst" mode in VGA resolution is longer, but the shots are a second or so apart. (Your handicap 1-3 swing would probably be over by the time the second shot was fired!) Bottom line, I don't think any of the megapixel cameras are going to do what you need. One possible exception: The Casio QV-5000 has a "mini movie" mode in which it can shoot up to 64 very low resolution (160x120?) frames at 0.1 second intervals. That resolution is so coarse though that you might miss some of the finer details you're looking for. You can check our sample images from the QV-5000 elsewhere on this site, then take one and chop out a 160x120 segment to evaluate resolution. (Casio has a number of mini-movies posted on their site last I saw, also.) As far as I can see, you're probably not going to get the combination of high resolution and high burst speed in one unit, but are probably looking at two cameras: For the motion stuff, a digital video camera like the Canon Optura would be the ticket, as it takes a full progressive-scan 640x480 image every 1/30th of a second. (There's also the issue though, of keeping the shutter speed high enough while doing this to freeze the club motion.) Unfortunately, for this motion capability, you're looking at a very high price, over $2K US, I think.

Hope this helps! (I understand your obsession with the swing by the way: I'm not an athelete, but share your obsession with measuring and analyzing everything!)

Good Luck!

-- Dave Etchells (web@imaging-resource.com), September 10, 1998.

Charles, Check out the Sony DSC-F1. It takes pictures at 1/9 of a second, plenty fast enough to catch various stages of a golf swing. It is a very decent camera too, a coworker of mine has one and I'm jealous.

-- Scott Cother (scott_cother@hotmail.com), September 30, 1998.