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Enhancing pics shot through windshield or windows

Thank-you all for this great thread on de-haze.
Now you convinced me: I need to buy a camera to take real pictures and stop relying only on my iPhone 5s, especially because of the absence of an optical zoom.

@Peter, you mentionned the Canon s120.
Maybe there are other ones.

My wish list is:
- lightweight
- cheap (i will most certainly forget it somewhere and/or want to replace it by a newer one within 2 years: 350€ max
- capable of saving RAW images (?)
- global shutter to get rid of the prop artifacts (?)
- add-on filters (polarizing, etc) (?)
But I’m absolutely not a camera expert (more the opposite)…

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

LFLY, France

If I was buying a pocket camera today I would make sure it can do

  • RAW (DNG, not some vendor-specific format)
  • fully manual controls (1/80 shutter removes the prop almost completely)
  • WIFI and if possible automatic upload to Dropbox

As per the other thread, most of the time one doesn’t need RAW but it does unlock the camera’s full potential when you need it.
I am not sure how many cameras (that are any good) do the dropbox upload. But WIFI is really good because it saves plugging in a USB cable or pulling out the SD card when you get back from a trip.

Add-on filters are IMHO of little value – except polarizing which can reduce haze and produce stunning skies – this example was not photoshopped. Admittedly the great location helps there! But I found polarising filters to be difficult to use in an aircraft; they have to be correctly rotated for each photo, produce weird effects from the windows and of course are useless for avionics (like polarising sunglasses!). If you want filters you need a bigger camera, and IMHO a camera which doesn’t go in your pocket just doesn’t get used as much. The days when we anoraks walked around with an OM2SP or whatever, 5 lenses, 10 filters and 20 rolls of film are long gone. Also filters collect dirt.

The S120 is very good and arguably the best at that price at the time but doesn’t do WIFI. Whether WIFI matters is debatable; I for sure like to be able to really easily backup my pics to some other device, each day, in case the camera is lost. But I also know that people attach a very variable value to their photos, especially smartphone ones.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Thanks @Peter for your recommendation. I’ll buy a Canon S120.
It even seems to do WiFi:
http://www.canon-europe.com/for_home/product_finder/cameras/digital_camera/powershot/powershot_s120/
Wi-Fi, GPS via Mobile
Wi-Fi lets you connect easily with home wireless networks, compatible printers and PCs, plus smart devices for easy online sharing and GPS tagging of your images with shooting locations. Image Sync enables convenient PC and online backup via CANON iMAGE GATEWAY or Flickr.

LFLY, France

Interesting about the GPS via mobile bit. I would make sure that works with your phone or whatever. I can see a camera could get the GPS position via wifi (or bluetooth), from a phone which you will always be carrying anyway.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

@Peter
My daughter (also a user) wants an entry level SLR instead.
Can you tell me if the CANON EOS 1200D with a 18-55mm IS II f/3.5-5.6 lens would be ok for our pilot purpose ?
Thanks so much in advance.

LFLY, France

I am not the DSLR expert around here but if I was doing all this again I would buy a high-end micro 4/3 one, not one of today’s heavy DSLRs.

Guess where my Pentax K3 is now? In the plane. Carrying it is too much hassle.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

I seem to suffer some form of analogue attachment-non ECU car? Tick (VW 1300 1972) no glass cockpit/magenta line? Tick (1951 no electric no gyro Super Cub) Film camera? Tick (1976 Nikon F2 with plain prism, weighing in at 1 kilogram) – now what did I do with my vinyl?

Sent from my iPad mini!

PS mobile is a PAYG Nokia 100

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

Thanks @Peter.
I just bought the Canon PowerShot S120 and my first impression is excellent:-).
It has all the modes we pilots need, including “shutter speed priority” and “full manual” where all settings are accessible: shutter speed, aperture, ISO sensitivity, dynamic range, whites balance, etc, and it can save in RAW format for later editing.
Price is very reasonable: 280€ with leather case and 16GB SD memory card.
Although it is already a 2 year old product, the store specialist told me it is still unsurpassed in its price-range and is fitted with a good quality lens and CMOS sensor.

Last Edited by Nestor at 27 Jun 07:23
LFLY, France

I have posted some results from @DavidS ’s haze removal program here as that thread title is more “on topic”.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Could anyone retouch this photo, to remove the reflection? It is way beyond my photoshop skills… and I don’t have another pic like it. It is the island of Kastelorizo where I have just been

I have put the raw (ex Pentax K1) file here.

Very many thanks!

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom
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