Agfa ActionCam (link to NikonWeb article)

Discuss non-DSLR models (e.g. Coolpix cameras), other camera brands, your latest cool photography gadget, computer stuff and other photography related issues that don't fit in the Vintage Kodak and Nikon DSLR forums.
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Agfa ActionCam (link to NikonWeb article)

Post by NikonWeb »

Agfa ActionCam (1996 Agfa/Minolta 1.75 megapixel DSLR):

It's no Nikon (or Kodak), but someone may find it interesting. If nothing else, it includes an unusual DCS 420, DS-565, ActionCam comparison shot:

http://www.nikonweb.com/actioncam/

Jarle
Last edited by NikonWeb on Mon Oct 27, 2008 2:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Stan Disbrow
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Post by Stan Disbrow »

Hi,

When I first considered getting into digital in 1999, I was immediately drawn to the Nikon D1. Heck, at that point in time, who wouldn't be? However, the $5000 USD price tag was a bit much for a hobbiest, I felt, so I looked elsewhere for my first DSLR.

As everyone knows by now, that first DSLR turned out to be an Nikon E2. Given that I had a bag full of manual focus Nikkors, that makes a whole lot of sense, esp with the $750 price tag the used E2 had at the time compared to the $5k D1, $10k Kodak 620 and $25k Kodak 660!

However, since I was making a *very* large step from film to digital (before digital had proved itself), I spent a lot of time looking at everything else out there. I knew I really wanted a DSLR, because in the summer of 1999 I bought a Olympus D620L ZLR-type digicam, and found it to be very disappointing to use compared to my Nikon FE and FA FSLR bodies. I'm sure y'all know *exactly* what I mean! :P

Anyway, I was not going to trap myself in regards to a particular make of digital body just because I had a lot of ancient Nikkor MF lenses. So, I looked at the offerings from other makers. I, like Jarle, am not a rabid Nikon shooter. I'd use an oatmeal box with a Coke bottle if it worked! :P

So, I looked hard at the Minolta RD-175. I liked the beamsplitter vs. Bayer Pattern CFA, but I also knew from time servicing ENG video camcorders that alignment of the CCDs was critical, and it's all too easy to knock them out in the field. I decided that maybe a bayer pattern sensor was probably a better way to go.

Of course, the final image from the RD-175 had no real advantage over what the Nikon E2 spit out, and the E2 *would* take my old lenses, so I decided to look for an E2 in the end. Once I found one for $750, that was that. In the end, all the E2 did was prove to me that the D1 was worth the price tag, and five months later I had one of those. So, the E2 saved me from buying a bunch of Minolta lenses! :P

Later!

Stan
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Brian Sweeney
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Post by Brian Sweeney »

Very interesting!

This forum is becoming more about documenting some history on these early digital cameras, and to keep them running.
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Off topic update: ActionCam working

Post by NikonWeb »

I finally found a cheap ActionCam/RD-175 SCSI cable and made the camera work.

The ActionCam article has been updated with some more details and a early test shot:

http://www.nikonweb.com/actioncam/

Jarle
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Post by Stan Disbrow »

Hi,

Ahhh. Old Technology. Ain't it grand? :p

I have sold the Canon 1Ds mk-I and reverted back to my old Kodak DCS 560 at this point while I sort out the entirely new-to-me world of Leica and the DMR.

Oddly enough, I don't miss the higher-res, higher-ISO camera.

Stan
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Leica DMR

Post by NikonWeb »

Hi Stan,

Nice to hear from you again.

Yes, it sure is! I hope to transfer some original Kodak DCS files from the DSU to my PC soon, now that I finally have a working SCSI setup. (Is that a cool sentence, or what?)

So you've decided to get the Leica? Please feel free to start a new 'Off topic: Leica DMR' thread. Very interesting. Not too many of those around.

Take care.

Jarle
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Post by Stan Disbrow »

hi,

No, I haven't really decided on the DMR, at least not quite yet. I like many things about it, but the price tag for an entire new system is a bit too much.

However, there are many variations in the Leica system as far as lenses go, much like in the Nikon system (NAI, AI, AIS, etc). I don't necessarily have to go for an entire pile of new stuff, and can use older lenses from the used market.

But, I don't know quite what I'm getting into here. I quickly figured out that I can adapt any Leica lens to a Canon body via an adapter, just like I adapt my older Nikon glass. So, it makes a lot of sense to buy a lens here and there, and use them to decide which particular ones are keepers and which ones to throw back *before* I spend a pile of cash on a new R9 body and a DMR.

Once I spend all that money on the camera, I'll want to have a decent set of lenses, and thet would induce me to go buy the latest and greatest, and spend way, way too much in the end. ;)

This way I can ease my way along. Besides, all of us on this board know all too well what happens to the price tag of these digital SLRs. I have an E2 and an E3s that cost, what?, $10k each and a Kodak 560 that cost $25k when they were the latest and greatest things to be had. Now they're worth quite a bit less. So, too, will it be with the DMR.

From my following of the DMR, I have figured out that a lot of R-system/DMR users are really waiting for the digital M to come out. I have a suspicion that once that becomes available, there will be quite a few DMRs on the used market. That's when I intend to get one. ;)

In the meantime, the demand for used 1Ds-I units has gone up as some of the switchers to the 1Ds-II found out that they preferred their older units over the newer one for certain uses. I sold the 1Ds-I I had back to the friend that I bought it from so it could keep his 1Ds-II company. He had taken my old 560 as a backup, so we essentially reversed our earlier deal.

One of the things about the 560 over the 1Ds-I is that the Kodak CCD colors more closely match those produced by the Kodak CCD in the DMR than the CMOS sensor in the 1Ds-I did, so I can benefit from that as well when evaluating used Leica lenses for 'keeper' status. :)

The only drawback is that the 560 is really an ISO 80 only camera. The 1Ds-I was able to be boosted to ISO 800 without too much of a noise issue, but the 560 becomes unhappy evan at ISO 200. For most of my shooting these days, ISO 80 is good enough.

I also sold my D2H as well, and am currently looking for a decent D1H at a decent price to handle anything I might need to shoot at higher ISOs. It seems like I'm going backwards, doesn't it?

It's also quite probable that I'll pick up a D200 along the way as well. I'm just sitting back and waiting to see what it's really like, but everything I've see so far looks good.

A lot depends on just how long it takes before there are enough DMR units on the used market, but I suspect it'll be a year from now before Leica actually comes out with the digital M. Leica is not the fastest in the world when it comes to getting new products to market.

Regardless of how it all plays out in the end, it's all fun, and that's the important point. :)

Stan
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Used Leica DMR

Post by NikonWeb »

Hi Stan,

I don't think Leica will sell too many DMR's, so you'll probably have a hard time finding a used one. But maybe if you wait long enough..

The D1H is still a great camera. My biggest concern would be the less than perfect battery life, compared to later models.

Have fun, whatever you decide to do!

Jarle
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Post by Stan Disbrow »

Hi,

Actually, I corrected the D1 series battery issue long ago. I replaced the NiMH cells with NiCd ones. See, the D1 series pulled too great a peak current for the NiMH cells, so they'd tend to show a premature low condition.

I used to just pull the 'dead' NiMH pack for a new one, and leave the 'dead' one in my pocket. When NiMH pack #2 showed 'dead' I'd reinstall pack #1 and it would run nearly as long as it did the first time. Clearly a case of the camera drawing current out of the cells faster than the chemistry could generate it.

Also, this clearly called for the much higher peak current delivery capability of the older NiCd chemistry. So, I rebuilt two of my D1 packs with NiCd cells, and the whole problem went away. I used those packs with my old D1H and D1X bodies as well. Eventually, all the D1 series bodies were sold off, but those two NiCd packs remain.

So, in the worst case, I might have to renew the cells in them once I re-acquire a D1H. They've been on the shelf for a couple years now, unused. I'm not too concerned, though, since that's easy enough to do. :)

Yes, I think it might be a while before I get a DMR on my terms, but until then, I have enough gear to get by with once I find a decent D1H. :)

Stan
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precertvideo
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Post by precertvideo »

Have just won one of these beasties (item #150114344473) and should have it shortly-seems to come with most accessories (thankfully with lens, or I would have to start buying Minolta fit lenses as well.) Will post more info/serial no. when it arrives.

Jonathan
DCS serial no. survey
RC-760, EOS-1D & Ds Mk I, II, III, EOS*DCS-3, 5, DCS, DCS-200ci, 420, 460, D1, D1H & X, D2H & X, E2, F, F2, F3, F4, MVC-2000, 5000, 7000, RD-175, 3000, EF 50mm f/1.0, Audi S2, Porsche 911, GSX-R1000 K9
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ActionCam

Post by NikonWeb »

precertvideo wrote:Have just won one of these beasties
Congratulations. Have fun!

Jarle
precertvideo
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Post by precertvideo »

Finally the ActionCam has turned up! Condition is excellent-near mint. The sale included:
-ActionCam serial no. 21605615
-35~70mm f/4 lens
-TWAIN software
-Instruction manual for camera & software
-Charger & 2 batteries
-SCSI cable
-Print out reviews from the web, and what looks like a copy of a sales brochure.

If anyone wants copies of the above let me know.

All this for only £75! I haven't taken many shots, but the images seem slightly better (less pixelated?) than my E2.
Image

One thing I have noticed-the max aperture indicated on the body is f/6.3, when the lens is an f/4. Is this a similar setup to the E2, with an aperture in the camera body?

What's your serial no. oh webmaster?

Regards, Jonathan
DCS serial no. survey
RC-760, EOS-1D & Ds Mk I, II, III, EOS*DCS-3, 5, DCS, DCS-200ci, 420, 460, D1, D1H & X, D2H & X, E2, F, F2, F3, F4, MVC-2000, 5000, 7000, RD-175, 3000, EF 50mm f/1.0, Audi S2, Porsche 911, GSX-R1000 K9
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Post by NikonWeb »

precertvideo wrote: -ActionCam serial no. 21605615
What's your serial no. oh webmaster?
My camera is number 20501260.

Jarle
precertvideo
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Post by precertvideo »

DCS serial no. survey
RC-760, EOS-1D & Ds Mk I, II, III, EOS*DCS-3, 5, DCS, DCS-200ci, 420, 460, D1, D1H & X, D2H & X, E2, F, F2, F3, F4, MVC-2000, 5000, 7000, RD-175, 3000, EF 50mm f/1.0, Audi S2, Porsche 911, GSX-R1000 K9
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