RGBE CCD Sensor Camera from 2006 - Sony F828
Here are some photos from my first outing with my recent $30 pickup... a Sony F828. This is an insanely cool camera. It was pretty neat on paper, and that's why I picked it up, but after using it for a bit I am hooked. It is the best performing/handling old digi cam I've used yet!
On paper it's cool because of a unique CCD sensor with a RGBE color array, rather than a traditional RGB. The body also pivots, essentially giving you a tilting screen except... the whole body tilts. It's pretty wild and in practice works amazing. There's some other fun things too. You can read more about those things here: https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonydscf828
These shots are straight out of camera JPEGs. I'm not convinced the RGBE sensor is doing anything another camera is not capable of, but I do like the look. I underexposed most of the images, and I noticed the ones where I did not the colors popped even better. Something to try more next time.
The lens is quite good from what I can tell. Very sharp and good rendering. It has a macro mode, and f2-f2.8 through the range, so you can get some decent bokeh even on the small sensor. The one thing the lens does NOT do well is purple in the highlights. It's terrible. The worst I've ever seen. There are literally just purple balls in the highlights of the water everywhere.
Also, my local trails flooded so that's what all these pictures are about. 🙂
DSC00023 by Snappiness, on Flickr
DSC00025 by Snappiness, on Flickr
DSC00026 by Snappiness, on Flickr
DSC00046 by Snappiness, on Flickr
DSC00063 by Snappiness, on Flickr
DSC00068 by Snappiness, on Flickr
DSC00074 by Snappiness, on Flickr
DSC00076 by Snappiness, on Flickr
Shots of my camera, including it's tilting function. It also tilts the other way for overhead shots.
Look at all the buttons. A lot of these older cameras seemed to go with the approach of having a physical button for everything instead of digging through menus. My Olympus E-20 was the same way.
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@james-warner-b What an awesome pickup! It definitely looks like it took some inspiration from those ugly 90s telephoto zoom point and shoots. Modern camera design has definitely become generic and bland for sure after seeing these quirky old cameras you come across.
All that flooding stirring up the danger noodles and nope ropes? I assume it's got the rattlesnakes seeking drier land in your area.
Quote from SpruceBruce on October 16, 2021, 7:22 am@james-warner-b What an awesome pickup! It definitely looks like it took some inspiration from those ugly 90s telephoto zoom point and shoots. Modern camera design has definitely become generic and bland for sure after seeing these quirky old cameras you come across.
All that flooding stirring up the danger noodles and nope ropes? I assume it's got the rattlesnakes seeking drier land in your area.
haha - You know, I haven't seen any. There are a lot of snakes out here. I've seen some on my bike rides (and by see them I mean nearly run over them). But only during the hot summer months. Not sure where they go during this season. I am always a little scared with I stomp through the grass to get some of these pictures. One of these days 😬
