a40 - underwater, and videocam

[beivied]

Hi ...

just got this A40 babe not too long ago ... was wondering, how come the info showed that the max time capacity of the videocam is lets say 50 seconds, but it would stop recording itself by 25 seconds? and the next max videoclip length is actually 33seconds instead of another 25... anyone knows?

and I actually got this camera mainly for its underwater photography, but I am quite worried about the lighting and how the pictures may turn out... so I would actually like to ask the comments of users of A40 underwater.. would love to see your pictures too.

[JohnMN]

Hi Beivied

Another forum member asked a similar question a few weeks ago and I replied that maybe the contents of the video determines the length of it. I have never gotten 50 secs on one of these, are you sure it said 50 secs? Some videos last 10 secs, some 12 secs and some 15. When you take still images with your camera, you will notice that the file sizes diifer quite a lot. I think this has to do with the amount of detail, colour and other settings in the picture. The more information that has to be recorded in a picture, the bigger the file size. Also things like resolution and compression come into effect. That reminds me, what resolution and compression settings were you using when you managed to make a 50 sec video? I'd really like to know as I'm sure would everyone else.

JohnMN

[beivied]

Hi JohnMN

I didnt manage to make a 50 sec video, no no. What I meant was, when I switched to Video mode, it said the max capacity is 50 secs. and the recording mode has only two choices eh? 15/12 seconds or 30 seconds. But happened that the recording time was not constant. Hence my question. But I guess your analysis was useful. ^_^

I find that the recording time is constant with 160x120pixels. No matter under what condition, unless full cf card, it will be 30 seconds.

Just a comment: Canon A40 has an edge over other digital cameras eg Sony as SOny's digicams' video option cannot adjust any settings at all.

[JohnMN]

Apologies, I thought you meant you had recorded a 50 sec video. I know what you mean now, the time you are referring to depends on the size of the card you have installed in your camera. On my A40 I have a 64Mb card and it says there are 155 secs available to record video on at 320x240 resolution. Going back to what I said earlier about the images you are recording, the contents does effect the length aswell. I took some still pictures of the moon and a blue sky at dusk and the file size was 166Kb, then I took another picture of the front of my house which has more detail, colours and light levels etc and the file size was 655Kb. The settings on the camera weren't changed for either picture, but you can see how the amount of 'information' in a recorded picture effects file size. I would apply the same set up to video files aswell.

JohnMN

[beivied]

Hi JohnMN

for pictures, yes I noticed that ... for videos.. I would guess so ... hmm... but the length of video seem to differ time to time only for the 320x240 one. 160x120 is quite standard. Tried a few times.... probably the lower one doesnt take in so much detail.

[beivied]

Almost forgot... seems a pity that no one has answered regarding to underwater photography using A40. Does anyone like to share their experiences?

[boyle]

Hey,
I've got the underwater case for the A40 and have used it a little underwater... You can't really use the flash at all, so going to need a lot of natural light. I mostly bought it so I could canoe without worrying about dropping it in the water.

Anyway, since I'm not using it for diving deep I don't know how it behaves there, but I'd imagine that you'd have problems with longer exposures on auto...

As for the limited stuff I've done I was happy with the quality, and would recommend it.

[beivied]

wow, you bought the casing for canoeing? you must really love the sport to invest on this =)

[ScubaSteeeve]

I use the S 40 which has a slightly different casing but it has held up very well up to depths of 80 feet. It works great.