New Blog / Launch Camera

I was never happy with my older Nikon S9200 camera.
The burst mode took only 3 shots per second and there was "fun house mirror" distortion. Half the time the camera wouldn't shut off! You had to remove the battery for the lens to retract.

After doing some research, I bought this Canon SX280 HS on Ebay for $135.00. A good price considering the original retail was over $300. The camera has a 20X zoom.
(On my recent trip to California I stopped in at Radio shack. They were blowing them out for $99.00. Apparently this model has been discontinued.) Online reviews say the battery drain is heavy when videotaping.

The online specs say the camera can take a quick 14 pictures per second. It's actually 7 pictures per half second. Still, enough to get better launch pictures. Finding the High Speed Burst mode took some time, it's under the SCN menu on the function wheel.
I depress the shutter halfway down (to lock the focus) and wait for the first "hiss" of the engine ignition. The shutter is fully depressed and the camera snaps seven pictures very quickly.

There are more expensive SLR cameras that take quick burst pictures. This was the first reasonably priced "Point and Shoot" size camera I found that had the 7 shot burst and a 20X zoom. Most cameras in this price range have a 3 picture per second burst.

Compared to my older camera there doesn't seem to be any real distortion from picture to picture. All seven shots are downloaded like normal single shot pictures.
You should notice better launch pictures on the blog. The Bunnell Blast launch pictures (including the exploding Spudnik) were taken with the new camera.