Cheap high speed cameras

[MrCrowley]

Also take a look at Casio's newer EX-FH100... it's got the backlit CMOS sensor of the EX-FC150 and EX-FH25, with a nice big zoom lens which does good wide-angle as well. It's pretty lacking in the macro department though.

Don't go with the older EX-FC100 or EX-FH20, as they use the old sensor which is considerably noisier than the one they're putting in the new cameras. If it says 'back lit CMOS', then it's got the newer one which copes much better in low light.

Thanks for the tip, I'm buying one soon. Surprisingly, I read a review where a guy said he reckons the FC100 had less noise than the 150.
What's the HD like on these cameras anyway?

[Insomniac]

It... does the job. On my FC100 though, there are some annoying isues (not sure of the other models, haven't really researched them).

First off (most minor annoyances), it's only 720p. So while it is very crisp and clear, it's not full HD. Secondly, indoors under bad light it suffers a lot, though I'm sure the newer backlit CMOS sensors do a lot better under these conditions.

The really annoying things are that you can't use optical zoom (this is fairly common on point-and-shoots), and that you can't adjust focus while filming! The EX-FS10 could autofocus while filming, but the EX-FC100 just instantly goes to the 'pan focus' mode whenever you hit record in HD. Pan focus mode is basically like the focus on a disposable camera... fixed, and ideal for things from a couple of meters to a few tens of meters away.

This is odd and backwards to how the HS movie focussing works... When you're gonna record something in high-speed, you half-depress the shutter button and the camera will focus using whatever method you're using (Auto, Macro, Pan Focus, Manual, or Infinite). You then hit the movie button and the focus will remain completely unchanged. If you can't autofocus when doing a video, this is the next best thing.

However, HD mode totally ignores your focus mode and current focus if you're in Auto or Macro modes... it just defaults to pan focus the moment you hit the button. The only way to, for instance, force it to focus up close is to manually focus it first, and then record. It will do what you'd expect if your camera is set on manual, pan focus or infinite focus modes. It just ignores you if you have it set on auto or macro. Dumb!

[Gun Freak]

The thing is we already have a great digital camera so they only reason I would buy a high speed if for just that- high speed. Looks like it isn't worth it, I'll invest the money in a new bike pump 8)