Hey folks - question about your preferred camera for taking near or in the water.
I was on my float tube this morning and fortunately had the insight to put my digital camera into a ziplock bag before heading out onto the water because the sewn-in pouches in the tube always sag into the water.
Which left me with pulling it out of the zip lock to take a pic - then back into the zip lock when done. Which is a total PITA when trying to fish.
Which leads me to my question - what do you do to keep your camera from getting soaked? Or do you have a camera that can handle the occasional splash or even a dip in the drink.
After doing the same “waterproofing by ziplock” as you’re doing for about 2 years, I got a Pentax Optio WS80 waterproof digital. Way less headache, way better pics than what I was using.
Check out the review in “product reviews” for the aqua pak or just go to waterproofcases.net
I just recently got case from there, and your camera becomes completely submersible. The quality of your pics is not impaired even though you are shooting through the case.
Hi jimmadsen I use a Panasonic Lumix FT1 it is waterproof and takes a pretty good picture even on the auto setting and has a huge amount of specialised settings as well.
Here is one with the camera setting on sunset
and one with the camera set to auto
I am not very good at taking pics and I do not understand most of the technical stuff but I love this camera. There are of course other brands of waterproof camera, but the Lumix has HD video as well and most of the others do not.
All the best.
Mike
Jim, I’ve been wanting to jump into a few of your threads but didn’t have any current info on the questions asked. I lived in Norman, Purcell and then Clinton from 1963 to 1965 and worked on ranches and farms around there. Also worked out at Little Axe on the dam project at what is now Thunderbird Lake.
Anyway, my camera is an Olympus 1050 waterproof and shock proof. I installed a lanyard in place of the wrist strap so I can wear it around my neck and have it handy on shore, wading or tubing. It has so many settings, great macro and shoots video with sound. It has two features called “shoot and select 1 and 2”. When you use this function it will keep shooting pics until you take your finger off the button. With that you can shoot the fish while it’s squirming around and then choose the best and delete the ones you don’t like. Pentax, Olympus, Fuji and several other brands have waterproof, freeze proof and anti-shock cameras that are good for fish/underwater pics. I did a lot of footwork and reading and question asking before getting mine. Good luck on you search and choice.
Welcome back to FAOL and keep us posted on your new warm water adventures. Jim
What DarrinG, Normand and Cold said. Have had a Pentax WP for a while now and it works fine without having to worry about a rainy day or dropping it in water that’s not too deep. Wife just got me a Kodak Playsport last week and haven’t had a chance to use it yet. Like the idea of image stabilization.
Last fall I bought a Fuji Z33 WP. It’s a nice little camera; 3 1/2" x 2 1/4" x 3/4" point-and-shoot, 10 megapixels, waterproof to 3 meters, and capable of shooting underwater. I put a loop of cord on it in lieu of the wrist strap so I can hang it around my neck and drop it inside the top of my waders. I found it on sale for $158.00 (a similar Olympus model was on sale at the same time for the same price.
I’ve been impressed with the quality of its pictures and all other aspects of its performance.
Preston makes a great point about looking for sales. Several photography retailer websites will put things on sale, often times with no apparent reason other than to make a sale. I got my WS80 well before the W90 was even announced, for almost $100 less than MSRP. I was debating a waterproof P&S or a more advanced “bridge” or a “traveler’s compact”, but when I saw the WS80 marked down that far, it made the decision for me.
…of course, now I’m still casually shopping around for that “advanced P&S”
hey everyone - excellent ideas - and I appreciate the personal insight. Definitely helps me narrow it down to a few good options. I plan to go out shopping in the next week or two - I’ll let you which one I get. REALLY interested in the ability to shoot video underwater - didn’t know that was possible now!
[[b]jimsnarocks[/b]](http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/../member.php?11741-jimsnarocks) - moved here to Norman last July and it really feels like home. Don't know if you saw the news, but the Tornado that came through here Mother's Day weekend completely wiped out the marina at lake Thunderbird. It's going to take them all summer to rebuild it. Broke my heart seeing all those boats twisted and stacked on top of one another.
I just started using the Olympus Stylus tough 6000 this season. So far it’s worked pretty well. I like the flexability of being able to experiment with under water pics as well as everything else. I’m still getting used to some of the settings but so far I’m happy with the results.
I find it easy to switch back and forth between auto and the scene settings. The rechargeable battery has not let me down yet over a weekend of fishing. Pictures crop well. We had a grizzly encouter one weekend and being a tad bit scared I only had time to snap a couple of pics before I put my camera away. It was on landscape but I cropped the pic down to get a decent view of the bear.
Fish shots have turned out nice as well. Camera tucks away nice in either a vest or pant pocket. Best of all it does not matter is she goes in for a dunk.
Guess this makes me the third or forth Pentax Optio ( WS80 ) user in this thread. Great little WP camera and with the current discounts being offered by some, it’s a pretty hard unit to pass up.
I’ve been using Pentax waterproof cameras since their first model came out - very happy with them. I keep my Optio W20 with me on the water (kayak, float tube, boat, wading, you name it). I bought a sturdy retractable clip for it (similar to what you’d have for holding your badge at work or the retractable thingies we keep forceps on when fishing - but sturdier). That keeps me less paranoid about it falling out of a pocket and sinking.
There are wrist straps available that will float your camera if it falls overboard. A bit bulky but it beats having your camera (and your latest pics) lost in a deep hole.
I would expect the competing offers to also be very good. Find the price point that works for your budget and the general look & feel that you like.
I tried waterproof housings for non-waterproof cameras. Way too much hassle. There are plenty of models available today that are waterproof without needing fancy additional headaches.
They’re great for taking underwater shots as well as just protecting your camera if it falls in.