Many of you all are posting great quality photos of the flies you tie.
I would love to post my own photos, to get a critique on my work and pointers on how to improve my tying. The only camera I have that actually works right now is my Kodak Playsport. It’s more for video than stills. Focal length is about 4 1/2’, so any fly “in focus” is to small to see. I do have a Nikon D40, but the lens is broken and needs to be replaced. For the kind of money I would have to flip out to replace that, I can BUY another camera that would work.
I run Canon gear and have a number of bodies and a ridiculous number of really good lenses… And I truly mean ridiculous…
And my waterproof, shockpoof, Olympus Stylus 850SW point and shoot has repeatedly taken marketable photos that rival my best Canon gear… The Olympus is old enough it is available at steeply discounted prices. It will do everything you need and more.
Byron
It does very well on macro. I sell more than a few images every year and am tough on camera gear… These are bombproof (though I find them easy to lose…)
art
Check with CameraLand NY and ask for Joel. His brother Doug comes to Kodiak fishing every year with me. 2013 will be the “8th Annual Once in a Lifetime Alaska Fishing Trip” for us. Tell them I told you to call and they might not throw you out!
Another vote for the Olympus 850 SW. I’ve been using one for about four and a half years now. Every pic I’ve posted here on the BB or in my FOTW articles on the Home Page and in the FOTW archives was taken with the 850 SW.
Nikon D40 with the 18-55mm lens that came with the camera. No real need for macro capability except for real tiny stuff. By the way you can get the non VR version of this lens for about $120, and a refurbished version for $95 (I buy a lot of refurbished canon and nikon products.) You can get a refurbished VR version for about $110. Check Adorama or B&H photo or the Nikon Outlet on the Nikon online store website. So you can get a new lens for about the same as a good quality inexpensive digital point and shoot.
I also sometimes use a 55-200 zoom lens fitted with a Canon 500D screw on close up lens on the Nikon D40.
I much prefer the depth of field and exposure control I have with the DSLR but sometimes use a point and shoot.
For quick snaps I often us an old 2MP Nikon 2200 Coolpix point and shoot. Works great for web shots. I also use a Canon A70, Canon A1200 and a Canon SD980.
With today’s cameras, if you spend more than $80 you will likely have something that will produce good images for posting on the web. More important will be keeping the camera stead (tripod or some other fixed mount) and your lighting setup.
If you think of me as a Nikon version of Hap you’ll not be far out. Though my macro lens died a few years ago and I’ve not been in a position to replace it yet. In the mean time I’m using extension tubes behind the lens.
Depth of field is usually good on the P&S cameras as they usually have quite short lenses. If you are worried about it get more light in there. This will shut the aperture down and increase DoF.
Take a look on ebay for an 18 - 55 Nikkor for your D40 That and a set of extension tubes shouldn’t set you back much over $100, and produce great results.
… and the Pentax Optio series specifically - they are both great cameras and both take great pix. I’ve seen pix taken with Pentax Optio cameras that make me drool.
BUT how well a camera suits you is as important as the quality of the images it can produce. In my case, the menus and features of the Olympus were the deciding factor. I first looked at the Pentax and found navigating it difficult. I picked up the Olympus and it just “worked” for me immediately.
As to macro for small flies with the Olympus - this one is a size 22 …
… shot in natural light streamside with a TFO BVK built by BB member Apachetrout for background effect.
Most modern digital cameras have a decent macro setting. The real trick is lighting. If you can get the lighting right without using the flash, most will take good pictures of flies at close range. You can always back off a few inches and the use the zoom to get the close shot.
I use a Panasonic Lumix TS20 waterproof camera and get good shots. It has a marco minimum focal length of 1.97". It is $119 at Amazon.com right now. I use a JANSJO LED light from IKEA that only costs $10. I use a flat black or flat white backdrop, depending on the fly color.
I use a Panasonic Lumix DMC TS-2. This series of cameras has consistently outperformed other waterproof cameras because of it’s German Leica lens. My belief is that the without good glass, you can’t get good photos.
The Panasonic Lumix TS4 comes out on top in current (2013) reviews. It takes photos and 720 P HD video also:
Here is an underwater photo that my son took of his dog retrieving a ball thrown into his swimming pool. You can see the distorted reflection of my son with swimming goggles in the surface mirror. The detail in the original photo is crisp and even the small bubbles are clearly seen. Note the crisp printing on the front side of the ball.
Sadly, many reviewers fail to understand basics when they sign on to do them… The Panasonic is a fail compared to a good point and shoot unless 100% of your shooting will be in great light. The f-stop range of the camera cramps its capabilities dramatically. Yet none of the reviews noted that fact. Kicking up the iso to compensate was their answer. That is great if you like noise. Noise to ISO is not usually linear.
For most people the Panasonic is a great choice and for web shooting it is just fine, but for anything serious it is not going to cut it. Suggesting it beats the Olympus when you do not even mention a critical detail is hardly a real comparison.
The first link gives a whole half-point in total score to the Panasonic because it has “live chat” with its customer service?!?!
art laughing
For posting fly images, i.e. web use, different criteria apply from the more conventional snapping family scenes, landscapes, fish, etc.
The key deliverable is: excellent DoF (Depth of Field) as many flies are ‘deep’ objects, with the wound hackle and flaring wings
This is what I would look for in a camera for the purpose described:
good glass
small sensor, coupled with short focal length
ability to save images in uncompressed form (tiff, or raw)
manual white balance
full manual - to set own shutter and aperture combination
high F-number ability (minimum f8, but preferred >f8.x) in the camera’s macro range
user defined focus area
closeup ability - think full frame on a #12 dry fly, or better
Of no real importance:
high mega pixel (for the indicated use 3mp more than adequate)
optical viewfinder
water proof
Like Hap, and AlanB, I have a string of cameras, and high end lenses, but to this day I have not found a better tool for photographing fishing flies (and I do shoot many more of those than most for Flytier’s Page) than the very dated, very humble Nikon CoolPix 995. It ticks all the relevant boxes.
This camera is long out of production, but is readily available on the used camera market (eBay, Craig’s List, Kajiji, etc) for very little money. For those who would like to check it out, I recommend getting the optional AC adapter.
Not saying that there are not many other capable cameras for the job on the market - and a dozen or so I have pitted against the CP 995 in my own quest for the better mouse trap. I just have not found one I consider an upgrade, nor even a match.
Hans, has some great points. I’d also like to add another consideration. Type of battery. The Pentax has a Lipo battery, which is nice most of the time, except for when it dies and you would like to throw some AA’s in and can’t. So I also recommend that you consider that. Nothing like being half way through a hike and having your battery die, and unable to replace the battery.
For high quality Macros I steal my wife’s Canon Rebel xTI, and her macro lens.
My Olympus 850 SW is doing fine with the original battery after four and a half years and somewhere around 10,000 pix. I do regularly charge it after only three or four outings to be on the safe side.
Hans does make a good argument for a “limited use” camera. But for an all around outdoors / fishing camera, it’s hard to beat the waterproof, shockproof, and freeze proof cameras like the Olympus SW and Tough and the Pentax Optio cameras. I am curious about the Panasonic Lumix TS20 mentioned by dunfly. But I won’t be looking until the Olympus stops doing what it has been doing.
My second camera is similar to yours - a Canon Rebel Xsi. But I don’t have the macro lens, which is kind of pricey for that camera.
Can’t you get a good camera that uses a common battery (AAA, AA, etc.,) put rechargeable lithium batteries and achieve about the same thing that the speciality batteries do.
A second question, I was at a consignment shop where they had an earlier version of the Elph camera, which I have been told does a great job. However, they did not have the charger and connections to download photos. Can those things easily be picked up? Where would you look for them?
