Canoe with a View : : Canadian Open Canoe forum

Are you a happy snapper or a dedicated camera geek who knows his f numbers from his shutter speed?

One of the most common gear questions I hear is "What camera do you use/recommend?" So give us the benefit of your experience tell us what you use and how it suits your paddling photography.

Hi Alan this is something that I'm interested in, My Camera is the OLYMPUS 850 SW 8.0 Megapixel, and my pic's a still crap, as you know and I say this without meaning to be patronising, your pics are always bloody good, and with respect I dont think its the camera that is the most important, but the photographer, you seem to be able to capture the moment that is a skill, not so much the camera, anyway I think you know what I mean as I have often remarked on your pics, also Gav; is quite good, and no, the rest of you Guys and Gals, this doesn't mean your pics are no good, its just that mine dont seem to be as good and its not due to the camera, as I copied from Redframe who always produces good pic's so I thought, If I have the same camera, well the rest is obvious.
Regards Bill

(02-04-09 07:53 AM)Canalvoyageur Wrote: [ -> ]Hi Alan this is something that I'm interested in, My Camera is the OLYMPUS 850 SW 8.0 Megapixel, and my pic's a still crap, as you know and I say this without meaning to be patronising, your pics are always bloody good, and with respect I dont think its the camera that is the most important, but the photographer, you seem to be able to capture the moment that is a skill, not so much the camera, anyway I think you know what I mean as I have often remarked on your pics, also Gav; is quite good, and no, the rest of you Guys and Gals, this doesn't mean your pics are no good, its just that mine dont seem to be as good and its not due to the camera, as I copied from Redframe who always produces good pic's so I thought, If I have the same camera, well the rest is obvious.
Regards Bill

The person behind the camera being more important than the camera is an old saying with a lot of truth. I was saving the idea of picture taking tips for a future thread though. I'll post details of my camera when I get home from work - you can tell I'm no geek as I can't remember anything more than that it's an Olympus.


Reason for edit:Fixed quote.

Olympus Mui 790SW



If you want to concentrate on the paddling and only want a camera that will stand up to a wet environment and is a step up from a cheap compact automatic this one might be just up your street.

You can see a review of all its features here I've been using it for a year now and can vouch for it being waterproof as I've dropped it in the water getting out of the boat more than once. It does all I want it to and a lot more besides that I've never got around to understanding.

If I had to complain about one feature it would be the back display. As large as it is I never really manage these well and much prefer an old fashioned eye piece. This is a model range that seems to upgrade every year so I've no doubt this one may already have been updated.

I'm more of a happy snapper! But would love to get into serious 35mm digital photography if only I had the £££s!

I have a Fuji Finepix S5700. A seven mega pixel camera with 10x optical zoom. It was an anniversary presie a couple of years ago, my wife choosing it as she had heard me going on about having one, I think pestering is what she said!

To be honest it is quite cumbersome when canoeing, always fiddling trying to retrieve it from its thwart-bag home. It does take reasonably good shots. the optical zoom is fantastic, tis one of the cheapest super zoom camras on the market, never used macro never really understood it. I do have it set on its full settings for highest resolution possible.

I learnt a lot about photography when 25 years ago I bought a 35mm Minolta X300, this camera was completely manual, including zoom, so I had to learn about f stops and depths of field etc,etc.

I took a lot of photo's with this camera and had some great photo moments with it. Now we have the 35mm digital camera's, but I have not invested in one, not so much because of the cost, but also the size. It is a bit like owning a large and small pair of binocula's (As I do) The small ones are going to get used more because of the convenience of size.

I am not knocking the digital SLR's, they take great photo's, it is just that I think these new compact camera's are a good compromise, I like the fact that you can just slip them in your pocket, rather than carry a camera around in a shoulder bag.

That was a long winded way of saying I have a Sony Cybershot 5 Million pixel, had it for a couple of years now, and very pleased with the photo's it produces, I have even been approached by a publishing company that is bringing out a river guide in September, to ask if they can use one of my photo's that I took with it at St Patricks Stream last year, so must'nt grumble, it is a good camera.

(02-04-09 07:53 AM)Canalvoyageur Wrote: [ -> ]Hi Alan this is something that I'm interested in, My Camera is the OLYMPUS 850 SW 8.0 Megapixel, and my pic's a still crap, as you know and I say this without meaning to be patronising, your pics are always bloody good, and with respect I dont think its the camera that is the most important, but the photographer, you seem to be able to capture the moment that is a skill, not so much the camera, anyway I think you know what I mean as I have often remarked on your pics, also Gav; is quite good, and no, the rest of you Guys and Gals, this doesn't mean your pics are no good, its just that mine dont seem to be as good and its not due to the camera, as I copied from Redframe who always produces good pic's so I thought, If I have the same camera, well the rest is obvious.
Regards Bill

I no nothing about photography I use a fuji Fine pix A850 biufht in Asda a couple of months ago for £49.99.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN...I2MC333402

I don't use the manual settings only alternate bettween auto and landscape settings and thats it, before that I had a Samsung 5 mega pix job. At first I thought this took better pics than the Fuji but now I have a handle on the landscape setting the pics are of equal standered.
I must say I don't like these water proof cameras. I have used Lees quite a bit and there lack of optical zoom puts me off a normal cam is just as quick if not quicker some times ask Alan on Lock Ken when running down to the viduct.
I keep mine in one of the water proof boxes from Windermere Canoe and Kayak a couple of snap catches and it's to hand no probs With the little water proof jobs I have found if you keep them on your BA they suffer from water on the lens now and again and this can ruin a good pic To get the most out of them you have to know what your doing with the settings, and thats not for me just point and shoot.
One tip I would pass is if its a great view or a pic take three or four pics and select the best one.
I don't photo shop my pics either stright off the gun so to speak.

(03-04-09 06:49 AM)Retro Wrote: [ -> ]

(02-04-09 07:53 AM)Canalvoyageur Wrote: [ -> ]Hi Alan this is something that I'm interested in, My Camera is the OLYMPUS 850 SW 8.0 Megapixel, and my pic's a still crap, as you know and I say this without meaning to be patronising, your pics are always bloody good, and with respect I dont think its the camera that is the most important, but the photographer, you seem to be able to capture the moment that is a skill, not so much the camera, anyway I think you know what I mean as I have often remarked on your pics, also Gav; is quite good, and no, the rest of you Guys and Gals, this doesn't mean your pics are no good, its just that mine dont seem to be as good and its not due to the camera, as I copied from Redframe who always produces good pic's so I thought, If I have the same camera, well the rest is obvious.
Regards Bill

I no nothing about photography I use a fuji Fine pix A850 biufht in Asda a couple of months ago for £49.99.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN...I2MC333402

I don't use the manual settings only alternate bettween auto and landscape settings and thats it, before that I had a Samsung 5 mega pix job. At first I thought this took better pics than the Fuji but now I have a handle on the landscape setting the pics are of equal standered.
I must say I don't like these water proof cameras. I have used Lees quite a bit and there lack of optical zoom puts me off a normal cam is just as quick if not quicker some times ask Alan on Lock Ken when running down to the viduct.
I keep mine in one of the water proof boxes from Windermere Canoe and Kayak a couple of snap catches and it's to hand no probs With the little water proof jobs I have found if you keep them on your BA they suffer from water on the lens now and again and this can ruin a good pic To get the most out of them you have to know what your doing with the settings, and thats not for me just point and shoot.
One tip I would pass is if its a great view or a pic take three or four pics and select the best one.
I don't photo shop my pics either stright off the gun so to speak.

Generally I don't find the Olympus I use is fiddily - it's more me being fussy trying to compose the shot that takes the time. I'm inclined, in retrospect, to doubt the value of waterproofness. In practice you try and keep it dry anyway and if you drop it overboard in the middle of Ullswater waterproofness isn't going to help. It does mean though that I can keep it in my BA pocket - can't say I have had the misting problem mentioned. Previously I used to keep my old digital camera in a dry bag.

"To Photo Shop or not to Photo Shop" now that's a whole other question which we can come to in another thread.

(03-04-09 09:39 AM)aslan Wrote: [ -> ]. It does mean though that I can keep it in my BA pocket - can't say I have had the misting problem mentioned.

Misted on a water proof olympus still kind'a works though.

You're right Gav, it does kinda work. Photographers would faf about for ages to create an image like that
I like it!

As far as i have been told the human eye only sees 2megapixels so you only need more if you wish to greatly enlarge your pictures, my girlfriend is a bit more serious a photographer than me and uses a 14mp job but no good for your pocket as it's the size of a bus but she tends to take a pic and then cut a small area to enlarge. I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 which is spot on but not waterproof and to big really as it has to live in a box so not easy to hand if a good pic oppertunity arrises in the canoe. i now need a waterproof camera just for my canoeing are there any cheap ones out there??

I used to carry a Canon 20D in a pelican case, that is until I dropped it into the ocean off Hunter Island on the North Coast where I learned quickly that dSLR's do not like salt water.

I now own a Canon 40D but, I think this is a lot of camera for a paddling purposes. The Pelican 1500 case alone takes up a chunk of valuable space that most might not be willing to surrender for a camera. Ever notice how when ever you look at someone's paddling trip pictures, the water is always calm and everything looks so pleasant? Well paddlers understand that when the sea is rough and the rain is pelting, your camera is always locked safely away in it's water tight case.

I think Canon finally now has a solution for this problem that just might have good enough image quality to convince me.

The Canon PowerShot D10

- 12.1 megapixels
- 3x optical zoom (35-105mm film equivalent)
- Image stabilization
- Waterproof to 33 feet
- Shock resistant to 4 feet
- Digic 4 processor
- Takes movies
- Suggested retail price: $330 US

When I lost my 20D and 18-55 f2.8 lens I was lying on my back while atop a huge boulder during high tide. I was taking a picture of the night sky as the milky way was absolutely brilliant that night. I'd just taken a great 15 second exposure and was trying to slide out from under my Manfrotto tripod when my shoulder bumped one of the legs... next thing I heard was SPLASH!

Here is the very last two shots my Canon 20D ever took.

The orange glow off the trees is from my camp fire, although I was no where near my fire the long exposure absorbed the light it anyway.


And the last shot, with no trees in the frame.

Wow!

I have used a Pentax Optio W20. Waterproof to 5ft so it lives in my BA pocket secured by a lanyard. It's not the best at pictures at 7mp but then neither am I but it's so easy to use even when the conditions are less than ideal. The only problem being water on the lens.

(05-05-09 08:14 AM)LAS247 Wrote: [ -> ]I have used a Pentax Optio W20.

The only problem being water on the lens.

Never had the water on the lens issue with the Olympus, dunno if the Pentax has the same lens cover mechanism as the Olympus.

Lives in the BA pocket, swims like a fish, and, for what it is, takes the odd decent shot, only use one setting when paddling - Auto.

Cheers
Red.

Like bbdave I also have a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 which takes great photos but it is a bit bulky and doesn't swim well. So for paddling I have a Traveler 6Mpixel waterproof camera from ALDI last year for £50 including 2 sets of rechargable batteries and a charger!!!!. I'm not sure but I believe that Vivitar make them and package them up as Treveler for Aldi (I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong). It is waterproof to 30m and has big simple chunky buttons that you can use with cold hands or gloves on. It's rubberised so it will take a few knocks and even comes with a floating strap so that if you drop it it won't descend to the depths (I must get round to testing that in a waterbutt before I need it for real). It even has an underwater mode for taking pics underwater. I have a feeling that this may be useful for teaching rolling as with a simple scuba mask I can take short vids of people rolling from underwater to help correct their technique but I haven't tried this yet. My main niggle with it is that it only has a screen and no viewfinder and I much prefer to use the little viewfinder window. That said it is aimed at people wanting the underwater capability so I guess the screen is much more practical with a mask on.