The Small Boat Camera Geek thread.....

[AdriftAtSea]

Good point Fortis... a three-year old is going to have a tough time damaging a Stylus SW series camera... since dropping it and getting it wet are the two biggest risks... however, my nephews at that age, would have been opening the latches and then dropping it in the toilet... and the camera isn't waterproof if the little doors for the memory or data cable aren't sealed. :)

[AdriftAtSea]

For anyone looking for a compact, waterproof digital camera to use on your boat, the Olympus Stylus 1050 SW is on sale with a 2 GB card for just $172.

It's a 10.1 MP camera with 3.0x optical zoom.  I've got the older model, a 1030 SW, which I use on my boat as a day-to-day boat camera.  The major differences between the 1030 and the 1050 are the 1030 is waterproof to a greater depth, 33' vs. 10'; the 1030 has a wider zoom range, 3.6x vs. 3.0x; and the 1030 is advertised as "crushproof" to 220 lbs., which the touch screen based 1050 isn't.

Both use a semi-proprietary XD card, but come with an adapter that allows you to use a microSD card instead.

For more info, click HERE

[Fortis]

The XD card is not really proprietary, as they are built for about five major camera brands...And I would not use an sd card instead. The XD seems to store more info for the same capacity. I use an 8gig card in mine and I have never managed to fully fill it even with multiple movies etc.

By comparison, I can fill two 4gig sd cards on a friend's kodak camera in one event-laden day just for stills.


Alex

[AdriftAtSea]

Alex-

Hate to disagree, but the XD card is semi-proprietary.  Only two vendors I know of use it.  The Memory Stick is proprietary, since only Sony uses it.  This is from one of the digital photography websites:

Introduced by Olympus and Fuji in 2002, the xD Picture card is the newest digital camera memory format. Its tiny size - 0.97" x 0.98" x 0.67" - means it can be used in very small cameras. The xD Picture Card can also be used in any CompactFlash compatible camera with the available CompactFlash adapter. It's currently available in capacities up to 512 MB, with larger capacity cards to be available soon.

Since it was developed and introduced by Olymous and Fuji, most current compact digital cameras from those manufacturers use the xD Picture Card media.

The XD card does not store more information than the SD card.  An 8GB card is an 8GB card.  What it may be is that the two different cameras are using different video codecs and different resolutions.  For instance, if a camera is storing photos in RAW format, they are going to be considerably larger files than a camera of the same resolution storing JPG files. Two cameras of the same resolution, storing files in JPG format, can have vastly differing capacities, based on the JPG compression algorithm used, and what level of quality the JPG files were compressed to.

[thistlecap]

For a really good review and comparison of outdoor, rugged cameras, check www.paddling.net/photography/cameras//html.  If anything, the cameras regularly used in canoes and kayaks might have to endure more severe conditiions than most of us experience.

[Joe Pyrat]

http://www.paddling.net/photography/cameras.html

[s/v Faith]

Never did pull the triger on the Olympus Stylus 1050 SW Dan recommneded.  Dad sent me a Sony T-1 (IIRC) which is an amazing camera, and has worked very well.  It stopped working last time we anchored out to watch the Blue Angles, I kept it protected, but I am afraid the salt air and high humity were too much for it.

  In preperateion for the new gallery I am FINALLY going to get a camera.

I read there is an Olympus '6000' series that is waterproof and has a newer, better lens.


  What do the camera geeks say?  770sw?  850sw? or have other brands poped up with good cameras that are small boat friendly?

Thanks,

[Oldrig]

Here's a link to a recent (July 24) article in the New York Times comparing the latest crop of waterproof digital cameras. I can't verify the writer's judgements, but here they are:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/23/technology/personaltech/23basics.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=waterproof%20cameras&st=cse

--Joe

[AdriftAtSea]

nice article, but has a lot of missing information. 

For instance, the Olympus cameras come with an adapter that allow you to use a MicroSDHC flash card in it.  The MicroSDHC cards are very inexpensive and available in sizes up to 16 GB.  BTW, haven't tried the 16GB cards in the Olympus 1030SW I have, but normally use the camera with an 8GB MicroSD card in it. :)

As for recommendations, other than the type of card the camera uses, I'd still recommend the Olympus ruggedized cameras, like the 1030SW, which is about $260 street retail ATM.

The Canon Powershot D10 is a pretty good choice, but a lot bulkier than the Olympus cameras and still has a higher street retail (about $300).

[s/v Faith]

Thanks to you both, the article pretty much leads me back to the Olympus that Dan had originally recommended.

  I am looking at this one.

Olympus-Stylus-Tough-6000-Waterproof-Blue

  It looks like the same 10mp camera as the 1050sw, but with a new lens and a slightly longer batery life... for less money.   ;D

  If anyone sees one on sale, please let me know. 

[AdriftAtSea]

Street price on the 6000 is about $225...

[s/v Faith]

11 days later.....

  Would it be worth it for the casual user to upgrade from the 6000 to the 8000?  If the 6000 has the new optics, why is the 1030 still more expensive? 

  I know I am beating this dead horse to death, but I really hate spending a couple boat bucks to be less then happy with the result. 

  My need of a new camera is so great, I have my new head... still in the box... awaiting a camera so I can take it out to take pictures and install it.

  Yes, it IS indeed a sad state of affairs....  :P

[AdriftAtSea]

The 6000 is only waterproof to 3 meters... not the 10 meters of the 1030..... that makes a big difference in the price of the cameras. AFAICT, most of the other specs are very similar—10.1 MP, 3.6x Optical zoom, etc.. Price difference is about $30 street retail IIRC.

[max_hyde]

I own a Olympus Stylus 790W, which i've had for a couple of years, awesome camera, good pics, very rugged as my hobbies get a bit extreme (downhill mountainbiking, snowboarding, dinghy sailing, kayaking, hiking) had no problems but the only criticism I can give it is the video camera is awful, but as its sold as a camera thats a minor glitch. Got stung a bit on the XD card which cost me in excess of £50 ($75) but was going on holiday and needed it asap, so had to pay through the nose! Very easy to clean just put it under a lukewarm tap and turn it on and off which opens the lens cover, pretty neat idea, as we use it just for taking snaps think its the ideal camera, oh and the macro lens is very good, cheers max

[s/v Faith]

Ok, one last post with questions and I am going to buy the camera.  The 1050 SW seems to be the cheapest right now.... cheaper then the 1050.  The one I THINK I want is the 8000, but the 6000 looks good too.  Will anyone who is a casual user be able to tell the difference between a 10mp camera and a 12 mp camera?

[s/v necessity]

NO.   Megapixel is really not that critical, it's far less important than lens quality, and overall quality of the camera and it's components.  I personally owned an old canon point and shoot 2mp camera that took much better pictures than than many newer 5-6 mp cameras (including the newer canons.)  10 vs 12?  You wont be able to tell the difference.  In fact I often suggest to friends and relatives to buy the lower MP camera (when everything else is the same) simply cause the price difference can be pretty big sometimes.  Just like with computers, having the newest bleeding edge model can cost you A LOT more, and yield relatively few benefits for the premium price.

Ken explains it pretty well here:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/mpmyth.htm

[ThistleCap]

Megapixels has to do with the picture quality or grain content--the number of dots per square inch that comprise the picture.  An easy comparison is high or low definitiion in TV.  For snapshots, no, it isn't a critical issue because you'll always be dealing with 3 X 5 to 5 X 7 print sizes.  To the average eye, there will be little to no difference.  However, if you ever want to enlarge to 8 X 10 or larger, the difference will quickly become apparent in graininess.  Larger poster size enlargements will be impossible if you want to retain any picture quality.  If you ever wish to use the shots for story illustration, many print magazines will refuse to accept shots below a certain megapixel quality.  You will see this if you look at better quality publications like Good Old Boat or Small Craft Advisor and check their criteria for picture submittal.  Another area where it will really matter is if you plan to crop pictures.  If the desired area of your picture only fills 20% of the frame, and you crop down 80% and then enlarge, it will show up big time.  Whether you subscribe to the megapixel debate or not, many will not accept pictures below about 8 mp.  As for 10 vs 12, many professional photographers are still using 10 mp., even for sports photography, which is often greatly enlarged.  Just like choosing a boat, the first question is about what you're going to use the camera for.  For family pictures, it will make little difference.  For professional shooting, you have to meet the demands of the buyer.

[s/v Faith]

I finally did it.  I put it off, and finally pulled the trigger.

 Thanks to all who helped, I will post my impressions when I get it.  I found the

Olympus 6000 'Tough' 10mp camera for $225!

 I passed on the 8000 because I agree with THistleCap & s/v necessity, I am not likely to notice the difference.  I like the 1030SW, but read that the newer generation are more battery friendly.  I am sure I would have been happy with the 1030 though.

 The best price was at NewEgg.com (where Kurt had originally recommended I look).  It was funny though, the same camera in Blue was $10 more then the one in yellow.   ???

 I used a promo code I found online, and got $10 off which paid for the shipping.   ;D

[tomwatt]

Good for you!
Being able to shoot without fear will help a lot... I went on a Caribean cruise (a cruise ship) with my family last winter, and saw a guy sitting in the lounge with his nice Nikon camera... his girlfriend berating him because he was afraid to take it outside and expose it to the salt air.
For me the solution was a Canon digital ELPH plus waterproof housing... total ran just over $300 for the pile of goodies. It is waterproof to 30 meters, and easy to use.
The downside, for me anyway, is it in no way compares to my 'real' Canon cameras with L series lenses. But the waterproof housing for those is cost prohibitive.

[Delezynski]

Faith,

You are going to love it! We have been using an older model of it (the 720SW) for some time now. Takes great photos and was wonderful when I managed to sink our dink (a long story) and realized it was in my pocket. A quick fresh water rinse and all was great!

Most of the photos on our web pages for 2007 and on were taken with it.

I am about to send ours in for new seals (apx. $30.00) and they say it's tested and good to go.

Greg