digital cameras ?

[fishkopp]

Do any of you muskie nuts use digital cameras for fish pictures? And what kind do you prefer? The reason I ask ,is ,I don't have a clue to what ones are the best to use and for ease of operation.

thanks guys

mike

[Greg T.]

Mike:
I use a digital camera and have used several. Here are some tips for what you should look for.

1. Resolution: 3 megapixel cameras - good prints up to 8x10, 2 megapixel - prints up to 5x7. I would not recommend anything below a 2 megapixel camera. If you are just going to use it for pictures to send via email, a 2 megapixel camera will do just fine.

2. Features: Optical zoom - Most cameras have an optical zoom. I have one that is 6x optical and 3x digital zoom. Movie clip mode, ability to change settings, i.e. white balance, aperture, iso, etc.

3. The larger the pixels the more storage each picture will take on the media that is used to store the pictures. Typical medium are Smartmedia and Compactflash. Sony uses their own proprietary medium.

4. Accessories - Look to see what the camera includes, i.e. Storage card, a/c adapter, battery charger, lens cap, etc.

5. I highly recommend getting a camera that includes a lithium ion battery. AA batteries do not last very long.

6. Price - Do some shopping. Go to www.dpreview.com. This is a good site that has many reviews.

If you want a high quality camera, I would stick with Canon, Fuji, or Olympus. Fuji's are good if you get their higher end (6900z). That is what I have and it takes really good pictures and has a lot of options.

If you want more info, email me at gthem@columbus.rr.com

Good luck.
Greg

[TECK]

That is the only way to go. I take one or two pic. and then the camera set for up to a year . With digital iI get the pic right away.
Neat I got one for my wife and now i use it all the time. great pic's

[dougj]

Greg:

You seem to have a handle on these, I'm kinda thinking about one also.

My big question is are any of these in anyway water resistant?

I've personally ruined a few 35mm's with a dousing in the rain, or by forgetting the camera in a "dry storage" area in the boat when it rains hard.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Doug Johnson

[Jim Roerig]

I just got an Olympus camedia for xmas. It's nice and compact and appears to be sealed pretty good. I think a hard rain could get into the batteries and or media card which would be bad news. I'll think I'll bring some gallon plastic freezer bags along in my boat for storage of this thing in case of rain. Can't wait to try it out on fish.

[Greg T.]

Doug:

I believe some of the cameras have a waterproof cover, but I have not used or seen them. They are probably pretty pricey also. I would think that the cover may make it difficult if you need to make some adjustments. I will do some checking for you. It seems to me that maybe Canon or Casio made something like that. I will post my results. If you want any other info, feel free to email me at gthem@columbus.rr.com

Good luck.
Greg Them
www.pikemastersonline.com

[fishkopp]

Thanks for all the great info guys.

good hunting to all

mike

[Tomyv]

I had one, it got doused with rain, now I have one that doesn't work.

[JBlanck]

This may sound a little goofy, and some of my fishing partners have laughed about it, but I keep a small umbrella in the boat with me for the reason you guys are talking about. If there is a fish caught in a down pour, I can still get a good picture and not ruin the camera. I have one that folds up and the handle retracts so it fits out of the way in a storage compartment. Pictures can still be taken with one hand. It also comes in handy when you want to have a sandwhich and don't want to leave the water. Jeff

[iamwalleye1]

my Kodak DX 3700 is water resistant! ThHis is a great Digital camera. 6x zoom and you can add a pcmci card I can hold 200 picture in mine! The batteries only last for 50! I would get the rechargeables. You have to get the ones for digital camera.

[Tom B]

I would not want to get any of the digital cameras real wet, even the resistant ones. There are waterproof housings made that are very reasonbly priced, but they make operating the camera more difficult.

Always buy the highest pixel count that you can afford. It seems that almost everyone is using digital now, which is fine, unless you want to submit pictures to a magazine, then, there is a huge quality problem. If you get a 3.1 mga-pixel camera and always use the "best" quality setting, your photos will look as good as a 35 mm. You can always reduce the file size with your computer (making them easy to email), but if the res is low when you take the pic, you cannot add any to make them printable in a magazine.

Tom B

[out2llunge]

You can try using a waterproof case. Pelican (Minicase 1200) makes a very good case, strong and waterproof. Check out this link price in CDN $ http://www.mec.ca/Main/activity_main_hikingcamping.jsp

Cheers,

J.P.

www.geocities.com/out2llunge or www.out2llunge.cjb.net

[DR]

I recommend buying the cheapest dang one you can find! Play with it, use it, make sure it's "what you really want" then after attaining the knowledge, go buy a nice one, IF that's what YOU want!

Now, with that said, I'm gonna get a LOT of flack here but, what the #####. Righ now Office Max has a digital camera on sale, regular price is $60.00, on sale for $24.99!!! yes I said 25 bucks! It comes with everything you need to put it online, cables, software, the whole nut. The one thing it DOESN'T HAVE is the ability to show you the pic instantly on the back of the camera, but who cares! thats what runs the batteries down fast on other camera's anyway. It holds 20 high resolution pics or 80 low res.

I LOVE MINE! I keep it in a dry box on the boat, or take it anywhere I want, for $25.00 how the heck could you go wrong??? and you know what? the pic's look GREAT I mean REALLY good.

I'd post a pic here from the camera, if I knew how to get it on this thread.

DR

[Da Bears]

Best advice-Go to a camera shop and talk with an expert. I went to Wolf Camera with my heart set on buying a digital camera, and got talked out of it. You will not get anywhere near the quality of photos that a good 35mm will take, and that came from one of the camera shop people. The guy told me that if I wanted to print some pictures, 35mm blows away digital. The digital is nice and convenient, but to take the same quality of pictures that a 35mm will take, you will spend well over $1000. It all depends on what you will do with the pictures. Ask a camera shop person though, they will be glad to help!Good luck!

DB

[magoo]

I have a aps camera from cannon. I have a crack in the viewfinder but the elfs take great pictures. I saw one that wolf camera sells that is waterproof, it floats, it is from cannon, you can take great pictures whether panoramic, or the square kind. and it is autofocus. 179.00