What Digi Camera Do You Use

[seqfisho]

Hi All,

Time to shake off the old technology and get with the 21st century and into a digital camera, to many rolls of film sitting around undeveloped and dont know whats on them (12 last count) :o ::)

I have been looking around and amazed how much prices have dropped, even since before Xmas, was looking at a Canon A85- 4mp 3x optical zoom 3x digital zoom and reasonably easy to operate, before Xmas around the $500 mark now seen em as low as $390 :o :o

My big question is to the guys on here that use them for fishing and boating, what have you got and how do you find it, are there things you wish you had or are many of the more advanced features just selling points.

Im really just want a reliable camera that doesn't take forever to be ready so you dont miss the action shots, robust and simple for people to pick up and use (hopefully the missus taking pics of all my great captures) ;D ;D

Would also like to know what you think of the memory types, sd cards memstik etc

Thanks in advance, Glen.

[Volvo]

:)Fujifinepix S3000....Takes nice pics but like most campacts suffers severly from shutter lag :(..
3.2 megapixel and for pricerange your looking at would be worth investigating the S5000, S5500 or for a few bikkies extra go the S7000..(Bit more resolution)
No i'm not a Camera Guru, just happy with what iv'e got so far till a Digi SLR comes along via santa ;D...
Guess it also depends what one wants to do with their camera ???...
Memory sticks/cards for yor Camera???Go for something that can store quite a few Pics in the higher resolution..ie; at least 250mg card....
Cheers

[Jay_S]

Glen,
If you want something you can throw in your pocket the Canon IXUSi for $299 is a beauty.
4.0 mega pixel 5.8 optical zoom ect but the best thing is it is really small. You don't have to worry about carrying it around. Preset it, push the button and away you go.You can buy whatever card you want. About $80 for a 256 mb card and you can fit heaps on there. I've also got a large Fuji S602z which is great but it's big and always worrying about where it is. The best tip I can give you when you get one is to take heaps of pics and you might get a good one out of them.... if your anything like me ;)

Cheers Col

[dfox]

Glen -i use an Olympus mju410 in the boat because its spash proof and made of stainless, 4meg, 3 by zoom, we have fancier cameras but there to expensive to risk having salt water spashed on them, just something to think about!...foxy

[megafish71]

Good choice Foxy. I have the earlier version MJU300 and bought it for the same reasons you mentioned. Would recommend these cameras for anyone who wants a good camera, particularly for onboard the boat.

Ron

Ron

[Dug]

Olympus mini mju is on special with a splash proof snorkeling case at the moment worth having a look at we are selling a Canon a400 same deal snorkel case good to 3m depth.

Check out the shutter lag on anything before you buy as it is the most annoying feature on any digicam on most cheapies you push the shutter button and wait and wait and wait :-( #Not good for fish photos.

Digital Zoom does not exist it is something thought up by advertising people to flog cameras, all you do is crop the image when you put it on the computer same thing, easier and better.

I have a Nikon D70 and as much as I believe digital is the work of the devil it is a good camera to use I am looking at buying another one soon. #I did buy my son a Sony W1 for christmas it is quick and has a big screen and uses AA batteries (good for remote areas) #$599

Remember to add at least $100 for a memory card on any camera you buy + check if it comes with a rechargeable battery and charger.

OH I believe the A85 is discontinued so you should get some good deals but you need to add the memory card and rechargeable batteries so check the deal.

Oh we do have some Minolta A50's or pentax S5i for $549 they both come with battery and charger and are OK on shutter lag.

cheers doug

Butterfly Kuranda Nikon D70 (no shutter lag)

[Dug]

PS If you can go for SD or compact flash cards they are the cheapest cards available and most common.

I hang out at Camera house Maroochydore a few days a week when I'm not out taking photos so PM me if you like we are a bit better than the Hardly Normal camera departments.

[Zeeke]

i use a Samsung V3.. ok camera.. but after 9 months of fishing trips.. its showing its age... things are starting to stop working.. or break.. i want Dug's Nikon D70 and i have been planning on getting one.. just gotta wait... and wait.... and wait...
maybe ill get one for my b'day this month? nah.. highly doubt it :'(

Tim

[Dug]

I have given my D70 to a "mate" to download and update the controls on it.

Check Ebay there may be a bargain D70 on sale there tonight ;D

[Zeeke]

*runs to ebay* ;D

Tim

[aussiebasser]

I use a Kodak DX6490 which I paid $900 for last year, which isnow available for about $549. 4 megapixel, 10 Optical Zoom. When you buy memory cards, you're better off buying a couple of smaller ones than one biggy. If something goes wron, you'll lose al the images on the card, and if you're on a trip of a lifetime, you could lose the lot. I use a couple of 128mb cards ($50 each) for stills (97 on each) and a 64mb card for Video.
When you buy one, take your polaroids and insist on trying it outside in bright sunlight. You may be surprised that some screens are virtually impossible to see. The Kodak is tops with a 2.2" screen.
Pic clarity is pretty good too.

[jeffo]

ill be getting my new one in a month... cant wait ;D hopefully the canon 300d :)

[Heath]

I use a Fuji Finepix S304, 6x Optical Zoom.

One thing I don't like about mine is the shutter lag. Used a mates Fuji S5500 last weekend & it does not suffer from this problem. In a rock n rolly boat shutter lag will cause you to get a lot of headless shots >:(

Other than that its a great camera.

One thing I suggest is that you get Extended Warranty with it & get yourself a waterproof hard case.

[Volvo]

Heath, No Shutter Lag whatsoever :o???..that may mean that the S7000 is the same..Good Guys up this way have them at a special rate at present.....
Shame ive got me eart set on a D70....

[Volvo]

jeffo,the 300D is one nice camer mate..
Cheers

[NQCairns]

I have the Fuji Finefix s3000, it can take some great pictures although I wouldn't buy another Finepix unless they cleared up a of their glaring omissions.
Mainly the shutter lag with low-ish battreys because the user is forced to use the flash at all times when not on a tripod with this camera - really shits me off now.
My main cryteria for a new camera would be that it MUST have have an old style optical viewfinder along with whatever other specs are typical at the time. The 3000 has a mini eyepiece screen but it is largely a waste of space esp at night as is the large screen. nq

[Volvo]

nq, you wont get no argument from me there lol...But!! they do ,do an amazingly good job at times when flash is required but ya dont use it..
Think the Compacts have their place and if after features or special qualiity then the Digi SLR's are the way to go...
Unless mistaken , dont think you will get rid of shutter lag totally unless you get away from the compacts ???..
Cheers

[Stumpthumpa]

I upgraded from a small 2meg compact with no optical zoom to the Panasonic Lumix FZ10 (now updated to FZ20) about 6 months ago. I am very happy with the 12X optical zoom and most features in general. Low light performance seems the be the only problem.

It also keeps my deckie happy when the fishing is a little slow as she can take pics of all the purty critters etc,. This is an added bonus worth considering when you research your purchase.

[agnes_jack]

I use an Olympus camedia c-50 zoom, 5 megapixels.
Takes some nice clean photo's but does have a fair sort of shutter lag.
I,m no expert by any means.
Dug- any comments on that model?

Regards, Tony

[Heath]

Heath, No Shutter Lag whatsoever :o???..that may mean that the S7000 is the same..Good Guys up this way have them at a special rate at present.....
Shame ive got me eart set on a D70....

Shutter lag on the S5500 is 0.05sec, I gave it a good workout at night & it took shots as quick as I could press the button.

Very impressed. [smiley=2thumbsup.gif]

[seqfisho]

Dug,

You seem to be the man to talk to about digi cameras, so what in your opinion should I spend my money on, and lets set the budget at $500 tops inc mem cards etc, and to try and avoid shutter lag as much as possible.

What is your opinion of the A85/95 are they good buying or should I look at something else for my money.

Regards Glen

[Dug]

$500 tops is a real limit. Both a85 &95 are good but again a bit slow for my liking and remember to factor in rechargeable batteries as they do not come included.

You have to buy something you are comfortable using I like the size of the canons they feel like a camera to me and apart from a little lag there is no problem with them and they have good service and backup. I have sold lots of them and still sleep OK at night. #Bang for you buck under $500 with rechargeable probably. [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

They do have some great UW housings to go with them too if you happen to find another $350 around soon.
;D


How is that for a non committal answer? We have sold our last stocks of A75 & A85 #send me a PM if you like and I can give you a call.

Olympus and Kodak? #How do I say this on a public forum? #Both are good cameras but their backup has some interesting features. # ::)


A sad fact of life "You get what you pay for" and this goes for all cameras.

PS sorry Tim I got my D70 back safe and sound today #;D

[Derek Bullock]

I have a Sony Cybershot DSC 6. Retailed for around $1100 when I bought it about 12 months ago. Up to 5 megapixels and everything you need. The photos at http://www.ausfish.com.au/cgi-ausfish/board/YaBB.cgi?board=General_Camping_Chat;action=display ;num=1107072806 were taken with it but only using a setting of 1.2 megapixels. I'm still learning but it seems to do everything I want it to.


Derek

[Dug]

DSC 6 they are now selling the DSC 150 model @ 7mp around $800 :o

The new ones are nice cameras for compacts.

[Dug]

Volvo, do it, do it, buy the D70! #You know you want to. The $200 cash back is going to be extended for another month at least :D

I am heading to Brisvagas tomorrow to get an estimate for a pile of old film cameras and stuff I have so I can sell them :-[

Not happy but I rarely get to use them any more and the price of film cameras is just dropping and dropping.

[Volvo]

:'( :'( :'( :'( I do, I do, I do, I want it, I need it, I must ave it [smiley=help.gif] [smiley=help.gif]..Just need to spend a few more $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ n few more$$$$ on me ouse and then me thinks i'll be allowed ta buy one.....
In the meantime i'll dream about it:)..
Mindya the Daughters offered me the use of hers, but :-/...
Cheers

[yellahunter]

Canon Digital Ixus series are excellent, ive had one for almost 2 years and very happy with it, unlike many others they ahve a metal casing, try not to get plastic, especially for fishing and outdoor work, also look for the best optical zoom within your price range.

heres some taken with my digital IXUS 3.2 megapixel
Olympus also make good digis, they seem to have a better lense than the others.

Hope that helps mate.

you should be able to pick up either the olympus or canon for under $500

also a bit more advice the cheapest place to get them new is from the computer shops. check these sites mate

www.gamedude.com.au
www.umart.com.au


good luck mate
:D :D :D

[yellahunter]

one more

[James_V17L]

Hi Glen,
I got a little Sony cybershot 3.2 mega pixel..its a
basic camera but takes pretty good pics.
Pic of the bay last weekend.

[Craftsman]

I've a Canon Powershot A70, couple of years old now but it takes great pics for the price. As an aside the Canon IP5000 is also a great printer for printing out these pics.

A mate has the Fuji S7000, you do get what you pay for, the features on his camera exceed mine by a long way.

[predator]

I bought a fuji s7000 and an accessory pack from the States a month ago.....great camera.
Still learning how to opperate.
No shutter lag. :o
And heaps and heaps of features.

Have a look at this site as there are reveiws and forums discussing digital cameras(good site if buying)
http://www.dpreview.com/

[NQCairns]

Thanks predator for that link [smiley=2thumbsup.gif] I had lost it a while back and couldnt search it up again no matter how I tried.

I agree Volvo if I steady it on some furniture (no tripod yet) it does a very nice indoor, very true to life photo. Much better than with the flash. Outdoors the camera shines sometimes with great photo's.

Although I wouldn't recommend the s3000 to anyone even for the price - the auto focus is just plain useless under zoom, the ISO of 100 with no options auto or manual sucks chunks and lastly it needs IR for those night photos, impossible to take a photo at night without it on this camera (that spec may mean an extra few dollars needs to be spent though, not sure.nq

[Volvo]

:)nqcairns, mate i had fallenfor the S7000 till i seen the job the daughters D70 does :)...Few extra bucks i know but in the end it will do what i want a camera to do and i do want to get away from runnin Camera on Auto..
Plus i want a camera now for more than just taken piccies of Fish n Tomato's lol..
Still keep the ole S3000 for taking out in the Tub :)..
Cheers

[Dug]

Hey Volvo WHat is wrong with Auto?

I shoot about 90% of my pro stuff on the P (stands for for professional) setting. If the camera has a higher IQ than I do why should I argue ;D

The only trick is to know the 10% of the time to turn it off ::)

Actually the full auto settings really suck on the D70 as the autofocus goes to the closest subject area.

The S7000 is a nice camera but I just sold one of my mates on the D70 he is off on a trip to Vietnam and will be shooting stock photos of fish over there.

I just had an enquiry from AVVRG if I was interested in recording the 40th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan. MMM tough decision!!!!!

[Big_unit]

Ive got a Panasonic NV-GS15, which is DVC that performs a whole range of functions. Havent learnt how to fully use it yet only found it under a tree at xmas. It has 24x Optical zoom / 800x Digital zoom, acts as a movie, still, and web camera. Picture quality is excellent and has a lot of options/features. Even has a remote control so everyone can be in the piccy. I reckon there is no comparison between this and our first digi cam (stills only), this out performs the old one in absolutly every way and then some. Recharger, battery, water proof carry case, SD card, 3 x 60 min tapes, tripod and Software package for around $900. Being a compact DVC I sometimes worry that it wont handle a knock but if I keep thinkin that way maybe I will be gentle with it. Never the less I am very happy with it.

Cheers
James.

[Volvo]

:)Doug, do it mate..Still gunna hang out for the D70..Wont compromise..I wont, i wont, i wont. Bit of n echo next to this Computer here lol...
Here's sumthin ta think about???, seein's as how popular or often the subject of Cameras comes up on the site, wander if the powers of the site wouldnt think of starting a seperate section for Cameras, Piccie takin advice etc...
after all we do have a 4 x 4 section, for sale section, camoing, and whatever else..
Just a thought..
Cheers

[Dug]

sounds like an idea to me! :D

vote one camera section for Ausfish

[ba229]

Reading all this is somewhat depressing.

4 or so years ago the wife and I bought a digi cam for $1500.

It is a sony 4Mpix but the lag time on shutter and the recharge time on flash is bad. Got a 128Mb stick with it too.

My oldman just bought 5Mpix with 256Mb stick for $800 and th elag is nothing and the flash recharge is excellent.

boo hoo :-)

[Volvo]

:)Yep vote one also for camera Section, come on Fella's put your mits up, Vote 1...
ba229, isnt technology a wanderfull thing:)....Years ago we mucked around with two empty baked bean cans attatched with apiece of string to talk ta one another n now we carry a mobile phone around with us lol...
Yeah my S3000 when i first bought it for takin Pics of my tomato patch was a godsend also but now :(..
Never mind its only $$$$...Just gotta save it fiorst lol..
Cheers

[baldyhead]

Dug can you give the pro's and con's and availability of the Pentax 33WR and the 43WR please....cheers baldy

[cooky]

I've got an IXUS, an Olympus E-10 (older model SLR), and a recent KODAK 4MP (for the wife).

I personally like the idea (for fishing in the boat) of a small to mid size, weather resistant camera with FAST start-up times. Often fish hook-ups are unexpected (most of the time) for yourself or fishing mate and you're busy pulling in the fish or your lines to clear the way. The fish is in and you either decide to get it back in the water or kill - you may even want action shots of the fight. Nothing worse than waiting for start-up times (my SLR suffers this fate).

Preferably the camera should be tough or a little weather proof as you've often got suncreen, salt, water, bait, bloody on your hands.

You want simple so your mates can use the bloody thing. Every time I've taken the SLR out my friends either refuse to use it or stuff the photos up. Make it idiot proof if possible if you want to avoid camera lessons or get decent photos of yourself.

Preferable solution - take an SLR for you to use and another simple cheap camera for your buddies.

I've got a few friends who now use their bloody mobile phones to take photos so they can MMS me the photos to brag at the time of the catch.

[Dug]

Kodak now has their "Customer Service" based offshore so if you have a problem with their cameras I hope you don't mind talking to an asian with limited English skills who is reading instructions off a chart :(

I used to work for the red and gold god Kodak
Great film ( now made in China not Australia) they wasted sooooo much money on stupid ideas and produced some of the most pointless equipment then when they had sold enough of them they just pulled the product and that was it no support, no film, no backup. 126 cameras, 110 cameras, disc cameras, APS cameras, Kodak instant film cameras, Kodak audio and video tapes, Kodak Photo CD, the list goes on and on :P

[seqfisho]

Hey Dug,

Whats the current freight on a Canon A85 and are there any runout specials coming as I believe that they are being superseded by the A520/1?

Regards Glen

[BlitzBaga]

I have a Fuji Finepix A340 which is a basic 4 megapixel point and shoot 3 optical zoom(not bad for the price). I also have a kodak DX6490 10 x optical zoom (SLR like) which has all the manual settings except manual focus and I have also recently bought a Canon 300D SLR, very impresive, not that impressed with the canon lenses but I have since bought a Sigma 75-300 with macro, it is a very fast focus lense and has great clarity. A pain with the cameras I have is that they all have different memory cards, Xd for Fuji, Sd for Kodak and Cf for Canon.

Below is a photo the missus took at seaworld in Jan, shot with one of the Canon lenses.

Cheers
Murray

[bay_firey]

IActually the full auto settings really suck on the D70 as the autofocus goes to the closest subject area.


Dug
Why not just set the AF area to the centre then ?
I use my D70 on auto most times, I just preset the focus area to the centre and bingo. But I have noticed that if you go from a amnual setting back to auto you have to remember to reset the focus area