Camera suggestions

[Old Scaley]

Hi All

I am currently without a digital camera having left one on a bus in Canada. Just in case I ever catch anything worth photographing, I was thinking about replacing it with one of the waterproof models. A little bit of research suggests a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT1 might be a good affordable option. Also thinking about the Olympus Tough series, but the reviews are not as good as the Panasonic. Anyone got any suggestions? Not planning on using it underwater, just need something that I don't have to worry about if it is on the tinny.

Thanks

Steve

[Malcolm]

I've had an Olympus tough for a couple of years we have had it at the beach on the tinnie under water treated like crap really and it's still like new.

Takes a good enough photo untill the light is low.

Mal

[Feral]

The waterproof units are great for what they are. Dont expect them to do well on landscapes, distance or low light like a similar priced normal digital camera. Basically they are limited to about 3x optical zoom

[mongrel jack]

I've had the Lumix you mention for about a month now and am happy as. Have taken about 500 pics and am more than happy with the quality and I am only shooting on 5mp. I was basically convinced to purchase this camera after my research because of the quality of the video recording as I plan to mount it on the yak at some stage - if you beleive the reveiws and the man at JB's (they did it for $430 with a 4gb card) the video record funtions are superior to other models. It can record in 2 different modes and has one touch record button. Same as you, I don't plan on taking it under water but with spending so much time on the water i figured it would be pretty good insurance if it does happen to go in the drink.

Cheers,

[Old Scaley]

Thanks for the responses. Mongrel Jack, we are on the same wavelength. Not looking to do any intentional underwater shots, but who knows what might happen. I can get it from Hong Kong on ebay with 8g card for $349. Sounds like a good deal to me.

[MOC]

I also have the Panasonic Lumix a couldn't be happier with the performance. On the 12 megapixel setting the 3x zoom is good enough for most situations as you can zoom in a fair bit further during editing before loosing much quality.

I was about 50m from this little piggy at NPD when I took this pic before cropping it down to a small section in the centre of the photo.

Mick

[mongrel jack]

If it's the real thing for $349 thats a good deal that I would jump at as they still retail in the shops here for $400+. Mine was made in Japan not Hong Kong or China - might want to check that, I'd hate to see ya caught with a fake. Just my thoughts....

Cheers,

[Funfisher]

i have heard the lumix are great on the waterproof side but you realy need to work the manual settings hard to get a good shot as the auto mode is on the ordinary side.. but this is not abnormal in a lot of cameras these days.. on another note i got a cannon eos dslr 1000d and its a pretty cool camera.. a random bit of advice that took me a while to figure out myself is for night shots turn the flash off and turn the camera on a delay and keep dead still by sitting it on a flat surface or use a tripod and see the awsome shots you get with the delayd shutter speed... there pricless

here is one i took in italy a few months back in full darkness to give you an idea..

[mongrel jack]

Nice photo and bit of advice but a dslr is in a different league all together. I have to disagree with your comments, I have found the "intelligent auto" mode on the Lumix does the trick beautifully. Haven't even played with the other settings yet - haven't needed to. Have taken heaps of daylight shots and as stated am more than happy. The only night shots I have taken were of some fireworks and I am more than happy with those. Once again my thoughts only... Please note the photo below is not a true indication of quality as it has been massively reduced in size for uploading and it was the only one I had handy from the Lumix that had been resized already (it's getting late and I'm lazy ).

Cheers,

for the DJR fans

[MoparKevUk]

Looks blurred to me......

But after checking some of my photos I have decided it is the works computer with it's 4:3 computer and widescreen screen.........If that makes sense....

[mongrel jack]

Like I said not the greatest example however I have just resized some more with similar results and full sized look good. Please remember it is a point and shoot camera not an slr... If you want slr results buy an slr. I'm not trying to "close the deal" just offering my opinion.

Cheers

[Funfisher]

on that note i have a few mates with point and shoot cameras who imo take better shots than i can with a slr with ease i think the main thing is sussing out the functions and settings of your camera and using it to its full potentual insted of using the auto setting.

[Old Scaley]

Since I have a habit of losing cameras I think I will avoid the extra expense of the SLR, but thanks for the tips everyone.