View Full Version : Digital Camera for the trail
kayak4life87
04-02-2009, 23:37
I have been looking at the Olympus waterproof and rugged digital cameras. Just wondering what everyone was liking. I want compact digital. Thanks ahead of time.
I have an Olympus Stylus 820 all weather camera and I love it.
It takes great pictures.
Downside...propietary battery (which seems to last a long time)
and
XD card which seems to be a bit harder to find now a days.
Following the success of the Olympus Tough/WP series of cameras, now Fujifilm, Canon and Panasonic have also joined the race. Pentax , there from the start, has the W60 (28-140mm), small, tough easy to use. The new Canon is the entry level D10 (35-105mm),the Panasonic is the TS1 (28-128) , nice movie mode, Fujifilm has the Z33, (35-105) smaller and lighter than the Canon, and there is also the Ricoh G600 (28-140) very rubberised, still pretty compact.
My choice would be between the Olympus 6000/8000 , the Pentax W60 and the Pana.
I suggest you pick the one that appeals to you the most, not a great difference in quality between these 4.
Franco
XD cards are usually more expensive and not very swappable between cameras, but don't let that put you off if you like the Olympus models.
Most manufacturers publish the CIPA figures ( a standard test) for their batteries . Use that as a guide.
Just Google "Olympus Stylus Tough 6000 cipa" to get that ....
Most info here :http://www.dpreview.com/ (http://www.dpreview.com/)
i'm looking for the same thing. any suggestions on a small tough digital that has a viewfinder as well as the lcd screen? i would like good zoom and decent pixels.
freefall
04-03-2009, 07:14
I have an Olympus Stylus 820 all weather camera and I love it.
It takes great pictures.
Downside...propietary battery (which seems to last a long time)
and
XD card which seems to be a bit harder to find now a days.
My first digital camera was an Olympus and the XD cards are not only harder to find, but tend to be a bit more expensive.
Cookerhiker
04-03-2009, 08:45
i'm looking for the same thing. any suggestions on a small tough digital that has a viewfinder as well as the lcd screen? i would like good zoom and decent pixels.
Ah, you're so correct; I'm glad you made this point. I'd never buy a digital without a viewfinder. My old (04) Nikon as one. I like Nikons and I'm looking to upgrade but all the new ones I see don't feature viewfinders. But some manufacturers are putting them back on - hopefully Nikon will follow suit.
JaxHiker
04-03-2009, 09:27
I have the 850SW and it's an utter POS. I wouldn't waste that kind of money on it again. Its saving grace is that the wife and kid will (hopefully) have a harder time destroying it. I'd take my Canon 590IS over it any day.
I was very disappointed in the picture quality, or should I say lack of consistency in picture quality from my Olympus Stylus 600. I found my cheaper Fujifilm digitals to be much more consistent.
I'm now using either a Canon Powershot A590IS which is GREAT for a simple point and shoot, or a Nikon D40 which is relatively cheap and light, but a great dSLR.
catfishrivers
04-03-2009, 11:42
I just got a Cannon PowerShot A1000 IS for $125 online. My bro made the mistake of buying the same camera at bestbuy at the mall for $50 more! It takes 10 mp pics that look great. Only 3x optical zoom, but it has digital zoom too. Runs off AA batteries and I already dropped it like 5 times from shoulder height to forest floor and no trubbz yet.
JaxHiker
04-03-2009, 13:19
Turn off the digital zoom. It's worthless.
Yeah, might as well just take the picture with 3x and crop it in photoshop later.
I have a Canon SD1000. Nice, compact, and takes good pictures.
Jester2000
04-03-2009, 21:50
I have the 850SW and it's an utter POS. I wouldn't waste that kind of money on it again. Its saving grace is that the wife and kid will (hopefully) have a harder time destroying it. I'd take my Canon 590IS over it any day.
. . .on the other hand, I have an 850SW and I love it.
I'll be a little more specific than Jax. He's probably a better photographer than me, so I'm sure he has good reasons for not liking it. But I carried it on my PCT hike last year, and got some great photos. It's small and light. Mine's orange, so it's harder for me to lose. Never broke despite dropping it several times, was waterproof as promised. No viewfinder, though, it that's something you need. Screen was a good size. Good selection of scene options and exposure compensation (got some nice night shots). Didn't have a problem finding XD cards or keeping the battery charged.
The only thing I would have liked that it didn't have was more optical zoom. Anyway, it worked well for me.
Maybe Jaxhiker's isn't orange?
i have a canon as well. a590 i think. i like it a lot. i accidentally left it outside after a couple shoots of an alcohol stove. it was out for 3 days and got rained on a for a day (outside of the case) and, knock on wood, it's fine
went ahead and got the canon powershot sd1100 is. it's blue. can't wait. i'll let y'all know how it does.
Big Dawg
04-04-2009, 07:35
LOVE my Pentax Optio WP :D Great pics, waterproof, easy controls!
that's what i wanted!! i was fixin to push the pay button when i finally figured out it didn't have an optical viewfinder. i was so bummed. but the canon that i got is pretty much the same thing spec wise but with a viewfinder and face detection stuff.
Costco has the Oly 1050SW for $199. Water-freeze-drop proof. However, be forewarned that it uses xD memory, instead of the much more popular SD format.
Johnny Thunder
04-04-2009, 13:44
I just got a Cannon PowerShot A1000 IS for $125 online. My bro made the mistake of buying the same camera at bestbuy at the mall for $50 more! It takes 10 mp pics that look great. Only 3x optical zoom, but it has digital zoom too. Runs off AA batteries and I already dropped it like 5 times from shoulder height to forest floor and no trubbz yet.
I bought one of these the other day when my 4-year-go-to Canon Powershot started making strange mechanical sounds after too long a night in Atlantic City hanging with characters from that move, "The Legend".
For as cheap as it was you could buy two for your hike and worry less about dropping it or getting it wet. The aforementioned PowerShot lasted countless vacations and an entire through hike with no obvious issues so don't stress about killing a camera in the first rain. I think that for our purposes the waterproof thing is handy but shouldn't be your primary concern.
I got fed up with carrying a charger for the camera. Chargers were the ONLY things in my pack that were 100% and totally useless once I got back in the woods. Except maybe the cape. Hmm.
Ramble~On
04-04-2009, 14:24
Which one ? The lightest and smallest you can find. You'll be carrying it a lot more than you'll be using it. Try to find something that takes quality pictures (for your standards) that is as lightweight as possible. Then comes the battery issue..
JaxHiker
04-04-2009, 22:48
Maybe Jaxhiker's isn't orange?
Hmm, maybe that's my problem. Buy orange not black. :D
be forewarned that it uses xD memory, instead of the much more popular SD format.
It should've come with a MicroSD adapter. That's what I use. I don't own a single XD card.
Hmm, maybe that's my problem. Buy orange not black. :D
It should've come with a MicroSD adapter. That's what I use. I don't own a single XD card.
Does that mean you can use SDHC in the MicroSD format? Or just the standard 2GB MicroSD?
Hmm, maybe that's my problem. Buy orange not black. :D
It should've come with a MicroSD adapter. That's what I use. I don't own a single XD card.
I was just googling this and I haven't found one supplier of MicroSD to xD adapters.
Costco has the Oly 1050SW for $199. Water-freeze-drop proof. However, be forewarned that it uses xD memory, instead of the much more popular SD format.
Actually I see you can get that camera for $150. And all the reviews I read said it sucked. So if there was a way, I would've deleted my post. This is a really bad Olympus camera.
I just got a Cannon PowerShot A1000 IS for $125 online. My bro made the mistake of buying the same camera at bestbuy at the mall for $50 more! It takes 10 mp pics that look great. Only 3x optical zoom, but it has digital zoom too. Runs off AA batteries and I already dropped it like 5 times from shoulder height to forest floor and no trubbz yet.
Have one as well, i like it.
JaxHiker
04-06-2009, 20:38
I was just googling this and I haven't found one supplier of MicroSD to xD adapters.
Look at the package contents (http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1363&fl=4). Here is some more specific (http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/oima_microSD.asp) info on the adapter. There seem to be plenty of them listed on eBay (http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m38.l1313&_nkw=masd-1&_sacat=See-All-Categories) but that's the only place I found them.
I only have regular MicroSD cards but it looks like you can use the HC cards as well.
The microSD / microSDHC card can be used only with the cameras compatible with MASD-1.
Look at the package contents (http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1363&fl=4). Here is some more specific (http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/oima_microSD.asp) info on the adapter. There seem to be plenty of them listed on eBay (http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m38.l1313&_nkw=masd-1&_sacat=See-All-Categories) but that's the only place I found them.
I only have regular MicroSD cards but it looks like you can use the HC cards as well.
Thanks! That says loud and clear to me "Stay away from Olympus and Fuji cameras until they switch over to SDHC. The xD format is a real deal-killer. Not only that, the Olympus 1050 SW got horrible reviews.
LOVE my Pentax Optio WP :D Great pics, waterproof, easy controls!
I'll put in another plug for the optio. My Pentax Optio W20 has served me great over the past few years. I've used it on multiple continents in snow, rain, sand, dust storms, and underwater. It's made to be tough...aka sand/dust/waterproof, plus it's lightweight and takes good pictures. The menus are easy to navigate and controls are positioned well as stated above. I have 0 complaints.
I'll put in another plug for the optio. My Pentax Optio W20 has served me great over the past few years. I've used it on multiple continents in snow, rain, sand, dust storms, and underwater. It's made to be tough...aka sand/dust/waterproof, plus it's lightweight and takes good pictures. The menus are easy to navigate and controls are positioned well as stated above. I have 0 complaints.
I can +1 that. I like my optio too.
just got my canon power**** sd1100 is (digital elph) last night. i am IN LOVE. super simple, even though it's got tons of options. face detection is awesome. the manual mode is incredible. super sharp pics, even when there's lots of movement. got some great long exposures of the moon last night.
so far, would recommend it to anyone.
oh, and it's smaller than a deck of cards.
Jayboflavin04
04-09-2009, 12:15
Then comes the battery issue..
Ramble-On is right.....I wont buy one unless it takes AA batteries. Those propreitary batteries are cool last a long time, and keep batteries outta the landfill. Then you have to carry a charger. That blows the deal for me. Extra battery + charger equals = the weight of a slightly larger model that takes AA batteries that can be found anywhere. Another thing that was brought up is, the smaller models many times dont have a view finder! If you need/want to extend battery life you can turn off your LCD and use the view finder.
I am not doggin anyone's choice in cameras. I would love to own one. I just hate how large companies "stick it to ya!" to keep dollars in their pockets.
Norcent DC-1020 (10 MP) -- great camera.
Jester2000
04-09-2009, 15:47
Then comes the battery issue..
Ramble-On is right.....I wont buy one unless it takes AA batteries. Those propreitary batteries are cool last a long time, and keep batteries outta the landfill. Then you have to carry a charger. That blows the deal for me. Extra battery + charger equals = the weight of a slightly larger model that takes AA batteries that can be found anywhere. Another thing that was brought up is, the smaller models many times dont have a view finder! If you need/want to extend battery life you can turn off your LCD and use the view finder.
I am not doggin anyone's choice in cameras. I would love to own one. I just hate how large companies "stick it to ya!" to keep dollars in their pockets.
See, this makes me wonder. It's similar to a nimby point of view. An awful lot of hikers like the idea of being environmentally aware and friendly right up until the moment it adds ounces to their packs -- and that's what we're talking about. Ounces. A charger plus an extra battery weigh very little. It's similar to hikers I know who carry soda or Gatorade bottles instead of Nalgenes because they're lighter (and when they get to town they ditch them and get new ones rather than clean them).
Carrying a few extra ounces is a small price to pay, in my opinion, to "keep batteries outta the landfill."
Jayboflavin04
04-10-2009, 20:21
Agree with you 100% jester. I use only rechargable AA batteries in my camera while at home, lithium AA when on the trail. I just avoid proprietay batteries where ever possible! They are expensive and alot of companies have a proprietary end on their charging system!
Note! Incase people dont know this.....rechargeable batteries have a "memory" when you first get them you need to charge them all the way. Then run them dead. You will get the best performance and longest life outta them this way. Example cell phones! No need to plug them in every night....run the battery almost dead then charge them. The battery in my cell phone is 2 1/2 yrs old and still hold a charge for around 3 days!