Camera

[sp1936]

My wife wants to spend a s***load of money on a gift for me for our upcoming 30th anniversary. Her idea was to get me a fancy Swiss watch that costs more than five times as much as my first car, but I'm the kind of guy who really loves my $14 Timex Expedition.

However, while recently viewing some of the incredibly beautiful photos that some of you share here, I was reminded that I am not happy with my camera. I am interested in any suggestions that you folks might have that I can use as a starting point for further research and, hopefully, a gift suggestion that I can pass on to my wife. The combination of backcountry experience and photographic talent on this board should produce some worthy suggestions.

I don't have the skills to justify the fancy gear that some of you use, but I am interested in something that is:

• Digital
• Top quality
• Rugged
• Compact
• Simple

Thanks.

Steve

 

[NewHampshire]

Hey SP1936,
Well, my mom got a FujiFilm FinePix 3800 Digital for Christmas last year. My sister and I have taken it on the majority of our hikes this year and like it a lot. Its not heavy (though a bit wider towards the front than the squarer digitals), its simple to operate, and on the higher end f the quality range. Is it rugged? Well, my mom was madder than heck when she found out I accidently let it bounce of some rocks into a puddle on top of Monadnock. But she was at ease a bit cuz the camera took it in stride and still worked perfectly. Of course there is a small scratch on the bottom she will never let me forget .
Hope this helps!
Brian

 

[roadtripper]

where to start

I don't really have a specific camera to suggest to you...but here are some tips I have...

***if you want the "high quality", I suggest going no lower than 5MB for quality. Anything much higher than 5MB and the camera is probably going to get increasingly complex and less rugged though.
***www.epinions.com is the best site for reviews on digital cameras in my opinion. A lot of people have written reviews on even obscure cameras.
***some of the "high quality" may not be coming from the camera; the photos may be getting a nice boost from Adobe Photoshop and other high quality image editors (i do this).
***If she's just dying to spend more money, ask for a mini-tripod (weights just a few ounces) from REI as well. They are like $10 and tons of fun.

 

[rdl]

I'm very happy with my Canon S30, several years old and has given me very good service.

I'm a point and shoot kind of photographer and the Canon is about as simple as it gets.

 

[diehard]

cmera

I had this same question about 5 months ago

If size is the most important, then get an Olympus Stylus digital camera. In my opinion, it's biggest selling point is that, it is WEATHER RESISTANT !

If you want quality, and can sacrifice a bit of size (its quite light), then the one I would recommend, is the Nikon D70s.

I went with the Nikon, after looking at some lens testing results. I do some presentations, and I wanted a SHARP lens. Megapixil quantity wasn't a high priority, as I been told that anything over 3.0 , should be more than adequate. Although the camera is a sophisticated digital SLR, it has many shooting modes. I use the completely automatic mode, 90% of the time, With the standard zoom lens, I can focus down to something about 2 X 4 inches in size, and fill the frame. This has proven perfect for all vegetation, and most of the creepy crawllies I have wanted to photograph. I probably could go on and on, but if your wife wants to do it for you…..go with the D70s and grow into the camera. It will allow you to do so.

diehard

 

[Clown]

I just got a new camera a week ago, one of the Cannon sd digital elphs. I didn't want to spend hundreds, but I wanted a good quality, lightweight camera that was easy to use. I am very happy with it, and it was highly recommended. If your looking for a hiking camera, definitely go with something that has a rechargable battery, they are lighter. The place I got mine was from this website. They are very reputable, and have treated me and others well, and they also have decent prices. B&H Photo They are based out of New York, so they ship fast.

 

[DougPaul]

Digital Camera Reviews

A very good set of digital camera reviews can be found at http://www.imaging-resource.com/.

Doug

 

[diehard]

another good review site

http://www.dcresource.com/

I like the reviewer's likes/dislikes, toward the bottom of the review

diehard

 

[lumberzac]

How about another good review site

http://www.dpreview.com/

 

[David Metsky]

Since one of your criteria was compact, you are basically looking for a P&S not a dSLR. You may want to play with a few camera models to see if an ultrazoom like a Canon S2 or a Panasonic FZ20/30 is too large, which I suspect it will be.

A weather resistant camera is a good idea, but IMO not essential and it will limit your choices fairly severely. For those, I think the Olympus 600 and 800 are probably your best bets. For other options, there are several Canon models like the SD3/4/500 and now SD450/550, the A510/20 and A610/20, several Panasonic models, and some Nikons and Sonys.

From your "simple" criteria I assume you don't plan on using manual controls, you will be shooting in automatic most of the time? I'm a big fan of optical viewfinders, I can't compose pictures in the LCD, so keep an eye out for that if it's an issue for you. Are you interested in movie mode? Some cameras are better or worse for those as well.

Based on what you have said I'd look at the Canon SD450, the Fuji F-10 (espeically if you need good low light performance) and the Panasonic LZ-2 (bigger zoom). But there are lots of good models out there, it's pretty hard to go wrong.

-dave-

 

[Quietman]

I really like my Nikon Coolpix. The coolpix 5200 or 4200 would give good resolution, with lots of features. If you're comfortable with Ebay, I got a great deal on mine from this seller and they have the 5200.(Great service and great reputation)

ebay camera seller

They even replaced my USB cable when I rolled my work chair over it and ruined it.

When choosing any camera, I found it very useful to have the batteries match your lighting source. Batteries that run low in your camera can still power a light source for hours. I use AA nimh rechargables.

 

[--M.]

Nikon

Hi.

I bought a CoolPix 7 mp camera for this year's trip and am very happy with it. I still don't entirely know how to use it, but it's been fine.

Big feature (for any p&s): hang it from your pack strap & it's good to go at a second's notice.

One thing I've noticed is Darren's comments on shooting "RAW" shots, without any computer processing by the camera. I would definitely take this into consideration if I were doing this again. [I don't know whether the Nikon has this feature; I couldn't find it today when I looked.]

Hope this helps,

--M.

 

[Quietman]

On my coolpix, in the "shooting" menu, there is an image sharpening option. This can be set to auto, high, normal, low, and off. My guess is that the off setting must be similar to a raw shot. I'm still haven't tried most of the options on my camera.

 

[kmac]

canon A95

I have a Canon A70-we have been very happy with ours and it takes great pictures!
The updated version is the Canon A95 which runs about $300.
Happy camera shopping!

 

[KevCon223]

Olympus Stylus!! Weather resistant metal case, 4 Mega-Pixel. Fairly small and easy to use. It is also quick shooting for those unexpected trail shots. The Olympus software rounds out a pretty good camera!!

 

[darren]

I'm not up on current P&S camera, but I will second the advice on B&H Photo. They have low prices and they are reliable. They ship fast and if they say it is in stock then it is in stock. They wont jerk you around like many of the low price shops you see listed in photo magazines or on the net.

- darren

 

[Joe]

I have a Panasonic Lumix FZ20 and absolutely love it. However it is too large for me to carry hiking but we carry it everywhere else. The photo quality is superb, I am always receiving compliments on photos from friends. A friend of mine liked it so much that they went out and bought one. For hiking I carry a small Kodak DC4900 it is a few years old and only three megapixels but serves the purpose.

...Joe

 

[NateinCT]

I've been looking at Canon point and shoot-ers

I personally use a older Canon digital ELPH with 3.2 mega pixels. I have been happy with its size and durability, but have been looking for something with more manual control and a greater pixel count.

I have a friend who is very happy with the Canon s70. I almost picked one up this summer but then they announced the s80....

The main drawback to the s80 is that they dropped RAW format capabilities. Right now I am weighing whether to go for a (now usually reduced price) s70, or forgo the RAW and hit up the s80, which is slicker, a little smaller, and has an extra Mpixel (but unfortunately uses a diffferent memory format than my ELPH--another consideration for sure).

 

[DougPaul]

I personally use a older Canon digital ELPH with 3.2 mega pixels. I have been happy with its size and durability, but have been looking for something with more manual control and a greater pixel count.

You might take a look at the Canon A95. 5MP, 3 to 1 zoom, reasonable lens, AA batts, CF cards, manual as well as automatic modes. Got some good reviews: http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/A95/A95A.HTM

I have a Canon A75 (very similar, 3.2 MP) that I am happy with. (Well, as happy as I will ever be with a P&S--I'll have to break down and get a digital SLR one of these days...)

Doug

 

[Bobby]

I use a Fuji FinePix 2800 Digital. Besides photos, it takes up to one minute video with sound, and has photo voice captioning capabilities. The only bad feature is that it eats batteries.