What camera to use while kayaking

[Tombo]

Looking for suggestions/feedback for waterproof digital camera. I just purchased a Polaroid IS048 from Target, batteries go dead after three days no matter what type battery I use. Product support is terrible and hard to understand. Only suggest I use Nimh type battery.

[kickingback]

If you are looking to video a lot or want descent pictures a Go Pro is always the best. I have a couple of ION Air Pro cameras that I got cheap off Amazon and they work fine for me. Best image quality if the way to go and the Go Pro has been proven.

https://www.amazon.com/Ion-1011L-Lite-W ... way&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/GoPro-Black-Acti ... way&sr=8-8

[Tombo]

Finally got through to product support for Polaroid. I must pay for shipping to New Jersey and expect 2-3 weeks if there is a fault along with a bunch of other info.
I do not suggest to anyone, not even Nancy Pelosi, to buy a digital camera unless we can take it back to where it was purchased. Polaroid is making it difficult to get warranty work done so most folks will not deal with it. Problem was I did not know about warranty process until I opened the box.

[Neumie]

I use the Sony TX-30, but it's been long discontinued. It'll be a sad day when it kicks the bucket or I lose it.

Olympus Tough TG-5 is usually the best rated waterproof point and shoot on the market, but's about $350. For around $100 the Fujifilm FinePix XP130 is best rated waterproof camera in that price range, though there are comments regarding its battery life.

[Ron Mc]

I love my TG-5 - I usually shoot it on aperture priority and slow sequential frame (5 frames/sec), then pick the best (delete the bulk)
I have spare batteries, and haven't used them after a full week - the camera is very efficient on batteries.


these two were cherry-picked out of a sequential stream

the 3 shots above were all overcast, dreary winter mornings
turned into a bright afternoon

the photo just below is from a similar shot to the one just above, but cropped out at camera resolution, where one pixel on this displayed image is one element in the camera ccd.
The camera uses no hollow resolution, which means no filtering is used to increase the number of pixels in the image file - one pixel = one element in the ccd.
The lens on this camera is shared with the current Pentax Optio


TG-5 is about the best camera that will fit in a shirt pocket.
You can also buy filter adapters to add, e.g. polarizer, but the filter will not be waterproof - doesn't hurt it, it just lets water behind if you submerge the camera, and of course you can quickly remove the filter to submerge the camera.
They offer a nice ring flash diffuser for macros, and the ring diffuser can be used submerged.



The cost of the TG-5 will get you the non-waterproof Sony DSC-400V with a Really Good (big) fast lens, but the size of a softball, and if you want to make it water proof, must buy a $300 waterproof housing made for it.
But here's the quality of photos you can get that way:
http://fiberglassflyrodders.com/forum/v ... =2&t=65724
the last photo in Dave's series shows the Ikelite waterproof housing (guess he took the camera out for the shot)

[TroutSupport.com]

I'm in the market as well since the go pro's are great at catching video but horrible at capturing a decent photo.. this fish looks way out of scale on the front and back end.. .just weird

[SWFinatic]

I just bought an entry level Akaso ek7000 plus. Probably not the best camera for posting videos on YouTube since it doesn't have the ability to add an external mic but the video is not bad and the pictures are really good. I haven't put it through field tests yet just tested it at home but so far I think it's going to work fine for me. I like it because it has a remote and WIFI, you can record video with it plugged in to a charger, can accept a 64 gb sd card and it was only 70 bucks.

[CaptJack]

Tom, my basic yak camera is a Pentax WG-10. it's about the size of a phone and waterproof to 33'
fits in my shirt pocket
in old 35mm film speak it's a 28~140 zoom
https://www.dpreview.com/products/penta ... entax_wg10
on ebay - https://www.ebay.com/p/PENTAX-Wg-10-Wat ... 3721731201

[CaptJack]

another good option
https://www.amazon.com/Fujifilm-FinePix ... B07NJSQW5F

[Ron Mc]

Cap'm is in the right ballpark. For dedicated outdoor still cameras, the market is pretty much split between Olympus and Pentax, and has been for about fifteen years. Pentax has always set up their pocket camera format a bit wider, more of a panorama, actually matching the aspect ratio of a phone-camera, while Olympus has always duplicated the format of standard cameras.
The Fuji is a good lower-cost alternative.
Photography is part of my profession, and goes way back to shooting film. I always shot Canon on film, my boss always shot Pentax on film. When digital SLR arrived, Nikon and Olympus led the market, my office went with Olympus. I've stuck with Olympus digitals because I'm familiar with their software.

A good outdoor camera should let you simply aim for about a second, be a minor or, better, no distraction from what you're doing and of course be abuse-proof. Should be on a lanyard so you just take it out of your pocket, snap it without really framing anything, drop it and forget it. The software is important, because later at home, you should rotate and crop out the photo, adjust the light, and resize down to BB format, to make it presentable. Really, none of my outdoor photos have ever been framed, just aimed and dealt with later.

My first shirt pocket cameras were Olympus Stylus bought as factory refurbs from Olympus for around $100. Each of my daughters ended up with one of those. I still have my old Stylus 850 SW from eleven years ago, it's been through a lot, taken most of my photos posted on the forums, still works and is reasonably weatherproof, can't read the icons on the program wheel anymore, but the 11-year-old factory-refurb seals finally started leaking when submerged. It was always short on batteries, but took a lot of great photos, including very good macros. I replaced it when it began to leak for trout in the classroom submerged shots. The Fuji Finepix Cap'm linked is a virtual copy of the 850 SW.

these are all from the 11-y-o shirt pocket 850 SW, along with the lion's share of archived photos I post here and other places.




The TG-5 was a birthday present to me last summer and, of course, includes every new photo I've posted since then.

[Tombo]

I bought the Polaroid to replace an aging Olympus with the intention of having a small, simple camera. I will have to look into the Pentax line.
Good stuff, I should have posted before buying a camera.

[Ron Mc]

The nice thing about sticking with a brand is they've already programmed you into their function.
Olympus closed out their last SW last year, and no longer makes anything just like it.
The TG-5 is much better made than the SW line, but the cost may be prohibitive.

BTW Tom, if you're looking for a lanyard to hang your camera, the one Costa sells is perfect:
https://www.costadelmar.com/us/en/men/c ... /LANY.html

[CaptJack]

....

[Pablo]

Been happy with my Fuji XP, waterproof to 50 ft for 30 minutes, shockproof to 5.8 ft.
Got mine at COSCO a couple of years back for about $225 plus TTL.
Great macro and good optical zoom with image stabilization.
Just a little point and shoot camera which is good for me.

[Tombo]

Target has a good return policy. Took it back and got a Panasonic Lumix TS25.

[Ron Mc]

good job Tom, looking forward to your photos

[CaptJack]

Target has a good return policy. Took it back and got a Panasonic Lumix TS25.

that'll work - good choice
https://www.dpreview.com/products/panas ... ic_dmcts25