Cameras?
 

I'm a bit jealous of you guys with the nice cameras taking sweet OTW photos. So I must ask for recommendations. My two year old got ahold of my Sony Cybershot that we bought about 4 years ago and now it mysteriously doesn't work. Kinda a favor in disguise since we've been thinking about getting a new one. I probably won't be taking it fishing with me though. The one thing I didn't like about the old one was the slow "shutter speed". I could never capture those actions shots at the right time. Size isn't the biggest issue but if there was a sleek digi with a decent-good megapixel spec with a lightning fast processing speed, that would be great. Looking to spend between or around $300-$400. Thanks.

Pentax Optio or the Olympus that Holy Mac has.

I use a Sony W90 and have a water proof case for it :D

I was lookingat the olymous sw850 There $299 and are submersible even in sw. They even come in pink!!!lol

I have had both.... I like the Olympus 720 SW because it is waterproof to 10ft, and also shock proof, to 5ft, I have tested this... :D Both cameras are very good though for the sport of kayak fishing... I literally abused both cameras with saltwater, they have been soaking in my footwell, and they held up good... I just try to wash them off with fresh water... Although I dropped my Pentax, and it broke... They make a new Olympus that goes to 30ft.... I don't like the cameras with dive housing, if you get water on the lens, then it comes out blurry... I like to be careless.... It is also cumbersome, my Olympus fits in my lifevest pocket...

chris

I have the Optio W30 and I've been really happy with it (It comes with me on every trip, about once a week). The pictures are good and the movie quality is surprisingly good. The shutter is definitely on the slow side, though. The price point and small form factor were winners for me.

I got a silicone sleeve for it, and attached a stainless caribiner and chunk of pool noodle to make it float in case it goes overboard. I clip it to my PFD and stuff the camera in my PFD pocket so it is always handy.

Here's some sample snaps:

http://gallery.mac.com/bpchristensen...r=black&sel=24

BTW, that bat ray was caught on a sabiki with 8# line. We'd been catching short hali's and I was sure it was a legal halibut, and tried to "finesse" it in, knowing the line would easily break if I horsed it in. Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed to see a bat ray. A hoop net to pull him in, a pat on the back, and a quick hook removal, and he was back in water.

I'm with you Chris.

And that ray must have been a heluva fight, hoping for a big beaver... :)

I never owned Pentax, but I'll testify that my Olympus 720 SW has gone down with me to 15' deep, took some pics, no problem (it's rated up to 10'... oops, remembered later) :) ... Great stellar case, everything proof. No problem being soaked in blood for a good awhile... :) Descent quality photos, considering everything.

But Nate, I'd say I would never get it if it were to double for pics of my 2 year old. I took many better pictures of my kid with many other way cheaper cameras then I did with 720 SW.

Great camera for kayak fishing, there must be some better cameras in the same price range for the "life on shore" pics.

I've been using a Pentax Optio W10 for the last two years and I've been very happy with it. It takes lots of abuse and hasn't failed me yet. I've had it submerged to 4'-5' for several minutes without problems. I also use it as my everyday GP camera. I keep it with me in my backpack everywhere I go. The size, image quality and battery life are the big selling points. Negatives: some halation when shooting with flash in very dark conditions, no lens cover and a waterproof camera should have some sort of rubberized grip. Get the silcone cover if you will be using it in the water. I just coated parts of mine with Marine Goop.:)

I have had my Olympus 720 SW for over a year and a half now and love it. Takes great pics on land as well as shore. I took my family Christmas card pic with it las year. It takes okay video with sound above and under water. If you have young kids it is great for videoing their first time swimming at La Jolla and things like that.

I have a retractable leash for it when I am on the water. It DOES NOT float! I have dropped it from about 4-5 feet and have not had any problems with it.

This camera is about the size of a pack of cards so it easily fits into a Life Vest pocket. Other water cameras I have looked at are way to bulky to have on the yak.

I had a Sony water camera once but the battery life was about 20 minutes. The 720SW has a rechargeable battery that lasts for a couple of days.

Good luck on your choice.

One "nit" I forgot to mention is that the PENTAX Optio W30 has a proprietary USB connector, so it is another cable to worry about. it does NOT use the standard "mini-USB" connector that a lot of other cameras and DVRs use. Most of us probably have several of these cables lying around and use them interchangeably - unfortunately with the PENTAX, you have to keep track of this specific cable.

I also bought a 4GB SD card and an extra battery. With these, I am able to go on multi-day outings away from power sources and computers.

Oh, and I agree with the idea of having a silicone skin - definitely helps with grip-ability and keeps it from getting banged up while rolling around with all the other gear on deck. Here's a video review I posted to Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Pentax-Optio-S...5601498&sr=8-1

Here are also some more snapshots taken with the PENTAX that show a variety of lighting and range situations - all taken in true "snapshot" fashion (e.g. no regard for the settings, just using the full auto settings):
http://gallery.mac.com/bpchristensen#100094

I have the Olymus 770sw and I think it is great. I agree that a slow shutter speed is very annoying(especially for taking pictures of your kids).The 770 doesn't have that problem. One thing, make sure you hold the camera under fresh water and open the shutter several times to clean it up. This will keep the shutter cover from freezing up.

I was in Target a few weeks ago and they have the Olympus for $199.00

vivitar 6200w
@ $125
AA battery
Standard SD card
waterproof to 30 ft
seems to be identical to sealife models just lower rated depth
comes with extra 0-ring

http://www.amazon.com/Vivitar-6%252e...5614896&sr=8-1

SW770
 

Nathan,

I had the SW770 Olympus and was not happy with it at all. On the plus side, it's great for water use and no problem dropping it due to the shock absorbing feature. On the serious negative side, it's only a 3X zoom and the quality of the pics is really poor and grainy. That's a huge disappointment to me for the price of the camera. If you are counting on that camera to record pics of your kids that you want to come out good, forget it. Also, it's not user-friendly to switch from pic mode to video mode or other settings. You wiill miss the shot if you need to quickly switch from video to still shots. I lost some great opportunities due to that. I do not recommend the Olympus camera at all.

Cameras
 

I also have one of the Olympus 790SW's and really like it. It does take a few seconds to start up, so you do have to take a few seconds to setup your shot. It is nice and compact and fits into most PFD pockets and fishing vests very well. Sure beats keeping a non-waterproof camera in a peanut butter jar :o

I HAVE THE OLYMPUS STYLUS 790SW IT IS SHOCK AND WATERPROF IT WORKS GREAT!! TAKES GREAT PICS. THE ONLY THING I AM GETTING USED TO IS THE SHUTTER SPEED. I AM USED TO THE FAST SPEED OF MY 35MM. OTHER THEN THAT, ONCE YOU GET USED TO POINT AND SHOOT CAMERAS YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE IT. I BOUGHT MINE FROM TARGET, BECAUSE THE HAVE THE BEST RETURN POLICY.

i have the 770sw and its been great so far, i keep it in sport mode OTW

i am eyeballing the 1070sw? i think is what its called?

Bobby

Ditto for me, very much enjoy it. :) Battery life seems great too.

i like my pentax w20. here's a shot of a bedding bass at miramar in about 10' to 15' of water from my tube.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...cture051-1.jpg

Cool shot norrinradd:cheers1: