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Cameras For Fishing

Posted by paulcs <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/surfcasting/info/user=paulcs' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 31/1/2013, 2:09 pm

I know this has been asked before, but looking fo a good quality camera for fishing. I'm not a pro, but need something durable, and waterproof. Advice please

Re: Cameras For Fishing

Posted by Chad <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/surfcasting/info/user=Chad' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 31/1/2013, 3:40 pm, in reply to "Cameras For Fishing"

You talking SLR cameras or more along the line of point and shoot digital cams?

Mark or racepics would have the best advice, PM them.

Wairoa
Hawkesbay

Take Nothing For Granted

Re: Cameras For Fishing

Posted by racepics <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/surfcasting/info/user=racepics' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 31/1/2013, 4:14 pm, in reply to "Cameras For Fishing"

Ok so the "waterproof" requirement is going to remove DSLR's from your shopping list.
Unfortunately doing so also going to remove the best cameras as well.
You can't have both!

I guess it comes down to what you want, image quality wise, out of your camera, and how keen a photographer you are.

There are several waterproof models out there. They are all compact-type cameras with built-in zoom (you cant change lenses).
They're ideal for your fishing snapshots. They won't be taking cover photos for magazines though.
With careful use and a bit of photographic knowledge you can get good shots from them.

If you want to consistently get magazine quality shots (this also requires skill) forget the waterproof bit and buy a good DSLR.

Have a look at Mark's and Chad's photos. They both use DSLR cameras (and know how to use them).

http://www.dpreview.com/products/canon/compacts/canon_d10

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2013/01/29/Nikon

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2013/01/29/Pentax-to-ship-more-affordable-WG-10-waterproof-camera

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2013/01/29/Pentax-launches-WG-3-and-WG-3-GPS-rugged-waterproof-cameras-with-faster-lens

http://www.paniasurfcasting.org
http://www.surfcaster.co.nz

Re: Cameras For Fishing

You could try this website http://www.waterproofcameras.co.nz/

http://www.paniasurfcasting.org
http://www.surfcaster.co.nz

Re: Cameras For Fishing

Posted by Hangler <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/surfcasting/info/user=Hangler' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 31/1/2013, 9:58 pm, in reply to "Re: Cameras For Fishing"

Paul, the advice posted my Chad is not totally accurate. Two years ago Sony put out the NEX E-mount range of cameras starting with the NEX 5. This range is a point and shoot camera with the ability to change lenses, making it as versatile as any DSLR.

I have gone through this range of cameras and their quality had won admiration from professional photographers worldwide. At present I am using a NEX 7, the top the range model, this gives a photo at 24.3 mega pixels that will grace any glossy magazine publication. Mind you this doesn't come cheap. The recommended price for the NEX 7 body is $2000.00 then you start looking for lenses.

If you are serious about a new camera it could pay to hold off for a while. The NEX range of cameras have completely shaken all camera manufactures to the core, this as it has become and award winning concept that is taking sales away from the two recognised market leaders. The Nex range has all the power of a DSLR but being pocket sized, there is no need to lug round a camera the size of a brick. Already Cannon have dropped their prices and they have a NEX copy in the pipeline.

Good question.

Re: Cameras For Fishing

Posted by Chad <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/surfcasting/info/user=Chad' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 31/1/2013, 10:03 pm, in reply to "Re: Cameras For Fishing"

Hangler what are you on?? I have asked a question and pointed him in the direction of the best two photographers on this site.

I haven't offered advice powl.....................

Wairoa
Hawkesbay

Take Nothing For Granted

Re: Cameras For Fishing

Posted by Phill <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/surfcasting/info/user=Phill' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 31/1/2013, 10:34 pm, in reply to "Re: Cameras For Fishing"
Tackle Tactics

We have a really good camera that's right up there with best but the first thing you need to decide is what do you want to achieve . In my case I love what can be done with the DSLR but my smart phone takes some beating with both photo quality and ease of use plus it's compatibility to things like face book etc. It took Karen a while to decide on her Canon and then there's the lenses and oh a bag
Good luck.

Re: Cameras For Fishing

Posted by paulcs <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/surfcasting/info/user=paulcs' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 1/2/2013, 7:22 am, in reply to "Re: Cameras For Fishing"

Thanks for the tips guys.

Really only wanting a point and shoot option, would love to get into photography in a more serious way but for now a good quality "point and shoot" option is what i'm looking for. Kind of like the look of the Pentax WG10, seem to be a few well priced options available on Ebay.

Cheers

Re: Cameras For Fishing

Posted by Hangler <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/surfcasting/info/user=Hangler' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 1/2/2013, 10:26 am, in reply to "Re: Cameras For Fishing"

Chad, apologies, I made an error and used your name instead of racepics.

However, you asked what am I on? A good question. At present I am on holiday. Secondly I am on my first gin and tonic of the evening, not too much tonic. Thirdly, I am on my pc chair.

All three come highly recommended.

Re: Cameras For Fishing

Posted by Mark Roberts <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/surfcasting/info/user=Mark+Roberts' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 1/2/2013, 10:34 am, in reply to "Re: Cameras For Fishing"

I have an Olympus E3 and Olympus high-grade lenses. As a DSLR, it's a relatively large and heavy system. The sensor in this camera is now out of date (2007), but the lenses will last a lifetime. Older sensors are fine in good light, but not so fine if shooting at high ISO in low light. My E3 really sucks in that situation.

Hangler is correct in pointing to the Sony NEX if you're serious about quality pics from a smaller camera. But as he notes, this is not a cheap option.

Being in the Olympus camp, I'll migrate to their new so-called mirrorless cameras (which happen to have Sony sensors). They aren't cheap either, but you get what you pay for. See an independent review of the latest Olympus below.

The new small-is-beautiful cameras from Olympus, Sony and Panasonic are making inroads. As Hangler says, pros are adopting them. Canon and Nikon haven't responded in a meaningful way yet, other than offering their entry level DSLRs at super cheap prices. They've been caught flat footed—too happy to milk their dominant position with DSLRs.

I would not advise anyone to go into a shop and ask for advice on what to buy. Chances are the counter jumper knows very little and has been told what to sell you. Search the internet for reviews, and not just for cameras—read the lens reviews. It's relatively cheap for a DSLR manufacturer to load up a camera body with a truckload of whizzy features because many of these are software related. However, there is no cheap way to make a decent lens. So, for entry level DSLRs the manufacturers don't bother. They figure correctly that the average punter will be so mesmerised by the camera specs he won't realise the lens on the front end is just a jam jar. Later, the buyer may scratch his head, wondering why his mate's cellphone takes pics as good as his

.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/olympus_om_d_e_m5_review.shtml

Sorry, but I haven't caught any decent fish lately, so you'll have to settle for my latest human being pic.

From Stuff

Re: Cameras For Fishing

Interesting comments, Mark, From personal experience I have discovered everything you have written to be absolutely spot on.

I caught this trout somewhat flat footed on Thursday, it was blissfully unaware of my attention. It is well into double figures and can be located at that all too familiar location of 'Spot X'.

This picture was taken at a range of about eight metres using a 300mm telephoto lens, the water was about a metre deep.

This is what you can do with a good camera, this is a close up of the trout's head. note there is no loss of quality in reproducing such an image. That is what you are paying for.

Paul, if you get a point and shoot camera and you wish to take good pictures, you must learn to take the camera out of it's built in 'automatic setting's mode', and learn to set the shutter speed, the aperture and the focussing yourself. Many times the camera will set what it believes to be the best settings for reproducing a picture, but this can be vastly improved if you learn those settings yourself. This is not as difficult as you will be lead to believe, the picture on the camera's screen will tell you how well you are doing.

Sorry about the size of the photos, I thought Tiny Pic had a self editing system to reduce the size of pictures. Obviously not.

Re: Cameras For Fishing

Posted by Chad <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/surfcasting/info/user=Chad' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 1/2/2013, 11:25 am, in reply to "Re: Cameras For Fishing"

Looks like a tuki fish haha, lower reaches too. Regardless of where it is though, it's a cracker and been around a while

Wairoa
Hawkesbay

Take Nothing For Granted

Re: Cameras For Fishing

Nice capture, Hangler. If you'd been the owner of a DSLR, you might not have got that shot. You might have left your 'brick' at home because it's such a pain to lug around.

Re: Cameras For Fishing

Posted by GaryK <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/surfcasting/info/user=GaryK' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 1/2/2013, 5:18 pm, in reply to "Re: Cameras For Fishing"

I play around with an Olympus P&S waterproof shockproof. Results are more than reasonable and record fishing events without the dramas of a. carrying a big camera around and b. worrying about the rain, falling in, getting hit by a wave.
Have a look at Harvey Norman when they have a sale on.

The snapper don't know where the car park is!
Sometimes it is better to travel than to arrive.

Re: Cameras For Fishing

Posted by ThomasW <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/surfcasting/info/user=ThomasW' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 3/2/2013, 9:58 pm, in reply to "Re: Cameras For Fishing"

Same of the best photos I have seen have been taking with P&S cameras, I have also seen terrible photos taken with expensive high end SLR and mirrorless cameras.

If the user does not know what they are doing, the photos are unlikely to be excellent.

I use a Olympus OM-D, which is the flagship camera in micro four thirds range, its been quite a revolutionary camera for the format. I choice the OM-D because it takes great photos (I am the main limiting factor rather then the camera), its weather proof and is more compact then any DSLR setup.

You can see a few of my photos here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12741367@N05/

Not all of them are great, several are actually quite bad photos but uploaded them for a variety of reasons.

Re: Cameras For Fishing

Posted by paulcs <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/surfcasting/info/user=paulcs' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 5/2/2013, 5:36 pm, in reply to "Cameras For Fishing"

Thanks guys awesome response

Re: Cameras For Fishing

Posted by Mark Roberts <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/surfcasting/info/user=Mark+Roberts' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 5/2/2013, 7:38 pm, in reply to "Re: Cameras For Fishing"

Good choice, Thomas. I see you have a 75-300mm lens. Plenty of reach with that. Have you played with the function that gives you focus on the eye nearest to the camera? I wonder if that focuses on a fish eye if you are holding one for a shot.

Re: Cameras For Fishing

Posted by ThomasW <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/surfcasting/info/user=ThomasW' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 5/2/2013, 11:07 pm, in reply to "Re: Cameras For Fishing"

No I have not played with that function, its a extremely customizable camera with quite poor menus and these still a lot I need to learn about it.

Re: Cameras For Fishing

Posted by Mark Roberts <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/surfcasting/info/user=Mark+Roberts' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 6/2/2013, 11:01 am, in reply to "Re: Cameras For Fishing"

My Olympus E3 also has confusing menus, but you get to know them after a while. I recommend setting up custom modes. Your flickr site tells me you have at least 3 lenses for the OMD: one for bugs, one for birds, one for everyday shooting

Re: Cameras For Fishing

Posted by ThomasW <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/surfcasting/info/user=ThomasW' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on 6/2/2013, 6:00 pm, in reply to "Re: Cameras For Fishing"

Yeah, it has four My-set modes, and I had one customized just for Birding and another for something else (probably long exposure landscapes). Is a useful feature.

Have four lenses at the moment.

Olympus 12-50 Macro (kit lens, weather sealed)
Olympus 75-300 (Bird Lens)
Panasonic 14 2.5 (Pancake lens)
Olympus 60 2.8 Macro (Insect Lens)

I would love more lenses, but hard to justify the price. My next purchase would probably be a few filters.

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