Cameras

gizmo0013 · September 13, 2007

We are cruising in Dec for our first cruise and our honeymoon. So I would like to have a good camera. It will be used for the wedding too. I am looking for a good compact camera, good zoom, stableizer, action shots etc... I was looking at the Canon SD 850. But I really would like to know what kind everyone has and how well they like it? And has anyone bought the waterproof bags for them and used them snorkeling?

Thanks

eh2zed · September 13, 2007

There are so many makes and models, aim and shoot or SLR. Personally I have a Canon EOS Rebel SLR Digital with a few lenses. A bit cumbersome but I like the lenses options for landcape and distance shots.

EE2000 · September 13, 2007

We just bought a Canon SD 750, no image stabilization but great camera and great pictures.

Canon's have great products

katier825 · September 14, 2007

My son's girlfriend bought a really nice WATER RESISTANT digital camera. I think it's an Olympus. Takes really nice pics. She uses it near the pool, dropped it in the fish tank...really is water resistant. No more expensive than the other digitals (between 200-300 I think). I have a Sony DSC-W55 and really like it. Not water resistant though. If I had known about the Olympus, I probably would have gotten that instead.

1stXcruisers · September 14, 2007

Olympus has a 7.1 megapixel digital camera w/3x optical zoom that is waterproof to 33', shockproof to 5' and crushproof to 220 lbs. The reviews I've read have been good on it. We are opting to spend a few more dollars and get the Olympus SP-550 UZ with 7.1 megapixel and 18x optical zoom or the Canon PowerShot S5 IS 8.0 megapixel and 12x optical zoom (with the option to add an external flash) and purchase a waterproof disposable camera at Walmart for $25 to take on the cruise. The price difference for a much better camera that isn't water proof is under $30 and we decided that we would be using it way more on land than under water.

B&R

Senoj84 · September 14, 2007

I have an Hp Photosmart E427. I love it. It has 6 megapixels and a great zoom. I like the fact that it's not big like other cameras and it doesnt have a lot of buttons like other cameras. I won it so I didnt have to worry about the price but I saw one at Circuit City for $99.99. I get the memory cards off Ebay and it's very cheap. It's $17 with shipping included and can hold 500 pics!

krystalkruzer · September 15, 2007

Canon Powershot S3 and I am pleased with it.12x optical zoom,great for vaction pictures.

ab0si · September 17, 2007

May I suggest that you figure out what you need and then wory about what model fits the bill the best. I am assuming you are going digital. I am also assuming you are looking for an "all-in-one" and not a SLR system camera.

Some questions:

Are you going to shoot a lot of landscapes? If so, you want wide-angle. this is difficult with all but the top end cameras (mostly because the sensors are so small). There are several that offer 28mm lens 35mm equivilent. 24mm would be better, but such is life. :)

How much control do you want? Manual shutter settings? Manual aperature? Manual focus? Manual light balancing? All the cameras are going to offer several automatic modes, so don't worry about that. Why would you want the above stuff? well, when shooting a portrait you might want to bur the background (so a wide aperature is needed). You might want both the foreground and backgroud in focus, so a small aperature is needed. Being able to override the camera's light balance can give you a more accurate recording of the actual scene and also allow you to change it for mood. (You can do some of this in post processing on your computer). How about light sensitivity? The more sensitive, the more noise, but more sensitive also means faster shutter speeds which is important for action shots and low light situations.

Size/Weight. To some extent, the larger cameras offer (more accurately, CAN offer) better lens and/or longer zooms. (Electronic zoom is advertizing silliness. it is simply cropping the picture which you can easiy do on your computer. Optical zoom is waht is important). If you really want a small camera, stick with a 3x or 4x zoom as anything larger is not going to have a very good lens (laws of optics being what they are).

Do you want a camera that is waterproof? (Snorkling and shallow SCUBA diving).

How important is a quality lens? If you are jsut going publish on the web or print teh shots as 4"x6" full frame (that is, not cropped) you can get by with a less than great lens. If you are going to tightly crop shots and/or print large pictures, a poor lens will make you unhappy.

Are you gong to shoot a lot in low light? Do you want to take action shots in moderate light? If so, you need a sensor that is "fast" (sensitive) and not noisy (noise=random artificacts in the picture). These have gotten MUCH better recently but there is still quite a bit of difference.

How much money do you want to spend? How much above that are you willing to go to get a camera very close to your ideal?

I am not trying to talk you into spending 16 zillion euros (which is about 25 zillion dollars <grin>) to get a camera which weighs more than your suitcase. For many poeple that is not only a waste of money but they end up with a camera which is too big or too heavy or too complicatedf for what they really want. On the other hand, there is little point in spending $300 now and having to spend $400 next year because you buy a camera which doesn't meet your needs.

Paul

Aerorea · September 17, 2007

I currently have the Canon PowerShot S3 IS, and had the previous S2 IS (and of course, want the S5 IS). It's a great camera with awesome zoom and image stabilization. It's one of those cameras you can use straight out of the box on auto-everything, and then configure it as you learn it's features. One bonus of the S3 that I recently had the opportunity to use was the video on the fly.. it was very good, but you'll need a big SD card for it!

My brother has the Nikon D40 DSLR and likes it a lot.

cruisinbuddy · September 17, 2007

We just bought my DD a Fugi S700 I think that's it. It is the shape of an SLR, smaller, but it's a point & shoot. Lots of settings on it, 10X zoom and 7.1 megapixels, $249.99 CDN. I agree with eh2zed about the much more expensive Canon Rebel, awesome camera. We have an older Canon A70 and it's now starting to mess up. But they do make good cameras.

pierces · September 18, 2007

We are cruising in Dec for our first cruise and our honeymoon. So I would like to have a good camera. It will be used for the wedding too. I am looking for a good compact camera, good zoom, stableizer, action shots etc... I was looking at the Canon SD 850. But I really would like to know what kind everyone has and how well they like it? And has anyone bought the waterproof bags for them and used them snorkeling?

Thanks

If you are looking at the SD850 for it's compact size, it's a great camera. I carry a SD800 (close to the same camera with a wider-angle lens) 24x7 and love it. Here's a link to a gallery of shots from a sea-day where I put away the DSLR and just wandered with the SD800:

http://www.pbase.com/pierce324/pacnw20074a

If you want a longer zoom, but still quite compact, the Canon S3 IS (or the new S5) mentioned above is an excellent choice as is the Sony H5. All are stabilized.

I wrote an article about choosing cameras and posted it on my website. If you're interested, look here: http://www.pptphoto.com/ArticlePages/WhatCamera.htm

As for the waterproof bags, I'm not a fan, but many people have posted that they used them and their camera survived. Canon does make a dedicated housing for the SD850 (WP-DC15). It's very secure, but pricey.

Hope this helps!

Dave

eandj · September 18, 2007

If I were you I'd get a couple Fugi disposable cameras to take to the beach with you. They do a great job, and easy to replace if lost or stolen. I don't take my expensive camera on trips to the beach. Just when I'll have it in my "touring" bag with me all day. There are lots of ideas on threads in the general cruise questions re what to do with property on the beach. You might want to read some of those.

JHCALLAHAN · September 21, 2007

Personally I'm old fashioned and a great believer in the KISS principle. On our recent cruise I took my old reliable Pentax K1000 35mm SLR. It has one button, the shutter release.:D My wife took her fancy Pentax digital that is slightly less complex than the space shuttle. Somehow while trying to download her pictures to the computer they got dumped. Not in the camera, not in the confuser. Lost all her cruise pictures.:( Poor thing cried for hours. Sure glad I shot those four rolls from my old reliable 35! It's 29 years old and heavy as a brick, but it works first time everytime (as long as the light meter batt has power!)

My 2 cents. Have a great cruise whatever you choose.

KJC

pierces · September 22, 2007

...her fancy Pentax digital that is slightly less complex than the space shuttle....

Check the bottom of her camera for missing tiles...that will corrupt a card in a heartbeat! ;)

"The best camera is the one you use and the shot you take will always be better than the one you didn't!"

Happy shooting...whatever the tool!

Dave

JHCALLAHAN · September 22, 2007

Thanks for the tip Pierces. I don't know what a tile on a camera is but I'll check and see if anything looks amiss. I do know she dropped it at least once and the battery door popped open. Everything was working OK I guess (I don't mess with the thing) until the pictures went POOF!:(

JHC

pierces · September 22, 2007

Thanks for the tip Pierces. I don't know what a tile on a camera is but I'll check and see if anything looks amiss. I do know she dropped it at least once and the battery door popped open. Everything was working OK I guess (I don't mess with the thing) until the pictures went POOF!:(

JHC

Sorry about that, it was a humorous reference to the Space Shuttle...:p

Check out Lexar's Image Rescue ($30) or the RescuePro software included with Sandisk's Extreme III and Extreme IV series memory cards. The Sandisk is an especially good deal if she was going to get a new card to replace the questionable one anyway.

Either of those applications will have a good chance of recovering the images off of a corrupted card. They usually work even if you have formatted it and not taken too many pictyres over the old ones.

Good luck...it hurts to lose good shots!

Dave

megr1125 · September 22, 2007

Personally I'm old fashioned and a great believer in the KISS principle. On our recent cruise I took my old reliable Pentax K1000 35mm SLR. It has one button, the shutter release.:D My wife took her fancy Pentax digital that is slightly less complex than the space shuttle. Somehow while trying to download her pictures to the computer they got dumped. Not in the camera, not in the confuser. Lost all her cruise pictures.:( Poor thing cried for hours. Sure glad I shot those four rolls from my old reliable 35! It's 29 years old and heavy as a brick, but it works first time everytime (as long as the light meter batt has power!)

My 2 cents. Have a great cruise whatever you choose.

KJC

i know the feeling, my Nikon FG 35mm slr is, hmm...20+ years old....i will not give it up until they stop making film..and even then, i'm keeping it...was a gift from the parents! one camera guy a couple years ago (when i was lens shopping...more than a couple years i guess) said why have a manual camera (the FG does have some auto things) when you get one that does it all for you??!!

I said what's the fun...i took 3 photo and i darkroom class in college...told the kid to get another line of work and never went back. That place is long gone!

i love my digital point n shoot...but as to the FG, i panicked the first time the battery died and the shutter froze open....i was atop stone mountain in atlanta...drove to a nearby photo store...the kind that smelled like a photo store, in tears......5 minutes and 5 bucks later i was smiling and on the way back to the top of stone mountain...without any ruined pictures-go figure!

megr1125 · September 22, 2007

Sorry about that, it was a humorous reference to the Space Shuttle...:p

Check out Lexar's Image Rescue ($30) or the RescuePro software included with Sandisk's Extreme III and Extreme IV series memory cards. The Sandisk is an especially good deal if she was going to get a new card to replace the questionable one anyway.

Either of those applications will have a good chance of recovering the images off of a corrupted card. They usually work even if you have formatted it and not taken too many pictyres over the old ones.

Good luck...it hurts to lose good shots!

Dave

i just peeked at your pix...the 1st one that popped out was the glowing red floor! DANG that is gorgeous!

i think i may have to spend a week or two looking at those...of course it will probably make me hate you creative people MORE!!!!!

what gorgeous photos!

JHCALLAHAN · September 22, 2007

Sorry Dave, that went right over my head.:D So you think the pics may still be on the card?:eek: I'll definitely look into those recovery systems Monday! If we can recover them I'm sure my DW will send ya a big ole smacker!

JHC

pierces · September 22, 2007

i just peeked at your pix...the 1st one that popped out was the glowing red floor! DANG that is gorgeous!

i think i may have to spend a week or two looking at those...of course it will probably make me hate you creative people MORE!!!!!

what gorgeous photos!

Kind words...thank you!

I've been at this for a long time...I was bound to get a couple good ones! :D

Speaking of film cameras...here's the intro article on my website explaining why I'm digital now: http://www.pptphoto.com/ArticlePages/Welcome.htm

I did, however just buy a battery for my old film Maxxums. Thought I'd wallow in nostalgia for fun.

Here are links to our "digital cruise" galleries that you were looking at.

We had a lot of fun taking them! (Ok...I had a lot of fun taking them and

my Wonderful Wife, Kim just had a lot of fun!)

Please enjoy!

Pacific Northwest 2007

Western Caribbean 2007

Alaska 2006

Dave & Ron's 50th Birthday Cruise 2006