Camera

[Sam Morrison]

Hey guys,

After the good oil on cameras used for your fishing shots. I see some pretty sick photo's posted every now and then and have wondered what kind of camera guys prefer for using in a boat etc?

My experience with cameras is pretty much point and shoot, but I would like to get a bit more serious and get those nice crisp and clean shots of fish, fishing and action shots etc...Any advice for cameras in the mid-range would be cool, I think a high end camera would be under utilised at this stage and not wise on the boat should I get clumsy.

Advice on lenses etc. would be cool, do you need a polarised lens etc...and how to get the fish eye look...

Dre and Ocean Active always have good shots! 

[Peter Childs]

Sam

Check out the Cannon G series (10, 11, 12).  I own 2 SLR's which can be a bit of a pain on a small boat, but my G11 is great.

You can get a waterproof housing for them, they have a large range of manual adjustment dials (without having to go through cumbersome menus) and are nice and compact.

Lensmate make a series of after market filter holders (using SLR sized filters) and fisheye and telephoto adpaters are available.  They also shoot HD video, which is handy.

Oh, and they shoot RAW, probably the most important feature.

Cheers

[Callan Wallace]

We use the Canon G 1X with a water proof housing. Great images and the camera is sealed so it can go into the water. Also it shoots HD video. Worth a look.

[Robert Tapert]

Hi

For the big fish eye wide angle shots that makes the 4 kilo fish look like 40 kilos you need an slr camera. However for a point and shot that is easy and waterproof the Nikon cool pix is hard to beat. But the down side it the lens is not that wide angle and there is no way to add a polarizing filter.

If you go with an slr outfit the canon series is user friendly and the prices are pretty good. There are great tutorials on you tube. You should be able to pick a good one used and spend the money on a 10 to 24mm lens. That will do what you want with fish shots.

Rob

[Andrew Susani]

I've had a Canon G10 and it was great but I found the waterproof housing quite cumbersome to use.  I used it a lot up here for a few years and even with care, corrosion got to the magnesium bits and I had some problems with the shutter button sticking.  But it has lots of features and is very easy to use.

I bought a Canon 7D and it is exceptional, probably the best camera I have ever used, but you have to get good lenses to get the best out of it.  I would highly recommend buying the body only and then investing in good quality lenses.  Again, even though it lived in a bag inside a dry bag, the salt air has started making things a little tight and sticky.  Mind you, I have taken about 35,000 photos with it over 3 years.  The saltwater tropics are a harsh place!!!  I will not be using it as often as I used to when in the boat, just to limit the exposure to the elements.

The HD video on the 7D is really good but you don't have autofocus, and I find it very hard to change focus manually and still get it right because you are only able to view it on the LCD display on the back, not through the eyepiece.  I have a lot of cool GT strike footage which is slightly blurry, because of this.  Very annoying!

I have just bought an Olympus TG-1 to have in the boat for general photos and HD video - we used a cheaper Tough Olympus in Hawaii for underwater stuff and it was really good for both video and photos.  The benefit with the TG-1 is that it is extremely weatherproof and can be used underwater up to 40ft.  It has lots of menu features and can also have a wide angle or telephoto (zoom) lens attached, which is cool.

Time will tell!

[Sam Morrison]

Thanks for the reply's...

I now have a fair bit of "google" time ahead of me! But at least I know where to start. 

[Jon Li]

I was looking at Lumix LX7 for my missus due to be released soon , it has F 1.4 Summilux Leica Panasonic lenses ; http://www.dpreview.com/products/panasonic/compacts/panasonic_dmclx7 , this new LX7 has HDR setting which is absence in LX3 , I think I will buy this camera !

I still have the older model LX3 and 2 other cameras ( Lumix G1 n GX1 ) for more creative works with various lenses but the camera I bring for my fishing trip is Panasonic HX-WA10 which is waterproof up to 3m , geared more for web upload video with Mpeg 4 , just can't see myself being too creative when there are fish to catch as I am still 90% fisherman n 10% photographer , hobby wise .

Jon .

[Duncan O'Connell]

Hi Sam

The Canon 'G' models are really great cameras for fishing photography where you don't want to lug a bulky SLR around. Bear in mind though if you are wanting to do some really nice shots of your lures, an SLR with a micro lens will come in very handy.
I don't use the Canon G's personally, but it would be good to check out their performance at close range first, before making the decision to steer away from an SLR.
Also to get some of the extreme perspectives and a more 'fish eye' look, an SLR with a super wide angle lens is the way to go.


Cheers

Duncan

[Mark Harris]

I am right now looking for a new compact camera for the purpose of nice quality record shots (no interest in artistic fish photography).

I was looking the new range of Panasonic Lumix that Jon mentions (http://www.dpreview.com/products/panasonic/compacts/panasonic_dmclx7) .

What would be the benefits of a true high end compact like a Canon G series over this model?

[Nick Bowles]

Hi Sam,

I had the same questions on cameras and have worked through a good few in the passed couple of years. I mainly used the Olympus waterproof range cameras but could never get great pictures. I now use a Canon 50D with a wide angle 10-20mm lens. Because of the sensor not being to the level of the top pro camreas like a 5D or 1D the lense actually shoots from 14mm-20mm so I get a great wide angle shot but it does not have to much curvature like the fish eye I used to use. I don't use a waterproof casing which is a risk (paid for good insurance), due to the fact it is hard to use the camera as it is bulky and difficult to store with limited space on the boat with all the clients and my fishing gear and also with the heat and humidity over here the casing often gets moisture in and fogs, so the fish pictue of a lifetime ends up looking like GTs in the mist. I use the Olympus Compact for shooting on the beaches, swimming in the water etc.

When I was in Tokara the legendary Fukui-san was using a very basic camera to get his amazing shots with a Panasonic DMC FX77 Lumix. Quite amazing how he gets those shots but the camera really works for a cheapy. But his only advise was don;t get the touch screen wet. I'm going to give a few of our captains the camera when i can find it in Dubai.

I think you have a lot of great advise from the guys here, I'm definitely picking up a few tips to check out!!

Cheers,
Nick

[Sam Morrison]

Heaps of good oil here guys!

Thanks for all the reply's; I can tell already I need to have some schooling in camera's but it would seem the Canon range is popular and has some great options. Storage is not an issue as we have a fully enclosed cabin on a 30ft boat.

Nick, If my shots came out half as good as yours I'd be stoked, I'll be in a few airports in the next few days so I'll have time check out the different models.

[Andrew Susani]

The other thing I really love about the 7D, is that it feels like a real camera.  True, it does take some practice to get the settings right for different light conditions, but you have absolute control over everything - shutter speed, aperture, ISO and the results can be outstanding when you get the hang of it all. 

I went through a string of compacts before listening to my cousins advice and bought the 7D.  He said it would make sense to get a good camera because I lived in a scenic place and fishing took me to more scenic locations 

A couple of good websites to check out when you find a couple of cameras that you like - some of these go into crazy detail but you can always filter out the useful bits:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/
http://www.dpreview.com/

[Mark Harris]

Price of a Canon EOS 7D = 2 Stellas!

[Jon Li]

Mark ,

The body of camera is one thing , the lenses are of huge consideration and may amount to lots more money .

Jon .

Price of a Canon EOS 7D = 2 Stellas!

[Andrew Susani]

Price of a Canon EOS 7D = 2 Stellas!

Ha ha yeah, don't look at accessorising with L series lenses then Mark