Type of camera while deployed?

[Lucy]

Hello all,

Currently searching for a camera, one that will serve well for shots taken from the ship in addition to any sightseeing I experience. More of a location/scenic picture taker than one for nights out and the like.

Hoping to receive recommendations on which functions will serve me best. This is the camera I plan on taking with me on deployments/vacations. I do want something user friendly, but am not adverse to actually needing to read the manual to figure things out. Price range between $400-$800 so both point-and-shoot and some dSLRs are in that range. Main point of pictures will be to show family and friends and large prints for the house.

Read through the threads from 2008 but most seemed directed for home life. Also have looked at cnet.com and gone to the camera store, but hoping to get a perspective on what does and does not work while on the ship.

Thanks,
Lucy

 

[helolumpy]

My advice is:
1. Get a small camera that will fit in your pocket/helmet bag. Carrying around a big camera is awkward sometimes.
2. Don't go super expensive so when it gets broken or wet, you aren't out too much $$$.

 

[Sapper!]

I took a Olympus Stylus 1030W to afghanistan. It is tough, took it on patrol with me, ruck marched, survived armored trucks (two land mines), some dropping on the rocks. Also, it has survived the florabama and a few canoe trips. Supposed to be crush proof to a little over 200lbs and shock proof from roughly 5 feet. Has these cool little armored plates on it and can even take pictures underwater, but not more than like 12 ft or so (atm double?) pretty cool for the price. I even picked up a little pelican case (1010 model maybe?) and it fits just perfect. I kept in that when not in use, smashed it down into duffle bags (sea bags for other than Army types). Don't think has any battle damage showing either.

 

[KBayDog]

^I'll second the recommendation. Excellent, durable, and inexpensive pocket-sized camera. It's no-shit water-resistant, too. I took it to the beach, on dive trips (not actuallly diving - used it on the surface/just below the surface), etc. and it performed very well. I got a little neoprene cover that screws into the tripod mount and wraps around the camera, which made the camera even easier to tote around.

 

[CAMike]

Canon S95 with a spare battery for back up. It records stereo audio while recording HD video and has a an awesome processor for still photos. Also takes .cr2 RAW pics for maximum adjustments. Small and thin for what it accomplishes. I actually like it's performance just as much as my Canon EOS1D MarkIII body.

 

[The Chief]

Concur with Olympus recommendation. Olympus is the most rugged point and shoot camera out there. Short on some of frills, bells and whistles but the 4X zoom is more than adequate for most shots.

 

[gaijin6423]

Another vote for the Olympus shock/dust/waterproof models. Mine survived two deployments to Afghanistan, various exercises, and one family trip to Orlando. During the latter, I gave it to a family member's 4 year old boy and told him to have fun. He brought it back an hour later, dripping wet and with mud/grass stuck in various places of it, complaining that it was broken. I washed it off, swapped out the battery for the spare I had, it turned on like a champ. Some...interesting...pictures and videos, to be sure.

ETA: My wife has a newer model that we took cruising on a boat the other day here in PR. My daughter chucked it over the side into about 10' of water. I dove in and got it, and snagged a couple pictures of a rock lobster that would have been dinner, if the reef wasn't in as protected a status.

 

[pilot_man]

Since you are using it for both deployment and other reasons, I would go with the DSLR. Canon has a T3i out now in the $700-800 price range and that thing does it all. HD, RAW, 18mp and a huge LCD. I flew with my DSLR all the time and never had any problems. It was fine during Cat shots, traps and high G. The DSLR will also leave you room to improve if you want to upgrade the lenses in the future.

 

[CumminsPilot]

Since you are using it for both deployment and other reasons, I would go with the DSLR. Canon has a T3i out now in the $700-800 price range and that thing does it all. HD, RAW, 18mp and a huge LCD. I flew with my DSLR all the time and never had any problems. It was fine during Cat shots, traps and high G. The DSLR will also leave you room to improve if you want to upgrade the lenses in the future.

Agreed. I have the T2i and it takes great shots. If I was buying though, I'd look harder at the 60D. A little more money, but a little better camera too.

As far as the Olympus point-and-shoot: Lots of friends in TBS carried them, and they worked well. My wife's, on the other hand, is a giant POS and after its third trip back to Olympus, we gave up on it. It will not recognize ANY memory card, and a fully charged Olympus brand battery lasts about 10 minutes. It's never been abused, it's just never worked well. I'm usually a big Olympus fan too, as my first digital was an old-school Olympus and it took great pictures.

 

[Lucy]

Thanks everyone for the input so far. Those suggesting the Olympus, have any of you taken a picture and had it printed beyond the 8X10 range? That is my primary worry with a point-and-shoot. I have a Nikon Coolpix now and it works great for simple stuff (well other than the video function broke) but large prints don't turn out very well. I do want the durability so I will look into the higher end Olympus ones.

So far with cnet/visit to store I have this list of possibilities:

Non Slr-
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5
Canon Power Shot s95-4
Nikon Coolpix S8100-3.5
Olympus E-pl2

SLR-
Canon digital rebel xt
Canon T2i
Sony alpha dslr-a500

 

[The Chief]

At 10 MP, poster size images are possible. It is not a function of the camera per se, rather the density of the image. Proper settings for lighting, a clean lens, stable camera in zoom configuration are all important. While the Stylus is what we call a bakachan camera, you will still need to read, understand instructions and experiment with it so your are comfortable.

By all means, anyone really "into" photography should have a DSLR. But carrying around that Nikon D3x with a 300mm lens gets old quickly, ergo we tend to leave it at home most of the time. With the small, capable camera, when that photo op occurs your camera is in your pocket not back on the night stand at home and it will give you better odds of an non-grainy 8x10 print.

 

[H60Gunner]

Another vote for the Olympus Stylus Tough. I have the 12mp one. I am really hard on equipment, and almost every pack trip I go on something gets stepped on, dropped in water, kicked, mangled, etc.. This little camera has survived so far. Don't forget to purchase a spare battery, mem card and a padded case.

 

[A4sForever]

Asahi/Pentax Spotmatic .... oh, wait ... that was 40+ years ago. Still, it works fine, lasts a long time ... my, my, how times change.

 

[The Chief]

Asahi/Pentax Spotmatic ....

Ahh yes. One of the newer cameras, Pentax a fine camera. Asahi made their own lens.

Older camera, before TTL metering, note selenium meter, actually not an SLR but a rangefinder. Lens interchangeable. Bought forwared deployed, circa 1961. Three pay checks, think. Many fine photos. Still works albeit 35mm film harder to find.

 

[RHPF]

I have a Sony HX5v (which has been updated since I got it). Good photo quality, 10x zoom, good HD video, a GPS/compass to tag the photos where they were taken (pretty cool feature for traveling). The newer version would certainly be worth looking into. IMO the best 'pocket' sized camera is the Panasonic LX5, but it's short on the zoom for a lot of photo opportunities. If they make a longer zoom version, I think I'd trade up to that.