Love my new fish photo cameras !!! :-)

[Fish Chris]

About 2 months ago I bought a Canon A630 (that was supposed to be my back up camera) and a Fuji S6000fd. The Fuji does have excellent photo quality... especially in low light. However, because of some of the special features (will explain) on the A630, it turned out to be a much better camera for self taken fish photos (although it is also great with somebody holding it for your photos too :-))

So, at one point I was going to get rid of the Fuji, and get another Canon A630.... But I took the Fuji on a straight up photography trip, and liked it so much, I just had to keep it too ! :-)

What I ended up getting was another Canon, but it was the A640... almost identical to my A630, except 2 more mega pixels, and black body, instead of silver (color coded, so I can tell them apart). The cool thing about having two A-series Canons, is that I have the assurance of two cameras, but I only have to know one set of functions and features. Should I ever drop one in the lake, I can pick the other up, and not even have to think twice about how to set it up..... But speaking of set up, here's the feature I really want to explain......

Both of these cameras (the Canon A-series) have a feature called the "custom mode", or "C" on the dial. In this mode you can totally dial the camera in, with ALL of your settings.... ISO, F-stop, fill flash brightness, manual focus distance, self timer {which is totally customizable}... everything ! And you can do all of this at home in the back yard, under no pressure, with all the time you need. So, you take a few (or if your like me, a few hundred :-) test photos, until you get everything dialed in just right (for the typical bright, daylight conditions), and then you hit "save settings".

Then, the next time your on the water and you stick a pig, you simply put the camera on a tripod, and turn the camera on in the "C" mode. Bam ! EVERYTHING is already set up for you ! Then just flip the screen over so you can see yourself (to line up the frame) and hit the shutter button !

I have mine set to count down 6 seconds, then take 3 consecutive shots, and since it takes a second or two to recharge for fill-flash, I can actually make small distance and framing adjustments between shots in a series.

I'm telling you guys, the "C" mode, and the twist and tilt LCD screen are absolutely awesome ! I will never own another fish photo camera that doesn't have both of these features !

Here's a shot of my Pelican 1400, which holds both of my Canon A-series (taken with my Fuji ), and my certified Salter scale. If you bring a nice camera on the water, you just have to have a Pelican ! 100% waterproof, shock proof, dust proof.... Awesome ! :-)

Peace,

Fish

PS, If any of you decide to get one of these cameras, I can help you get it dialed in for the "C" mode. Easy, once somebody guides you through it.

[slomoe]

I got the A630 or maybe the one right under that, (A530?) for my g/f's birthday last year. Needless to say I use it just as much as she does. Great Camera, she loves to play with the long exposer setting, And the self timer is pretty easy to use for when I go fishing.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Funny, one of the things that I noticed on my Cali trip was just how dry/arid the state really is.  Rolling fields and hills of browned out grasses, etc, really makes a little more sense when we watch these huge fires back east, on the news,....Point being...lol, is that it is always clear and sunny in California.  at least for each and every hour I was there,lol.

Here in the east, a storm can rumble in and out on a sunny day in the matter of an hour, often leaving rainbows and many "wet" photo opportunities (water always adds to a picture)  That "custom mode" could be enhanced one more level and give you 3-5 presets.  That would be sweet.  Luckily, when you set that up at home, there is a 88% chance that the weather will be identical when you are on scene.

I still wish I had a mode like that, it would be nice for many reasons, even to use as a reference point when searching for al;l the right settings to deliver a specific shot.

sidenote- Have you ever "tested" that dry case?  I had the orange one (exact same as yours but next size up) it failed.  Horribly.  Careful.  I now use my normal travel case and put it inside my North Face dry bag

[Jimzee]

The wife and I bought an A630 earlier this year. We had an A70 but it crapped out on us. I finally figured out the custom setting. I can set it on my pedestal seat and stand in the middle of the boat and let it take the picture. I love it. We got it on sale at Target For $249.00 and also purchased a 1Gig card. The whole setup cost less than $300.00. I thought that was pretty good for an 8 Mega-pixel camera considering we paid $299.00 for the A70 and it was only 3.2 Mega-pixel. We keep ours in a dry lock case with the travel bag.

[burleytog]

I am amazed at how far digital cameras have come over the last 3-4 years.  Hell, my cell phone is a better camera than my first digital.  And that digital was pretty much top of the line in 99.

I've been using my Fuji for almost four years, taken around 25000 photos.  I've been getting the jones for a new camera, just can't decide on what I want.  I really want a DSLR, but I like having something a little smaller.

[Fish Chris]

Hey LBH, first off, I'm sorry we missed each other on your trip out here.....

But yes, we do have some pretty stable weather out here from about April to September. A rain during these months is rare, and almost always just a sprinkle, or quick, shower.

Either way, our days always start out with low light, and end up that way too :-) So, I have the pre-set set up for typical daylight, but if its early morning, or late evening, I simply bump up the flash one notch, and widen the aperature from F6.3, to say F5.6, or F5. If I was smoking them one evening, I could then hit, save settings, and those new changes would be saved..... Or, I could leave it alone, and the next day, it would remember my regular daylight settings.

BTW, one of the "biggest" plusses of this "C" mode, is in being  able to remember your manual focus distance !!! This is important, because almost all digi-cams will focus the instant you hit the shutter. So, if you have the camera on a tripod, and your not out in front of it yet, when you hit the shutter, it will focus on the other side of the lake...... Then you go pose with the fish, and it will not refocus on you and the fish. Luckily for many people, fixed lens cameras do have a very great depth of focus, so many shots might still apperar to be "almost" in focos. But I still can't help but wonder about this when I hear people ask, "How come my shots don't come our razor sharp......"

Hey Burly, DSLR's are GREAT for a lot of things. I really want a nice one, and some great lenses too..... But IMPO, they make lousy self taken fish photo cameras. They just require a lot of work, and just the right lens, to get all of you and the fish in focus (typically a very shallow DOF). Also, you will run into the same issue with the camera focusing the instant you hit the shutter, instead of when you get out in front of it to pose with the fish..... But because of the narrow DOF, this is a much greater problerm, that with a fixed lens camera. I had an aquaintence who bought a really nice DSLR, then tried to get swome good fish photos with it. Turns out he never could (or at least, never figured out how to) and the only photos we ever saw from that cam, were those that were taken of him, by his wife. Those did have excellent photo quality though.

Doh ! I gotta' go ! The Stripers are calling me :-)

Peace,

Fish

[Fish Chris]

I've never thrown mine in the lake, or purposely submerged them, but they has been through several big rains, big splashes over the boat, and I even took a garden hose (with spray nozzle to them) to wash over the salt water, and they have never leaked a drop. You realize that they have a life time guarantee, right ? If I ever had one leak, I'd just send it back for a replacement.

Love my Pelicans :-) Might just have to test mine soon.....

Peace,

Fish

[Lightninrod]

I use the Canon Powershot G6 and thanks to Chris , I now have noticed it has two Custom memory slots.  I've always used the Auto feature.  One of its advantages(and why I bought it) is its wireless remote.  Don't have to worry about focus when the shutter activates as I'm always ready in front of it.  Got to remember to hide the remote when I take a pic though :-?.

Dan