What would be a good camera

[Fishbone]

What would you suggest for a good camera to use for fish shots aboard a boat. Something that could take splashed water, wet hands, knocks and bumps, but still take sharp catch photos.

[Hookemdown.]

Your best bet may be a waterproof housing for a regular camera.

[Fat-G]

Canon Powershot A560.

That's exactly what I have mine for. 

[Fisher of Men]

Canon Powershot A560.

That's exactly what I have mine for.

I have the same camera.  Great choice!

[Wayne P.]

A video camera with still capability in a water proof Pelican case.

Most have remote control so you can take your fish pictures when fishing alone. That is what I use. You will appreciate the much higher power zoom available for other uses too.

I took this one--you can see the remote in my right hand.

[Kenny418]

A video camera with still capability in a water proof Pelican case.

Most have remote control so you can take your fish pictures when fishing alone. That is what I use. You will appreciate the much higher power zoom available for other uses too.

I took this one--you can see the remote in my right hand.

Never thought of that. Good idea. By the way nice fish.

[RobbyZ5001]

An Olympus stylus tough 8000

Shockproof up to 6.6ft

Waterproof up to 33 feet

Freezproof to 14 degrees F

Crushproof to 220lbs

[Redlinerobert]

This camera is awesome.  HD movie capability, panoramic pictures, awesome features, and smaller slimmer than any movie camera.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10551&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665953349

[Eternal Angler]

I was told by certain set of people to always get a camera with a decent size lense. The more light you can get into the camera, the clearer and higher definition the picture will be. A lot of people emphasize too much on big mega pixel these days. You really don't need to worry about mega pixel since just about every digital camera is at least 8 mega pixel. I wouldn't buy any of those small digital cameras, those are good for traveling, but if you want a professional camera get something of decent size.

I bought a Sony DSC-H50 and I'm very happy with the camera. Sony makes pretty good cameras.

[Marty]

The Canon A560 is long discontinued. I like mine a lot except for the fact that it was made before they were putting Image Stabilization (IS) on everything. It's very hard for me to get sharp images. Make sure you get something with IS.

[c17Lat]

underwater pic

[booney]

What would you suggest for a good camera to use for fish shots aboard a boat. Something that could take splashed water, wet hands, knocks and bumps, but still take sharp catch photos.

I have one, a water proof camera from canon powershot D10, and it really performs well. Check it out.

[CAdeltaLipRipper]

We have an olympus camera (sorry i dont know the model lol) and its 10 megapixel and films under water.Its pretty awesome

[NateFollmer]

That Fujifilm waterproof camera that Dave Mercer advertises is a good one too. A guide I know uses it and takes really cool underwater shots with it, as well as good video. My avatar pic and any pic of my in a Kayak in my gallery was taken by it/him.

Gotta agree with Smallmouth too... don't get caught up in the megapixel myth. Anything over 5MP will be just fine for you. 8 is about standard anymore... Make sure whatever you get shoots video, you'll use it even if you think you won't.

[Fish Chris]

Hey Fishbone, I know this is a long post.... and I know it's human nature to look for "short, easy answers {silver bullets}

But trust me. I know a few things about fish photography.

{copied and pasted from another thread, where people were too lazy to read / learn anything..... Yet everyone always compliments my fish photos, and wants to know the details ???}

First thing is, I've spent a TON of time on the camera forums, and one of the first things you will find out, is that most of the experienced photographers, will actually talk nothing but garbage, about point and shoot cameras with super high mega pixel counts. Their reason being, that by trying to pack too many mega pixels onto such a small sensor (the sensors in nearly all point and shoots is tiny compared to that of pretty much all DSLR's) you lose a lot of photo quality... mostly because of a big increase in digital noise, especially when shooting in less than bright sunlight.

That said, 8 or 10 mp is MORE than enough to do really nice, detailed shots.... even for printing modest sizes up to say 8" x 10"s.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, Canal, you said you are not worried about self taken shots. This is VERY important to me, but because it's not important to you, this will make it about 100 X's easier to get a good camera for your purposes.

But for anyone who does want to take your own shots, when by yourself, here's the catch > You put your camera on a little tripod. You set it to full auto. You set the timer for 10 seconds. Pick up the fish in one hand, and reach up and hit the shutter button with the other..... Bam ! You now have a problem And that problem is, that as you hit the shutter button, and it beeped to tell you the timer has started, it also focused, right then, and there FAIL ! ....on what ? Your forearm, which was 8" in front of the camera ? Doh ! Now you set back 2 1/2 to 3 feet from the camera, but it won't focus again It will stay misfocused until it actually fires 10 seconds later

My work around for this {and probably why everyone is always surprised at how good my self taken shots come out} is that I use Canon A 6XX series cameras, which have a "C" (custom) mode. I then set my focus distance manually at like 1 yard, for Largemouths, and other smaller fish, or 2+ yards for larger fish, like Sturgeon, etc.

I also set my shutter speed, my ISO, my flash brightness, exactly how long I want the timer, and even how many consecutive shots it will take after the timer counts down..... basically, I preset the camera for anything I want it to do... then hit "save functions". Bam ! The next time I turn the camera on, it remembers everything and is instantly good to go ! What's really cool, is that even if I'm shaking with adrenalin, my camera is just as calm and cool and READY as it can be

Their is only one lame catch Canon quit making the A6XX series cameras Too much camera, for too little dollars I suppose. I paid like $125, for my A630, $175, for my A640, and $200 for my A650is. Right before these were all sold out (and with nothing coming up behind them, to really replace them, the prices had spiked to twice as much, or more ! Thank God I have 3 of them !

If you can find a used one in good condition, for a decent deal, snag that sucker fast !!!

Otherwise, you can spend like $400, or more, on a G10, or G11, which do have the custom function.... but what I don't like about them {besides the price}, is that they use proprietary batteries, and NOT AA's And you know what this means > You can try, and try, and try, to always have a good charge in your battery..... But the one time you slip up and don't charge it for a while, will be the time you catch the biggest bass of your life, and your camera will die on you ! Freaking Murphy's law, right ?

That can't happen to me. As my cameras use AA's. So sure, I use rechargeable AA's... Why not ? Way more cost effective. But I also ALWAYS have a brand new set of old school AA alkalines with me (12 year shelf life) so I know I'll NEVER be caught without juice !

Obviously, this battery thing pertains to you, the fisherman, whether or not you take your own photos or not !

Now, of course you can buy a spare proprietary battery for whatever camera you have, but 1) they are expensive, and 2) if the proprietary battery in your camera has gone dead from just sitting too long, whether it was ever used or not, then their is a very strong chance your back up battery will also be dead Which is just all bad right ?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DSLR's for fish photography. Okay, if you are a pro photographer... or even just an avid hobbyist like myself, and you have a nice lens or two > and plan to take photos of somebody else holding your fish, well sure then, by all means, get a DSLR !

But the problem with a DSLR, is that it is about 100 X's more picky, about light, and especially about focus ! In a nutshell, while it is hard to take a really bad, (read: unusable) photo with a point and shoot, it is very easy to take a completely blurry, out of focus shot with a DSLR !

And self taken shots with a DSLR ? Yea ! Good luck ! You might just be way better than me..... But personally speaking, I wouldn't even risk missing good shots of a prized catch, with my DSLR...... and even if I thought I might try it, it would require a remote shutter release that I could press with one foot > as a DSLR also has that same, lame premature focusing issue I mentioned earlier, which plagues most point and shoots > the only difference is, DSLR's are just so much more critical with focus distance in the first place !

Just some stuff every fisherman should know about cameras for fish photography.

Hope this helps,

Peace,

Fish

BTW, underwater housings are often more expensive, and certainly more complicated / touchy, than just an inexpensive digital, with underwater capabilities. I have one, and it looks cool, and all.... but next time, I'll just get a waterproof camera.

BTW, somebody mentioned Pelican cases. I wouldn't go out on the water without mine !

Peace,

Fish

Oh hey, if you were not too lazy to read all of this, congrats ! You will go far

[GrundleLove]

Game.Set.Match

http://www.basspro.com/Kodak-PLAYSPORT-Video-Camera-Bundle/product/10220242/-1739893

You can close this thread now.

[Fish Chris]

Grundle, that camera would certainly be fine for a lot of things... but I'd need to know more info on it, to know if it would be good for self taken photos. Most cameras are not. It takes a more than just a tripod and a camera with a timer feature. I explained these issues in my post above, "If" this is important to the OP, or anyone else here. Taking my own photos is very important to me. In fact, as much as I fish by myself, it's downright critical.

Peace,

Fish

[CAdeltaLipRipper]

Game.Set.Match

http://www.basspro.com/Kodak-PLAYSPORT-Video-Camera-Bundle/product/10220242/-1739893

You can close this thread now.

Haha okay Jimmy Houston

[NateFollmer]

Game.Set.Match

http://www.basspro.com/Kodak-PLAYSPORT-Video-Camera-Bundle/product/10220242/-1739893

You can close this thread now.

Out of stock...

[Bass XL]

The Kodak Playsport is a great camera. My dad got one for our tournaments that we fish, and it's great!

[GrundleLove]

The Kodak Playsport is a great camera. My dad got one for our tournaments that we fish, and it's great!

I have read SO many reviews on the Playsport bundle being awesome for what the OP was saying, if you dont remember let me remind you

What would you suggest for a good camera to use for fish shots aboard a boat. Something that could take splashed water, wet hands, knocks and bumps, but still take sharp catch photos.

The play sport literally does everything he is asking for and more. The tripod is amazing for positioning the camera in unusual spots ( since most boats dont have a "camera" spot), it records in FULL HD and takes good pics with 5 MP if i remember correctly.

Oh, and its waterproof for 10 feet and comes with awesome accessories ( like a remote for when you set up the tripod and hold your fish you dont need someone with you to take a pic). as well as other accessories.

In my honest opinions this is the best priced, more most practical thing the OP was looking for. Perfection.

Fish Chris, Now, granted your knowledge and lengthy (tldr) post about cameras was very thorough...i really did not see it applying to this situation. I cant imagine an average person spending $400 ish on a fancy camera and a waterproof case..and special case to house it...its crazy nor give two hoots about DSLR or saying "umm yess great photo but the top right quadrant of the photo was midly over exposed, huff!". Not what the OP was looking for imho. That's not saying your post was very informative for the photographer-aficionado.

[Bass XL]

I have read SO many reviews on the Playsport bundle being awesome for what the OP was saying, if you dont remember let me remind you

The play sport literally does everything he is asking for and more. The tripod is amazing for positioning the camera in unusual spots ( since most boats dont have a "camera" spot), it records in FULL HD and takes good pics with 5 MP if i remember correctly.

Oh, and its waterproof for 10 feet and comes with awesome accessories ( like a remote for when you set up the tripod and hold your fish you dont need someone with you to take a pic). as well as other accessories.

In my honest opinions this is the best priced, more most practical thing the OP was looking for. Perfection.

Fish Chris, Now, granted your knowledge and lengthy (tldr) post about cameras was very thorough...i really did not see it applying to this situation. I cant imagine an average person spending $400 ish on a fancy camera and a waterproof case..and special case to house it...its crazy nor give two hoots about DSLR or saying "umm yess great photo but the top right quadrant of the photo was midly over exposed, huff!". Not what the OP was looking for imho. That's not saying your post was very informative for the photographer-aficionado.

And another little tip if you havent already, we put a styrofoam float (the big ones, like they use on the Boga Grips) on the camera just in case we do drop it in the water.

[South FLA]

I second the Olympus it takes great pictures when I need. With my new iPhone and Otterbox though I have been to lazy to use the camera.

[A-Jay]

I've been using Pentax Optio W20 for several years now in both fresh and salt water environments. It's been excellent for my needs including taking underwater pictures and video - Videoing the catch and release boat-side by putting the camera under water is cool. This model came out in 2006 but is still available. I have no experience with the newer models.

Check it out.

A-Jay

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0608/06080701pentaxw20.asp

[Dockhead]

I have an Olympus Stylus 550WP. For about $100, no complaints. I think it does a great job.

Like everything else, depends how much you want to spend. My dad still uses disposables in ziplock bags.