NYCkayaker How Do You Keep Your Cameras Dry?

[Mo Fridlich]

Bonnie,

There is a whole bunch of "Super Zoom" camera's that you might consider for your hobby.
The leader in focal length at this time is the Olympus SP-550 UZ (list$499) with a 28-504mm f/2.8-5.4 ED/ aspherical 18x zoom lens. It has an image stabilizer virtually essential with any super zoom lens and is 7MP.
Sony has a Cyber-shot DSC-H7 and DSC-H9 ($399 and $478, list) with a Carl Zeiss 31-465mm zoom and super steady shot optical image stabilizer.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 ($349 list) has a Leica 28-280mm and the DMC-FZ8 with a 36-432mm f/2.8-3 lens
On a budget: 7MP Fujifilm Fine Pix S700 ($249, street) has a 38-380mm  or Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS with a Shneider-Kreuzenach 36-432mm and optical image stabilizer for $299, list.

Happy shooting,
Mo
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: bonnie13 at earthlink.net 
  To: Zia Al-Khalil ; nyckayaker at rockandwater.net 
  Sent: Monday, June 11, 2007 10:24 AM
  Subject: Re: NYCkayaker How Do You Keep Your Cameras Dry?


  Almost all the pictures on my blog were taken with either an Optio W10 or Optio W20. I upgraded involuntarily when I rather stupidly took out the W10, which I knew had a leaky battery compartment gasket & needed professional attention, and didn't seal the ziploc I stuck it in properly. Apparently somewhere in the big owner's manual there's something that says that gasket should be replaced once a year - we all know gaskets don't last forever, right?  

  Fun camera. Image quality - it's great on close-ups to middle distance. Faraway skylines won't show up too well.  I was out paddling in the lower harbor once, just outside the inlet to Jamaica Bay. My boyfriend & I both took about the same shot, a couple of kayakers in the foreground, Coney Island in the background. His was with a Canon, and you could see the Parachute Jump clearly. Mine, you could make out the Parachute Jump if you knew it was there & looked for it.

  The other thing I've admitted is that wildlife photography doesn't really hasn't happened with an Optio. You just can't get close enough for a 3x zoom to work. Anybody have a favorite digital camera that works well for things like taking pictures of things like herons, and tiny sandpipers, and nesting ospreys, without freaking them out? Not waterproof, and preferably not a zillion dollars, this is just a hobby!   



    -----Original Message----- 
    From: Zia Al-Khalil 
    Sent: Jun 9, 2007 9:36 PM 
    To: nyckayaker at rockandwater.net 
    Subject: Re: NYCkayaker How Do You Keep Your Cameras Dry? 

    I have a Pentax Optio W10, which is waterproof up to a meter. For extra flotation I bought a simple scuba mask strap and attached it to the wrist strap on the camera. I got it last summer for $250, and it was definitely a great investment, as I've taken it snorkeling with me a few times on vacation. 

    I'm planning on upgrading to the newer W30, which is going on Amazon.com for about $260. 

    You can check out the quality of the pictures the W10 takes on Flickr: http://flickr.com/cameras/pentax/optio_w10/

    Cheers
    Zia Al-Khalil



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