Non-POV Camera Recommendations Around $500 or Less?

[Magnus919]

Some other options (via a seller, but still... ideas)

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explor...rugged-and-waterproof-point-and-shoot-cameras

 

[yellowcanoe]

I had a Nikon AW 1110 and a couple of other waterproof P&S. I call them POS for my use. Why ? Because the lens when it fogs(and it will if kept near cold water) is hard to defog. Most of them are recessed. Hard to dry. You can carry microfiber wipes and q tips to get the wipe into the recess
And if it's got drops of water on the lens the pictures are gross
I'm semi serious about image quality and the ability to clean a lens easily completely and quickly is important to me
Now if underwater shots are your aim this does not apply and I still take that AW 110 for fish and manatee shots when paddling Florida springs

 

[Mihun09]

Not that you want a GoPro, i get that, but as I learn to use mine in the beginning I too did not like the warped images, so I went into the Field of View menu and changed it to Medium which gives me nice flat images just what I see. I just watched a couple hours of fishing video I shot on Friday and Saturday and it looks how I want it. You can change the field of view.

Karin

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Not that you want a GoPro, i get that, but as I learn to use mine in the beginning I too did not like the warped images, so I went into the Field of View menu and changed it to Medium which gives me nice flat images just what I see. I just watched a couple hours of fishing video I shot on Friday and Saturday and it looks how I want it. You can change the field of view.

Karin

I know nothing about GoPro's except they provide interesting helmet-cam video on whitewater runs and ISIS assassinations.

I suppose I could easily research this, but do they have elementary still photo features like:

- zoom lens
- macro capability
- single shot, burst modes, and self-timer modes
- adjust exposure modes from auto to shutter priority to aperture priority
- change ISO and exposure compensation
- AE and AF locks
- change white balance
- change focus area (center-weighted, matrix pattern, single point, tracking, etc.)
- HDR and backlighting adjustments
- integral flash with various manual, fill-flash, and other automatic settings
- pixel size, picture size and picture quality adjustments

Virtually all modern P&S cameras, many much less than half the OP's $500 limit, have these now very basic features and a lot more.

Changing topics to zoom lens P&S cameras, you're not going to get much more than a 4X optical zoom with any of the classic top five because these cameras have to be compact with internal mechanisms. They may not have some of the features I've listed above.

If you go with a non-waterproof, very high optical zoom camera, which many canoeist wildlife photographers do, you will be sacrificing compactness, light weight and the ability to use a very small Pelican case.

It all depends on what you want, which can end up meaning multiple cameras.

I decided to go back to one camera for all canoe and land uses. For me, this meant a fully featured P&S zoom camera, which has a viewfinder plus a multiply-adjustable view screen, and which can fit in a jacket pocket, big pants pocket or a small Pelican box. To go this one camera route, I sacrificed waterproofness and very high optical zoom.

The finger ring prevents the camera from slipping out of my hand in the canoe and also clips into a companion neck lanyard, so I don't have to keep putting it back in the Pelican box or my pocket. I recommend that inexpensive accessory for any lightweight camera. (Sorry, shakey photo with my phone.)

P.S. on edit: Since people have expressed interest in the Amzer ring/lanyard attachment, I should point out that I actually hold the camera in my other (right) hand, so my pinky would be near the ring attachment point, where my thumb is in this picture.

 

[alsg]

Excellent points, Glenn. Who makes the lanyard/finger ring combo?

 

[Canotrouge]

Good points Glen!! I doN't want a go pro for all the reasons that go pros are made for. I find that even with the setting at medium the image is still distorted.

As for fog on lens with the water proof p&s, I never really had any problems like that or I should say no more than any other camera and I do paddle only cold water. If the lens end up with water on it, the photo will be crap, like any other camera, even the one a 10K.

I really like the idea of that finger ring thing!

I wish Nikon would come out with a new version of there Nikon 1 AW1 camera it does everything I want but it is a bit outdated now(what ever that means!)

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Excellent points, Glenn. Who makes the lanyard/finger ring combo?

[h=1]Amzer Detachable Cell Phone Neck Lanyard[/h]

I have three of these from Amazon, two made by Amzer and one made by Reiko. The Amzer is superior because its ring is stronger and it has an interior ring that rotates around the inside of the exterior ring. It swivels around your finger. Comes in many colors.

The ring is really just meant as a way to clip onto the button of the neck strap, but I've found it useful to put it on my pinky when shooting the camera to prevent it from dropping out of my hand, especially in a canoe. A wrist strap could do a similar thing, but I'm not sure they make those that can attach to a neck strap.

I don't wear my camera on the neck strap for long periods of time, as it's a bit heavy for that at 15 oz. But if I take my camera out of the Pelican box for a shot and then want to paddle a little before I take my next shot, it's convenient to just attach the camera to the neck strap instead of putting it back in the Pelican. Or when I'm walking short distances on shore or up basketball bleachers.

 

[frozentripper]

Canotrouge,

As for fog on lens with the water proof p&s, I never really had any problems like that or I should say no more than any other camera and I do paddle only cold water.

I haven't had any fogging either but I keep my camera warm inside a pocket... probably all optics and even lenses treated with an anti-fog coating by the manufacturer will fog, when they're cold enough and they contact warmer, humid air (esp when a cold camera is brought indoors). There are anti-fog wipes made by Nikon that use a dry compound of some kind that they say will help prevent fogging, and since they're made by Nikon they're probably safe to use on lens coatings. Still, my little waterproof Olympus has a scratch-resistant, non-flare lens coating and I'd hate to find out the hard way that something has affected it.

Keeping the camera warmer than the outside air in a pocket next to the body does work to prevent optics from fogging and those compact pocket-sized point-and-shoots are great for that. The idea is to keep the camera warmer than the outside cold air so no fog will form.

Water will splash onto any optics kept in a canoe, wrecking the image quality, and a way to prevent that and again, easy with a compact camera kept in a pocket is to keep it in a loose plastic bag.

 

[alsg]

Panasonic DC-ZS70 ordered. When I get back from the Allagash, I'll post some pics.

 

[alsg]

No Title

Well, I am back from the Allagash Wilderness Waterway and I was very pleased with the performance of my new Panasonic LUMIX ZS-70. Here are a few pics, downsized to fit the forum's file size limitations. Taking some of the advice I got from the members, it was kept in a small Pelican case (1040).

 

[VivianMeyer]

This is a great topic,