waterproof camera recommendation

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fisherofmen376
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2012/11/14 09:15:03 (permalink)

waterproof camera recommendation

Got some birthday dough and id like to buy a waterproof digital camera.  I don't go diving or anything, this would mostly be to photograph fish underwater upon release, etc.  I searched the threads and saw some of you discussing the gopro.  Im not a techie junkie, just looking for something relatively simple.  Is the gopro2 easy to use?  I saw kjh mentioned it's on sale right now...where do you recommend buying from?  Any other tips on this or other cameras appreciated, warranties, etc.  Budget is around 200, id go 250 if i had to i guess.  thanks!

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."
Matthew 4:19
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    troutguy
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    Re:waterproof camera recommendation 2012/11/14 20:50:44 (permalink)
    I have an Olympus Stylus tough, but it is really acting up and doesn't work properly now though.
     
    Overall it was an ok fishing camera. Shockproof, waterproof, freezeproof, etc. It doesn't take the best of pictures, but when it took good ones they were very good ones. The underwater vids and pics were good too. The only things I didn't really like about it was it would sometimes freeze up, and then have to turn off and back on, and it was VERY slow. Shutter speed, turning it on, everything was slow. For a fishing camera you want something that you can turn on and snap a bunch of pics right away(before the fish escapes, etc.) but the Olympus was slow and I wasn't able to get a ton of pics without having the fish out of the water for a long time. I like being albe to take a handful of quick pics of the fish instead of only taking one or two and risking that they'll turn out bad.
     
    I did like the waterproof feature for taking underwater pics and stuff, but also it really helped when it was raining or the fish is splashing around and you don't have to worry about the camera getting wet. It was a durable camera, but I think the "shockproofness" gave me a false sense of security and it probably could have lasted longer if I took better care of it.
     
    If I remember correctly the camera was around $250. Yeah, it's a decent camera but if I were you I'd look into the GoPro more, I'm also looking into one. 
     
    If I remember I'll post some pics and videos tomorrow from the Olympus...
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    troutguy
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    Re:waterproof camera recommendation 2012/11/15 21:00:55 (permalink)
    Here's a couple pics...
     

     

     

     

     
    And a some videos.....I had to weed through a ton of bad ones. Most of them are of trout since the water is clearer but there's some other species too. 
     
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5_6G_Skd6A&feature=youtu.be
    post edited by troutguy - 2012/11/15 21:02:43
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    fisherofmen376
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    Re:waterproof camera recommendation 2012/11/15 22:27:36 (permalink)
    thanks for taking the time to put that up....
    im guessing the one i saw is less quality, but i just saw an olympus "tough" at sams club for 99 bucks.   worth it?  how long before yours went bad?

    "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."
    Matthew 4:19
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    troutguy
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    Re:waterproof camera recommendation 2012/11/16 20:22:51 (permalink)
    Here's the one I have http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_support_product.asp?id=1496  A little closer to $300.  I had mine for close to 2 years before it went bad.  One day I turned it on, then it would turn itself off and back on(like it did when it would freeze up), but then the screen would be black except for the menu/settings when it turned back on.  Something wrong with the shudder inside I guess.  If I wouldn't of bumped it against so many rocks and stuff it probably would've lasted longer, but the freeze up thing started towards the beginning.  It wasn't a big issue, but every once in a while it would happen.  Maybe I just got a bad one out of the batch.
     
    Is it worth it?  I don't know, I'd do more research.  If you get over the slowness then I guess it's worth it.  Right now I have a Canon Powershot something something....it's not waterproof but I like it better than the olympus.  It's a little older, and only 8 megapixels, but still works great and takes good pics. And a lot quicker, I could turn it on, snap a few pics, and turn it off in like 5 seconds.  I've heard good things about the Canon D10 which is waterproof, shockproof, etc., and it's about the same price as the Olympus. 
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    fishink
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    Re:waterproof camera recommendation 2012/11/22 23:02:52 (permalink)
    Sorry for the repost, but this is indentical to another thread on the same subject.
     
    In my opinion, it's better to use one of the waterproof cases now available. They come in a variety of sizes and are fairly inexpensive. With those, you can chose the camera you want and still take underwater video and stills.
     
    I grabbed this Dicapac case from Amazon for right around $20. I've been using it for a while, in all sorts of weather conditions, and it works well.
     
    I use this case for my phone (which also has a pretty decent camera inside). It's only $15 delivered, and also serves to keep your phone dry while you're fishing, while still allowing you to use it.
     
    Here's an example of a short underwater video I took with a Sony Cybershot (the quality is a bit degraded due to the process of compression, uploading and streaming):
     

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