Camera For Cache Bag

[+Thrak]

I've often wished I had a camera with me when caching but I don't want to carry aound my current camera in the cache bag. It's a bit heavy and also I don't want to trash it. What do you use for a caching camera? I'd like a small, durable, inexpensive digital camera that I can toss in my cache bag and not have to worry about it getting trashed. I don't need professional quality pics but I don't want garbage pics either.

 

Any recommendations?

[+Doc-Dean]

Ebay.

[+Miragee]

I have a small Fuji Finepix A340 optical zoom camera that takes good pictures. I got it new on eBay for a good price.

 

I got it because it takes the same xD cards my Olympus-5060, which I take caching, but which I am very, very careful with.

[+Thrak]

Ebay.

There are 10,754 items listed on eBay in the category Digital Camera, Point and Shoot. I'd kind of like to narrow it down..........

[+Moose Mob]

dollar-mart has semi disposal cameras for $20-$30. They hold very few pictures (10-20) and the resolution could be better. They are cheap, effective, and no big loss if you drop it in a creek.

 

Edit: dollar mart = k-mart/walmart/target/walgreen's/CVS/and a maybe even few grocery stores.

Edited January 11, 2006 by Moose Mob

[+Doc-Dean]

Ok,

 

What's your price range?

 

How many megapixels do you want?

 

If you want simple cache pictures to post on the web - anything over 3 megapixels is overkill.

 

The point is for it to be a disposable camera - if it falls in a puddle or gets banged up you shouldn't have a heart attack about trashing it and buying another one.

[+Miragee]

Check out Techbargains.com.

 

Right now they have a link to Onsale.com for a Canon A520 Compact 4Mpixel 4x optical zoom digital for only $149.00. That is a very nice camera for that price and it takes very good pictures.

[+sbell111]

You could also use your cell phone. Those cachers with a Zire 71/72 could use that.

[+HolyCowboys]

Check out Techbargains.com.

 

Right now they have a link to Onsale.com for a Canon A520 Compact 4Mpixel 4x optical zoom digital for only $149.00. That is a very nice camera for that price and it takes very good pictures.

This seems like a very good price on the Cannon. We have been looking at them at Best Buy. I think this one sells for 200.00 in the store.

[+Thrak]

You could also use your cell phone.  Those cachers with a Zire 71/72 could use that.

I don't have a cell phone - I freaking HATE phones! - but I have considered getting one specifically for caching. I've found myself in some places where I'd like to let somebody know where I was and where I figured if I got hurt I would really need to be able to contact someone. I hadn't considered a phone with a camera but I guess that many of them do have that capability. How are the pictures?

[+Bluejaytoo]

I guess it depends on your definition of inexpensive, but I've been singing the praises of the Pentax Optio 43WR ever since I got mine. It's out of production now, but they are always on eBay. It has 4 megapixels, a 2.8x optical zoom, optical viewfinder, and it's waterPROOF. (In spite of the "water resistant" graphics on the front, it is water proof; it has a JIS Class 7 rating.) It has rubber corners to absorb impact. It is more likely to survive being dropped in a creek than about any other camera out there. I wear mine around my neck when I'm kayaking.

 

[+Thrak]

Wow - it's tiny! 3.2" x 3.0" x 1.2".

 

I checked some pages and it seems to be a good unit for what I want - more than I wanted to spend but I may go that route anyway since it's so small and waterproof and such. Thanks.

[+Bluejaytoo]

Looks like they're going for around $250 on eBay, new. That's $100 less than I paid for mine. Here is a pretty glowing review of it. This is a panoramic I shot with it just after I got it.

[+Thrak]

Dang it! This always happens to me. I started out thinking $69 or so and now I'm thinking in the $200 range. Sigh...... Same thing happened when I decided to get a GPSr. I started out looking at the yellow eTrex and ended up gettting a 76CS.

[+Chiro75]

Keep in mind there is a HUGE difference between water resistant and waterproof, particularly when it comes to cameras.

[+Bluejaytoo]

Keep in mind there is a HUGE difference between water resistant and waterproof, particularly when it comes to cameras.

That's why I pointed out the JIS Class 7 rating.

[+Thrak]

I'm actually also still wondering about the quality of cell phone pics. I can't imagine they are very good but I really have no clue. I've used a cell phone exactly twice ever and never taken a picture with one.

[+Miragee]

I don't think you can take a picture like this with a cell phone . . .

 

 

Taken at "Subject to Flooding" cache.

[+Airmapper]

I just got my hands on a Polaroid i832. 8MP (I can lower the resolution for GC pics.) Very small, and I've only had it for a few days but really like it.

 

It was $150 at Wally-world, normally $300.

 

The thing eats batteries like nothing I've seen before, so getting some rechargeable batteries is a must.

[+AtoZ]

I use my cell phone camera, as I usually have the phone with me.

cheers

[+Thrak]

I use my cell phone camera, as I usually have the phone with me.

cheers

But....... how are the pics? Can you point me to some cache log pics you've taken with the phone? Please???

[+Dreamin'Eagle]

The pics from cell phones are ok at best. personal I use a vivatar camera I got at waly world only cost abotu $70 and takes some absolutely beautiful pictures. if you want I can dig up an example of each and email them to you. emailo me and let me know if you want examples I will go look for them now.

[+fox-and-the-hound]

PM'd you.

 

Nikon CoolPix 2500. Cheap/Tough/Rechargeable!

 

Edited January 12, 2006 by fox-and-the-hound

[+Bluejaytoo]

BTW, here's a panoramic I shot with the Pentax Optio 43WR. It's too big to post here.

[codeman3]

my best friend got one off the internet 3 megapixel for 50 bucks works better then dads $500 sony proffesional!!!

[+Cool Librarian]

Cell phone camera pics stink unless you shell out a lot of money (and then the camera/phone is fragile, and the pics still suck). BUT, I recommend having a cell phone with you while caching, especially if you cache alone more than .25 from the car. You can get a plan for 19.99 and a free phone at most dealers (and get a Nokia if you can as they are tougher - DO NOT get a motorola - very fragile, for the most part).

 

Anyway, I use a Canon Digial Elph, which I love for caching. Quality is very nice, it's very small and light, but at about $200, it may not be "disposable" (at least for me, anyway). My boyfriend uses a Fuji Finepix that cost about $100 - takes nice pics, a little bulkier than mione, but still light and nice for the cache bag.

[+sbell111]

Cel phone pics aren't great, but they get better and better every year. I was playing with one at the Verizon store the other day that had a 1.3 mp camera with flash and used a mini SD card for easy transfer of pics. Certainly, that's not a great camera, but considering that I never forget my phone, but always forget the camera, its pretty good.

[+Thrak]

PM'd you. 

 

Nikon CoolPix 2500.  Cheap/Tough/Rechargeable!

 

I checked these out and they are indeed very affordable on e*** but...... it seems that they use a proprietary rechargeable battery and many if not most of the used ones for sale need a new battery which runs around $30. One of the reasons I'm a Garmin fan for my GPSr is that I can run it on AA batteries. I'd like to stick with units that all run on the same type of power. If I'm going to spend $40 - $50 plus shipping for a used camera and then have to spend another $30 plus shipping for a battery I might just as soon double the amount and get a new camera that uses AA batteries. It would also be a plus to get one that uses the same Smart Media that my current camera uses so I don't have to get a new card reader - I prefer to do that rather than use the camera's power to download directly to the computer.

 

Many thanks for the recommendation and the PM - it got me looking in other directions than I had been and thinking about more aspects of what it is I may or may not want. I really don't actually want to have anything else to lug along with me but I do seem to keep wishing I had a camera when caching.

 

Cache bag, GPSr, stick, glasses (they have to go off and on), now thinking of camera and cell phone. I may even need to get a mini recorder to play the Indiana Jones song when setting out. Sheesh, where's my Batman utility belt?