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What kind of good, small, inespensive digital camera are you using?


mtngr1

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I've seen good & small.

I've seen good & inexpensive.

I've seen small & inexpensive.

 

I've rarely seen the three in combination.

 

To answer what I cache with (when I remember to bring a camera):

 

A Canon Powershot A70. I truly believe that Canon has close to the best picture quality on the market. It wasn't cheap at the time, but the "A" series still seems reasonably priced. As far as size, well, it's about as big as...

 

:anibad:

 

Well, as a camera...

 

:laughing:

 

Oh, also, in my personal experience, Canon has an excellent customer service department.

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If it needs to be pocketsized I break out the Sony P10 - since I dislike the picture quality, that is not very often. It's become the work camera...

 

Most of the time I carry a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18S. The 18x zoom with a stability control that actually works is nice to have at times. Picture quality is far better than the Sony, which at the time was actually more expensive. But it is far from small...

 

When money becomes available, I will be picking up a Canon PowerShot, not sure which one yet. Either that or another Panasonic...

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For geocaching I use a Casio EX-Z750 with a 1 GB SD card. It takes amazing quality pictures AND video!

 

It has a bunch of auto settings to help the amateur photographer, but it also allows complete control of all settings for people who know what they're doing.

 

The BEST feature is the battery life. It lasts for hours and hours. I usually run out of storage space (1 GB) before I ever start to run out of battery power, which makes this camera perfect for geocaching!

 

It's great, very small and I got it from Costco for about $200 a few years ago.

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http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?tracker=TB1R810

 

I can't find a replacement in a Brick and Mortar store, so now I'm using a Sony DSCw150, I like the ols one better, and it was under $200. I need to send it in for repairs, I was making videos for YouTube, and I think I got loads of dust in the part that does the fine focus work.(the camera was clamped to the trailer while shooting video)I kicked up a lot of dust.

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Well, putting together, things I would need on a long geocaching day, and thought I didn't have a digital camera that was compact, so I thought I would ask, which one are alot of you using to take pics of your Geocaching adventures?

 

Thanks,

Pat

 

I found a cheap Vivitar digital camera at CVS drugstore for $10. It comes with the software and takes surprisingly good photos in good light!!! It's powered by one AAA battery. And, if I lose it.... who cares!

 

Grigorii Rasputin

WWW.Glass-Cockpit.org

http://grigorrirasputin.wordpress.com

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I've seen good & small.

I've seen good & inexpensive.

I've seen small & inexpensive.

 

I've rarely seen the three in combination.

 

To answer what I cache with (when I remember to bring a camera):

 

A Canon Powershot A70. I truly believe that Canon has close to the best picture quality on the market. It wasn't cheap at the time, but the "A" series still seems reasonably priced. As far as size, well, it's about as big as...

 

:blink:

 

Well, as a camera...

 

<_<

 

Oh, also, in my personal experience, Canon has an excellent customer service department.

 

I didn't think anybody else still used that old dinosaur besides me. :anibad: The Canon Powershot A70 has been an excellent camera and served me well for many years until it finally died on me during a caching adventure this fall. I now have a Canon Powershot A 590. It is lighter than my old A70 and has a larger LCD screen. It also is an 8mp with image stabilization. The best part is that is goes for $109 at B&H Photo. That is a heck of a deal for a nice little camera with some cool functions.

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Canon A 570. Takes great pics and and the best part is that it has options for aperture priority, shutter priority and manual settings that allow for some artistic creativity. That's a feature you rarely see in that price range.

 

Canon Powershot A70. I truly believe that Canon has close to the best picture quality on the market. It wasn't cheap at the time, but the "A" series still seems reasonably priced.

 

A70 was a great little camera. The above mentioned A570 is the newer version of this excellent camera.

Edited by briansnat
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All, good replies, I guess I forgot to say durable......but If I was to put my top 3 needs for a digital camera, it would be, takes awesome pics, compact, and uses rechargeable AA or AAA batteries.

 

Mine doesn't use AA or AAA batteries but it meets the other criteria *and* it's waterproof. It's a Pentax Optio W30. For durability, the lens doesn't extend outside the body, but instead retracts into the body for focus/zooming. I could even take a photo of an underwater cache of the container in it' hiding spot.

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Depends on what inexpensive is to you. I picked up a Sony DSC-S730 for under $100 at Office Max. It takes great pics and with a 2-4GB memory stick I have plenty of memory. I bought both sticks for under $30 at Radio Shack.

 

I also have a Sony DSC-H5, a Sony DSC-F707 and a JVC Everio DVC that I take with me on occasion. I like to take pictures. <_<

 

If you look and do a little research you can get a nice camera for very little money. I bought most of my gear off of craigslist.

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Canon A 570. Takes great pics and and the best part is that it has options for aperture priority, shutter priority and manual settings that allow for some artistic creativity. That's a feature you rarely see in that price range.

 

Canon Powershot A70. I truly believe that Canon has close to the best picture quality on the market. It wasn't cheap at the time, but the "A" series still seems reasonably priced.

 

A70 was a great little camera. The above mentioned A570 is the newer version of this excellent camera.

Yup, those are what I have owned, and try to remember to bring with me. <_<

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Well, putting together, things I would need on a long geocaching day, and thought I didn't have a digital camera that was compact, so I thought I would ask, which one are alot of you using to take pics of your Geocaching adventures?

 

Thanks,

Pat

 

I keep a Nikon D100 dSLR in my truck.

I was using a Sony P51 and a Sony U20 for a small pocket camera.

I've since just use the camera on my phone (Blackberry Pearl 2 MegaPexil) because I also use that for paperless geocaching, and since I always have my phone with me, it took care of having to carry something extra with me while caching.

 

If it's in an area I know will have great pictures, I'll break out the Nikon, but for the most part; the Blackberry does fine.

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I purchased an Argus Bean camera for each of my elementary classrooms. I had the same requirements - they had to be inexpensive & rugged. The Argus Bean camera has a caribine clip (it was created for mountain climbers), it can withstand my elementary kids, and takes surprisingly decent pictures. I like it so much I'm going to get one for myself for caching!

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Pentax Optio A10. I would rate it "decent"

 

I took 150+ pics using the flash at my grandson's birthday party last night using auto-focus and auto-flash selection. The camera has all sorts of settings and whistles and bells but I don't know how to use them.

 

My only real complaint is that it's terrible if the subject is moving... at least one and maybe two seconds elapse from when you snap the button until it takes the picture. You either miss 'the shot' or it's blurred.

 

You can see at this link how picture quality and lighting are all over the place:

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/TheAlabamaRambler/Hayden1stBday#

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I purchased an Argus Bean camera for each of my elementary classrooms. I had the same requirements - they had to be inexpensive & rugged. The Argus Bean camera has a caribine clip (it was created for mountain climbers), it can withstand my elementary kids, and takes surprisingly decent pictures. I like it so much I'm going to get one for myself for caching!

 

I took a look at it and was interested until I saw the internal, rechargeable LI battery. To me that's a deal breaker for any item that I use outdoors.

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I did not read all the comments....

But I can say that I only recommend waterproofed and shock resistand cams!

I use the Olympus µ 770SW but there some new, better models out now.

 

Happy hunting,

Martin

 

I'll second the recommendation of the Olympus 770. Waterproof, Shockprook, Crushproof, and Freezeproof. I've got one, and I've put it to the test multiple times on everything but the Freezeproof. Great Camera!

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My family has been using Canon's for years and LOVE them!! My sister had a A70, I had a A80 (the one with the movable screen). She upgraded to the A570, bought my mother one, and I upgraded to the A570 too. I lost the A570 at a geocaching event and then purchased another A570. Carried it every day in my purse for 2 years and dropped it many of times without a problem. Dropped it on a vacation in California last year and bought another Canon. Once again, carried in my purse EVERY DAY for a year.

 

The lens started giving me problems before a recent vacation and so to have another camera, I upgraded to the A590IS. LOVE IT!! Image stablization, rugged, easy to use!! All for about $130 bucks at Circuit City.

 

My old A570 is in my car so it doesn't get beat up as much but my A590 is in my purse 24/7.

 

In my book, Canon it the best for point and shoot cameras!

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We picked up a Nikon P&S for our son for $119. It's 5 or 6 MP with 3X optical zoom and takes really good pictures. It's not fancy and doesn't have 25 modes, but it's perfect for him.

 

I wouldn't want it to happen, but if something happened to it, it's not as bad as a more expensive one. Another advantage? It takes 2 AA batteries.

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Olympus Stylus 790 SW is my latest choice. Tremendous battery life, waterproof (fresh & saltware), shockproof, freezeproof to -10C and built in with every preset photo-scenario you can think of. Hard to beat a camera that advises being cleaned by being washed under running water :laughing:

 

edit to add: It's also a metal-body camera for those with a preference.

Edited by fox-and-the-hound
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I did not read all the comments....

But I can say that I only recommend waterproofed and shock resistand cams! I use the Olympus µ 770SW but there some new, better models out now.

Hey Martin! I agree totally. My old Z3 is falling apart so I broke down and bought the new Olympus Stylus 1050 SW. 10.1Mp camera that is small, compact, has an aluminum slide-up cover that completely covers the lens and flash, shock-proof, freeze-proof (like I need THAT in Florida???) and water-proof to 10-feet depth. Metal body, lens does not stick out from the body but has 3X optical zoom. Also have an adapter to use a 2Gb micro-SD and I have a 1Gb micro-SD in my phone so if I run out of picture space I can just swap it with my phone's card.

 

It's nice hauling a camera on hikes, on the bike or when 'yakkin' that I don't have to baby :laughing:

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We bought a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W80 just for geocaching. Small and takes great pictures BUT it has a couple downsides.

 

1. It won't use standard batteries like AA or AAA so we need to make sure we charge it before going out.

2. The battery won't charge while plugged into the computer's USB port.

3. You need to turn it on when uploading pictures through the USB port and if you forget to turn it off after uploading then the battery will drain completely! (see #2 above).

 

For the above reasons I really can't recommend this camera. Next time we will look in the Sony lineup for one that uses regular sized batteries as well as having a rechargable and we want it to charge through the USB too!

Edited by KJcachers
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I love my Canon PowerShot SD450 Digital Elph. It's an older Elph (Santa has newer models :anitongue:), but small enough to slip in a pocket and great picture quality. Large viewscreen too. Down side: uses Canon's proprietary batteries, but now that I have two and a charger, that's not an issue.

Edited by hydnsek
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I'd recommend the Kodak EasyShare. I got my son a refurbished one from Woot for a birthday present. It fits in the pocket, it's light-weight, has something like 8.1mega-pixels and is very P&S. I've used it from time to time while Waymarking if I'm just not in the mood to lug around my equipment. I would not bring it out into the wilderness. It'll go *crunch* at things that my Canon laughs at.

 

- Elle

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A couple people have mentioned specialized batteries, and just want to echo/point out:

 

Don't do it! :anitongue:

 

If your battery dies and you don't have a spare, you are done. I can carry spare rechargeable AA's that I can use in my camera, GPS, flashlight, or what-have-you.

 

Plus, I can pick up a 4 pk of NiMH AAs for $10, while a spare specialized batt probably goes for at very least twice that, probably more like $50.

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I'd recommend the Kodak EasyShare. I got my son a refurbished one from Woot for a birthday present. It fits in the pocket, it's light-weight, has something like 8.1mega-pixels and is very P&S. I've used it from time to time while Waymarking if I'm just not in the mood to lug around my equipment. I would not bring it out into the wilderness. It'll go *crunch* at things that my Canon laughs at.

 

- Elle

 

I agree... not sure that it's the same model, there seem to be several... but when I was looking for a 'inexpensive' first digital, I chose to get a Kodak Easy Share v803 8.0 mp. For what it is, it takes much better pictures than I ever expected... Even now that I've learned to turn down the resolution quite a bit, I still get good results, most of the time... Hey! I'm human and still on a learning curve, all uphill. I use it for scenery shots, and have tried it for 'evidence' shots for SAR (unofficially, but just in case). Even when I strip the shots down for use on GC.com on the logs they reproduce faithfully (I again thank BlueDeuce for introducing me to Irfan software, it works great).

 

I also have my older 35mm Minolta and some video... which while dated produce good results. The camcorder came out of a garbage can and 'did not work', I though the camera might still even if the recorder didn't function... a good cleaning and a recycle job on the battery and I've had 7 years of decent (but analog) video... As for surviving the wilds... the v830 fits right into a Pelican 1010 box. Granted it is a rechargeable battery pack in this case, but I've yet to run out of charge in normal shift.

 

Nothing but practice will help with my composition and shot execution though... although I'm tolerably skilled at getting akward shots... just not always 'high' art levels.

 

Doug

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My feeling exactly! I use rechargeable AA and AAA batteries for just everything I own...

 

 

 

A couple people have mentioned specialized batteries, and just want to echo/point out:

 

Don't do it! :D

 

If your battery dies and you don't have a spare, you are done. I can carry spare rechargeable AA's that I can use in my camera, GPS, flashlight, or what-have-you.

 

Plus, I can pick up a 4 pk of NiMH AAs for $10, while a spare specialized batt probably goes for at very least twice that, probably more like $50.

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I've owned a full gamut of cameras, from El-Cheapo 35mm to digital SLRs, but none of these fit my needs, as defined by the type of caching I do. I found that, having to open up my Otterbox camera case while drifting toward a critter whose picture I wanted to take, usually left me with naught but a ripple to photograph. After losing a really neat shot of an otter, (ironically due to my Otterbox), I decided that I needed a waterproof point & shoot that would fit in my pocket. My search led me to the Olympus Stylus 770 SW. The pictures that come from it are not as good as what comes from an SLR, but it's waterproof to 33', shockproof to 5', crushproof to 220 lbf, and still takes fairly nice images. Because it slips into my shirt pocket, it's always with me, which is more than I can say for my larger cameras. Owning the latest & greatest SLR won't help you if it's so bulky you leave it in the car.

 

As a compromise, I'd say it's a good caching camera.

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I'm on my 3rd Nikon "CoolPix." This one is the best, yet...the L21. I actually dropped my L18 into the Willamette River and it survived! I then dropped it while Nordic Skiing at Mt. Bachelor. 2 days later, I found it on CraigsList! Someone had found it on a trail and managed to find me through the Nordic Lodge, where I'd left a note! It survived! I used it for 2 years, until the microphone finally gave out.

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I have my D80 in the car usually and if I run into something that I really want to get some good shots of I come back when I'm done caching with the D80. I've been carrying a Fuji A600 while I'm caching but I've never been happy using the LCD, even though they advertised that you could see it in any light when I get in bright sun it's hard to see, plus that thing eats batteries like mad, I almost think there's something wrong with it. I want a real view finder so I just ordered a Canon Powershot A 1000 IS. It has a view finder, image stabilization, and it uses AA batteries.

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I'm on my 3rd Nikon "CoolPix." This one is the best, yet...the L21. I actually dropped my L18 into the Willamette River and it survived! I then dropped it while Nordic Skiing at Mt. Bachelor. 2 days later, I found it on CraigsList! Someone had found it on a trail and managed to find me through the Nordic Lodge, where I'd left a note! It survived! I used it for 2 years, until the microphone finally gave out.

 

I picked up an L16 for 59 bucks on sale at Wal*Mart--7 .1 meg, 3x optical-- perfect for bushwaking! :D

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I usually just use me phone but if I want to take good pictures I will carry my Fuji Finepix S5200 for around $100 on ebay 5.1MB runs on 4 AA batteries. You can go down to the S5100 a 4.1MB for around $50. I have had mine for several years and I am happy with it. I always carry it in a plastic bag to protect it from water.

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My bigger camera is also a Fuji Finepix, an S700, was around $200. I've been very happy with it for about 2 yrs now.

 

My small one tho, was a happy surprise. It's an HP Photosmart M627. I actually got it as a package w/ a portable HP A610 printer. Got it off of QVC or HSN for $100 for both. The camera is a 7.0 mp & takes way better pix than expected (we had been dissappointed in the past by small, inexpensive cameras). I keep it in my lunchbox & take it everywhere, just in case :laughing:

 

A separate note; the printer is wonderful, we can print pix anywhere there's an outlet, straight off the memory card, great for family get-togethers & inpromptu caching weekends!!

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I've had a canon powershot a540 for several years, and taken thousands of pics with it. Its a discontinued model, so you can get them cheap on ebay and such. Takes great pics - some have fooled people into thinking they were done with pro equipment. Firmware is expandable using CHDK so it can do RAW stuff if you want that sort of thing. Canon's color rendering is hard to beat, and their service has been excellent so far (replaced the lens assembly when I dropped it once with no questions).

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I paid 350 for my canon s3 10x zoom and it takes great pictures and stops action and does and pretty descent video so I am happy with it. Not small not simple but the zoom really get the pics just the way I want it. You are out there, take a real camera. I got lots of Wallpaper shots for my computer at work, and the Macro gets me some great bug shots. 1 great view shot, is worth the money, waterfalls are really nice.

Canon makes a waterproof 3x for about 230.oo and is light and take great pics. Mine is not water proof - big problem.

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I received the Canon A 1000 IS yesterday and took a few test shots with it and I think it's going to be a good replacement for the Fuji A600. I took a shot of a geocoin in the macro mode with the flash turned off it was down to 1/8th of a second at f2.7 and the picture came out good and sharp so I think the image stabilization is doing a good job. It also seems to do a good job with the white balance on auto and it does a good job on reproducing the colors accurately. Not bad for a 145 dollar camera.

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All, good replies, I guess I forgot to say durable......but If I was to put my top 3 needs for a digital camera, it would be, takes awesome pics, compact, and uses rechargeable AA or AAA batteries.

 

The "AA" battery requirement was my TOP requirement when I bought my last camera. I got a canon A620 a couple of years ago. Thankfully a lot of manufacturers have gone to using AA batteries again, instead of those awful rechargeable "packs" that rarely last a year and cost $50 to replace (IF you can find one once they need replacing).

Im looking at a nikon d40...and notice that while it uses a li-ion pack...they make a "AA" holder that attaches to the bottom of it. Ill probably throw the li-ion pack away, or sell it on eBay. I also have an OLD canon ftb. It takes NO batteries...except in its light meter. I take it on vacations as a backup. I had to use it on a cruise, but my wife couldnt use it at ALL... much less hold the heavy beast for long.

 

the 620 isnt that compact, while it fits in a coat pocket it is too big for jeans. It does take awsome pictures, especially if you know a little more about photography than how to use the "AUTO" setting. The kodak easyshare compact cameras work decently enough for geocaching, and they run less than $100 at walmart. They take 2 AA batteries. The MAJOR downside is the easyshare software. Its worse than AOL at taking over your pc. You're better off just pulling the SD card out and uploading the pictures that way.

 

I just started using my iPhone camera. Its okay in daylight, and the 2mp is plenty for the geocaching site. Plus I can email the photos to myself from the field, and I dont have to deal with extra cards and software. But its nothing like the a620.

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