Which waterproof compact camera?
- Thread starter khakipuce
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ogofmole
Member
For general caving use I use a MJU720SW which is about 3 years old now, and has done a lot of caving, cannot fault the toughness of this camera (it has even survived a drop from the traverse line in OFD1 into the streamway). But I always use it with a Firefly3 and remote flashgun.
G
george
Guest
Similar to ogofmole, i have a MJU850sw, which is about a year old and I love it. I don't have a firefly/remote flash (but looking into it) so find pictures can 'mist' quite easily. I tell everyoine to stop breathing for a minute before i shoot! It's very tough tho' and completely waterproof and is fine in low-light situations. I might try and post some pics on here.
George
George
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george
Guest
wow ogofmole, they're great pictures! I'm off to get some kit. Where can you buy the neccessary stuff for my mju? Do you know of any good shops?
ogofmole
Member
Thanks for your comments, I use quite a few different cameras underground, but for general club trips the MJU720SW is my workhorse (other cameras I use are the Canon G7 in waterproof housing and a Nikon D70). The Fireflys I have 2 x Firefly 2 and 1 x Firefly 3, but I can only use the Firefly 3 with the MJU720SW, these I brought direct from http://www.fireflyelectronics.co.uk/ they do a excellent service. Flashguns I buy cheap off ebay max price ?15. I put a little bit of exposed 35mm film over the on-board camera flash which in turn will fire the firefly, the flashgun and firefly are taped together and inserted into a waterproof clear bag, this way I can have the flash right down low by running water for greater effect.
The only floor in this system is that you cannot regulate flash output, but this comes with use, by either turning the flashgun away from the subject if too bright or by increasing the camera ISO (but this is the only done as a final choice as this camera does not like high ISO settings - lots of noise, but 80 and 100 are fine).
Hope that this helps
The only floor in this system is that you cannot regulate flash output, but this comes with use, by either turning the flashgun away from the subject if too bright or by increasing the camera ISO (but this is the only done as a final choice as this camera does not like high ISO settings - lots of noise, but 80 and 100 are fine).
Hope that this helps
G
george
Guest
Thanks, that is all very useful info of which I understand about 50%!
I thought my pics we're pretty good but now I know my place
In response to the origional post - I would recommend a firefly too!!! I've already asked my wife for one for xmas.
Many Thanks
George
I thought my pics we're pretty good but now I know my place
In response to the origional post - I would recommend a firefly too!!! I've already asked my wife for one for xmas.
Many Thanks
George
Do any of these cameras have any semblance of manual control? At the moment I use a D70S SLR but by the time I have it all boxed up with tripod, flash guns and a towel to clean my hands, it all fills a 40litre Meander transport bag. End result is it is such a pig to take underground that I rarely do.
I would love to have a small, lightweight waterproof compact with reasonable image quality but I would be concerned that I couldn't control aperture.
Leaving aperture and depth of field issues aside, I can adjust flash output on my flashguns, and to some extent you can move them to and from the subject to adjust output, but how does the camera determine its combination of aperture, shutter speed and ISO in the absence of any manual control?
I would love to have a small, lightweight waterproof compact with reasonable image quality but I would be concerned that I couldn't control aperture.
Leaving aperture and depth of field issues aside, I can adjust flash output on my flashguns, and to some extent you can move them to and from the subject to adjust output, but how does the camera determine its combination of aperture, shutter speed and ISO in the absence of any manual control?
ogofmole
Member
With the MJU720SW, it is more or less a point and shoot camera, but you do have choice of ISO settings in program mode, plus you can get a 4-5 secend exposure by using the Night-time setting, but other than that no manual adjustment, but as you can see from the two images that I posted with some experimenting with lighting you can get decent images out of these cameras (But NOT every image).
The next best thing to this camera is my Canon G7 which has full manual control, but is not waterproof, and when it is in it's waterproof housing it is the same size as your Nikon D70S.
I also use a Nikon D70 underground, but only when I'm going on a specific photographic trips.
The next best thing to this camera is my Canon G7 which has full manual control, but is not waterproof, and when it is in it's waterproof housing it is the same size as your Nikon D70S.
I also use a Nikon D70 underground, but only when I'm going on a specific photographic trips.
paul
Moderator
FWIW, I know several cavers with the Olympus Mju (several different models, old and new) and they never have a problem with them, usually carried in their oversuit pocket, and get good results underground. The only caver I know with a Lumix has had to bin it as bits of grit jammed the lens "telescoping" mechanism and knackered it despite being careful with it underground.
Rob
Well-known member
For those who might be interested, i spotted this review today:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/q209waterproofgroup/
However, my opinion is that a Canon Powershot in a waterproof housing is always going to be hard to beat...
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/q209waterproofgroup/
However, my opinion is that a Canon Powershot in a waterproof housing is always going to be hard to beat...
Alex
Well-known member
As far as I am concerned the Olympus 850 SW is the most robust
Any camera that can survive:
Numerous caving trips
Being dropped down an 8 meter pitch
Being left in Hammer pot (in water) for 2 weeks
Gets my vote!
Only slight issue is mud sometimes jam the mode selection wheel but that is remedied by a tooth pick, or a rinse in water.
Any camera that can survive:
Numerous caving trips
Being dropped down an 8 meter pitch
Being left in Hammer pot (in water) for 2 weeks
Gets my vote!
Only slight issue is mud sometimes jam the mode selection wheel but that is remedied by a tooth pick, or a rinse in water.
Alkapton
Member
Not being a photographer I'll not recommend a camera, but a must have feature. You need something that allows you to set a shutter speed. A 20 second exposure lets you 'light paint' with your caving light - just rappidly wave the light around the subject. This does away with the need for flash. It also is good for eliminating mist - where micro droplets of water are in the air. I have seen the results of this technique and they are impressive.
Again, thanks to all for the advice. For info there is a good round up of these cameras here http://www.pcmag.com/compare_products/0,1943,,00.asp?a=240038,243721,238258,240139,243669&pt=0&sid=1563.
Personally I'm finding it a tougher decision than I thought. Despite the excellent pics from Ogofmole, all the reviews suggest that the Mju tough is not the best in terms of image quality, but then again I probably can't see well enough to spot the difference :blink:.
The Canon D10 gets good reviews, but it seems to be quite bulky. The Lumix seems to rate well in terms of image quality, has HD video and a wider zoom range, but then does not seem to be as tough. Several reviews suggest it packs-up quite quickly.
Given that this camera will be used far more for every day shooting (family, walking, canoing, beach, etc.) than it will be for caving, I am prepared to be a bit careful with it when underground and something that goes in my pocket would be good. So I'm kind of wondering whether to hold off and see if Olympus bring out a new model next year
Personally I'm finding it a tougher decision than I thought. Despite the excellent pics from Ogofmole, all the reviews suggest that the Mju tough is not the best in terms of image quality, but then again I probably can't see well enough to spot the difference :blink:.
The Canon D10 gets good reviews, but it seems to be quite bulky. The Lumix seems to rate well in terms of image quality, has HD video and a wider zoom range, but then does not seem to be as tough. Several reviews suggest it packs-up quite quickly.
Given that this camera will be used far more for every day shooting (family, walking, canoing, beach, etc.) than it will be for caving, I am prepared to be a bit careful with it when underground and something that goes in my pocket would be good. So I'm kind of wondering whether to hold off and see if Olympus bring out a new model next year
Lu
Member
Last year I got Olympus Mju 850 SW shockproof to 1.5mts (cave tested now and passed) and waterproof to 3 metres (water and mud proof tested to 2 metres and passed).
Quality is not great but for caving and and water related activities it's so compact and you don't need to worry about it knocking or getting scratched or wet. It's just there in your pocket and does the job.
It does get a bit misty when you're deep underground but you win some and lose some and at the end of the day as long as I have a couple of pictures of the fun I had on the trip I am happy.
Quality is not great but for caving and and water related activities it's so compact and you don't need to worry about it knocking or getting scratched or wet. It's just there in your pocket and does the job.
It does get a bit misty when you're deep underground but you win some and lose some and at the end of the day as long as I have a couple of pictures of the fun I had on the trip I am happy.
