• WHO WON THE 5 X DMM PHANTOM SCREWGATE KARABINERS??

    A fantastic response with some excellent entries, but who won??

    Click here to see the shortlist

  • Descent 310 is out now.

    ....so prepare to see some of the best writing and photography from the caving world

    Including: Into the Echo Chamber, Tim Allen reports on another magnificent Yorkshire Dales find by the Space Miners....and: The Great Geoff Yeadon, undoubtedly one of the greats of the caving world. Following his death at the age of 75, Geoff Crossley, Martin Grass and Mick Nunwick pay tribute to him.

    Click here for details of this edition

waterproof camera's tested

Stunning woman...

Erm, the cameras I think all had their good and bad points. The ones with slidey bits got sand in them which either scratched the camera bodies or prevented lens shields from opening properly. Guess the same could happen with cave sediment...

Oh, and I've got a Fujifilm XP, it's water (down to 1m, I think)/shock/dust and freeze proof. Can also record GPS positions where pix are taken. Got to test that yet though...
 
Rob said:
Yup, Kai is ace! His reviews definately make me want to buy from DigitalRev!

For a more useful underwater camera review, check out:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q311waterproofcompactgrouptest/

I use the Lumix TS3 (FT3 to most) and can highly recommend it for a point and shoot.  :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Were you so distracted that you didn't see the same link below the video clip in the first post ;D ;D ;D
But indeed the written overview is better only it's pitty that the canon D10 isn't in it. Because imho it is one of the better cameras for caving purpose. No sliding parts or whatever.

A picture taken last week-end after several aquatique / muddy passages in "Chantoir de Fagnoules - Belgium"

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xWx6nQ6lib4/TvDGxHvEZdI/AAAAAAAABDs/K8COzN5GquM/s1600/IMG_0641.JPG

Full story http://scavalon.blogspot.com/ (in dutch)

Dagobert (Sc Avalon)
 
I think that the crucial question to ask regarding a camera for cave photography is 'Does it have complete manual override?'
 
Fulk said:
I think that the crucial question to ask regarding a camera for cave photography is 'Does it have complete manual override?'
Click to expand...
Depends what you're after from your photos I guess. Respectable results can be acheived from cameras without (full) manual (using slaves etc to remove flash from the camera) although with does give more scope and thus probably better results..
 
I've always wondered with cameras that don't have manual controls what kind of aperture/shutter combination they tend to propose in a cave environment. I would assume they leave the aperture wide open but don't know to what extent they slow the shutter speed. Anyone have any experience?

I'd love to buy a light weight waterproof compact for cave use but have always been put off by the lack of manual control.
 
Andrew W said:
I'd love to buy a light weight waterproof compact for cave use but have always been put off by the lack of manual control.
Click to expand...

This is taken with an Olympus 850 (with exposed film over the built in flash). I used my Scurion to focus the image and a hand held flash/slave for lighting (with my head turned away). I've had some good results "on the fly" with this lightweight set up.

5502193732_467e5b0b7d_z.jpg
 
Fulk said:
I think that the crucial question to ask regarding a camera for cave photography is 'Does it have complete manual override?'
Click to expand...

I use a Samsung S1050 for a lot of my photography.
It has full manual over-ride settings with a max exposure of 16 secs. Good for a compact.

Also, in the dark, where a lot of cameras would lock the shutter due to the inability to focus, this one sets itself on infinity and gets on with it. ( low light warning comes on. But any lighting can be sorted out while exposed. )

However, it is not waterproof, but transported in a clip top butty box, has survived many years of abuse.
 
I'd love to buy a light weight waterproof compact for cave use but have always been put off by the lack of manual control.
Click to expand...
In summer I purchased the Canon D10 (compact waterproof), unfortunately not been out caving as much as I'd like since then so still getting to grips with what's best but one example is;
6225866550_b8595b2be7.jpg

Used the cameras scene mode "long shutter" option set to 1 sec (max is 15s), ISO set to 80, focused using my light (turned off or head to side once focused), no camera flash but used one hand-held flash which fired a slave flash.

There is also a P mode which I occasionaly use - have to force it with a firmware hack to fire a single flash as I only have Firefly 2s and can't afford (too tight) an upgrade to 3s, works ok from the odd photo I've took.
 
There is also a P mode which I occasionaly use - have to force it with a firmware hack to fire a single flash as I only have Firefly 2s and can't afford (too tight) an upgrade to 3s, works ok from the odd photo I've took.
Click to expand...

I mostly use P mode, which was set-up by a clubmember who is a better photographer then me.

-iso 100
-AWB
-My colors OFF
-Partial measure
- Single image
- fine
- 12m 4000x3000

But I have to look into the other possibilities of the camera too.

Dagobert
 
Fulk said:
I think that the crucial question to ask regarding a camera for cave photography is 'Does it have complete manual override?'
Click to expand...
With almost all compact cameras nowadays there's a techy way around a "full manual" requirement. So whilst it is indeed nice to have, i think robustness and image quality are more important, cos there's no easy fix to those characteristics.

Also, that's because i've still to see a compact waterproof digital camera with full manual...
 
Andrew W said:
I've always wondered with cameras that don't have manual controls what kind of aperture/shutter combination they tend to propose in a cave environment. I would assume they leave the aperture wide open but don't know to what extent they slow the shutter speed. Anyone have any experience?

I'd love to buy a light weight waterproof compact for cave use but have always been put off by the lack of manual control.
Click to expand...

Not that I'm any kind of good photographer, but my compact (and I guess most others) come with a wide range of scene modes - e.g. fireworks, party, night scenery, etc. These modes tend prioratise or fix the focus/aperture/shutter speed and so by choosing the right mode you get reasonable settings, you do have to experiment (and remember which setting is which - something I never can do).
 
I have used Olympus u850W and even though quality is not great, it's bearable and you can definitely throw it about, I have used it a lot for caving and canyoning and don't even try to protect it, just hang it on my bag all the time to be handy and it's always bashing against the walls/rocks and still stands. The only time it stopped working was this summer on Afon Ddu gorge, maybe because I had it hanging with an extremely long sling and it was permanently under water for about 4 hours. But the next day it was fine again.
There's no substitute for great caving pictures than the proper pro gear but this does the job of keeping a souvenir of great days gone by.
 
Fulk said:
A digital Nikonos would be good . . . but probably very expensive.
Click to expand...

Don't think they actually exist, do they?  :doubt:

Mind, the Leica S2 is claimed to be dust and water proof (though I cannot find an IP code on their website) and a body will only set you back about $22,000.
 
Well the old Nikon Coolpix has finally succumbed to damp and dust. The zoom was the first to go, then the sticky lens shields and finally the autofocus. Hence last weeks blurry shots.
Where to go now ?
Clearly time to buy a " rugged " camera and I liked the idea of a Canon D10 or D20. Still more cameras have entered the market since this thread appeared and I have ordered the new Olympus TG-620. ( Feb 2012 ). It compared well with the D20 in this review-

http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon-D20-vs-Olympus-TG-620

I liked the idea of the in camera panorama stitch.

Of course that does not mean the TG 620 will fare well in caving but I do use these compacts for other things.
We shall see.


 
Take a look on ebay Nick and you might well find something there. I got my Canon G7 from there and it works quite well - note how it cuts through steam ;D
 
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