What camera on a boat ?

[max_power]

How many times have you wished you had a camera on board ?

I am determined to do something about it this season. But what camera ?

I have not tried a 'throwaway' yet. Are they any Good ? If I left one on board would it seize up after a while ? ( even my Roberts Radio is rusted inside now).

Trying to remember to take a camera with me seems to be my main problem. I have seen those simple 'key ring' digital's for about 30 pounds. Anyone tried one yet ?

Many Thanks,

 

[bedouin]

For years I used a waterproof Konica Mermaid - as the name suggests it was waterproof and also fairly shock resistant. It was useful because I could take it anywhere, in any conditions - and frequently did. This has recently been replaced with a waterproof IXUS.

I wouldn't take a digital camera on a boat - they are just too vulnerable to water and shocks, anyway the picture quality from the little cameras is rather poor. Just about good enough for web site publication but not much more.

 

[longjohnsilver]

I keep an Olympus trip on board, it's about 30 yrs old and takes half frame piccies, had a film developed a few weeks back which had been in the camera for 4 years, perfect results. The camera is also still in perfect condition, I only keep it in its soft pouch, moisture seems to be no problem.

 

[Jools_of_Top_Cat]

I use a digi but do not leave it aboard, we have a relativly dry boat but I am still very very careful about use.

the £30.00 digital jobbies have cmos sensors and crappy lenses, waste of time except as a toy, not worth the time and trouble. Many digi's have waterproof housings available so would be quite trouble free as long as it stays aboard and not swimming on its own.



Julian

http://www.ukstaffords.com

 

[LadyInBed]

You can now get waterproof (to 3 or 5 mtrs) throwaways now. Ideal for leaveing on the boat.

 

[vyv_cox]

I have had fantastic results from disposable cameras, but in ideal light conditions. The wide format ones are good for some boating purposes and they are all so cheap that it's worth having one wide, one normal permanently on board.

Once conditions are less favourable, or you want to take a close-up or zoom view, you need something better. There are some good compacts on the market that give a range of focal lengths between about 40 and 135 and maybe more. My personal preference is for Pentax as I have always found them to be very robust in resisting the kind of treatment I have given them in rucsacks and canoes. This does not extend to the ones that have a two-part little shutter thing instead of a lens cap. They frequently stick either open or shut.

Nowadays I use a digital almost exclusively. I don't leave it on board but after last year's five week summer cruise it shows no evidence of any deterioration. It cost a good deal more than 30 pounds, though. I doubt that you would get much of a print from such a low resolution instrument as these.

If your boat is so damp that this might be a problem there are innumerable plasic containers at household suppliers that can be used for storage.

 

[billmacfarlane]

I always had trouble with cameras onboard until I switched to a Minolta Weathermatic. It's waterproof to 50m , so it's totally unaffected by damp. I've had it now for about 10 trouble free years.

 

[NigelW]

It depends what you want it for, as always. I have found that a digital camera is the answer. It is great. After a sister vessel took photos of my yacht under sail and that evening there they were, on my computer, when he had e-mailed them to me.

How often do you get the chance to have picutures of your yacht under sail?

I use a Nikon 775 with 2.1 megpixels. Quite good enough to get a good A4 sized photo from a home printer and proper photo paper. Like anything else, it has to protected on board.

I used to take a Canon A1, but friends never got to see the phots. Now I can show them on the camera screen, or link it to the laptop and do a slide show at the end of the w/e, Great fun. Laptop adds to the cost of course.

 

[pandroid]

I use a mix of 35mm SLR, compact (APX) and Digi (for snaps). To be honest, we only keep the SLR on the boat as any photo taken on the boat needs a decent zoom. You have to sail pretty close to things to fill a 50mm frame. You need at least a 6x zoom, which is not available on campacts or cheap digis. The best tool is the movie camera, which has a 15x optical zoom on it.

I've never had a problem with damp. (Although my old man did, he dropped the camera in the drink)

 

[doug748]

I agree with pandroid. An SLR is your best bet, I use a Pentex K1000 (built like a brick outhouse). Lots of older cameras like this are being unloded very cheaply, as people move over to digital.

 

[hylas]

I also use a digital camera.. Nikkon 850, but as a full time liveaboard, I don't have any other possibility than keeping it all the time on the boat.. I have it for more thant one year now.. very satisfied with it.. and (up to now) no problem of humidity..

 

[gtmoore]

I have a Kodak DC5000 digital camera. It's what they call 'ruggedised' and has rubber grips and pads and is 'water resistant'. It also has large controls to enable you to use it with gloves on - mainly targetted at use on building sites etc but the quality is very good (2.1Mp) and it has autofocus and optical zoom.

It was nearly £300 mind (last year) and it is rather bulky compared to most digital cameras. I agree about the convenience of digital - sharing pictures with other people via a web site or email is a piece of cake.

HTH

Gavin

 

[jimboaw]

Digital, the only way to go. We used to spend a fortune getting prints, most of which will never be looked at again. Now I use my digital instead of drawings when I want to remember which wire went where

 

[hlb]

I dont keep it on the boat, but since I got a digi vidio camera, I would not use anything else. Ever tried to photo a dolphin in mid flight, or the best bit of a wave as it comes over the bow. If something realy interesting happens, it's great to have a vidio of it. No would not use anything else now. Dont get it to wet though!!

<font color=blue> Haydn

 

[J_Priedkalns]

I am surprised that no-one has mentioned the NIKONOS cameras which is the perfect camera for the boat as it is a true under water camera and is built like a tank ( I broke three ribs when I crashed during a fast ski trip and suffered for it a long time and not a mark on the camera.) Also used it down to 200 feet in Cozumel and got some intersting pictures and slides with high resolution that digis
dont have unless you pay very high bucks and get special housings which usually cost more than the camera! It also comes with interchangeable lenses.