Bill Tuthill wrote:
W. Watson wrote:
I posted the message below in 2004, but never took any action. I'm sure
things have changed, so maybe there are new cameras out there I should take
a look at. Several people mentioned Optio at the time, so maybe they are
still a good choice. I'd prefer digital.

Pentax recently released the W20 to compete with the 7 Mp Olympus 720SW.

Olympus has now also added the 725 SW. Similar specs, can go to 5m under
water instead of the 3m (10ft) of the 720 SW.

http://www.dcviews.com/press/Olympus-725-SW.htm


--
Wilko van den Bergh wilkoa t)dse(d o tnl
Eindhoven The Netherlands Europe
---Look at the possibilities, don't worry about the limitations.---
http://kayaker.nl/

Last weekend I spent a couple of days paddling with Mark Arnold and he had a
nice little waterproof camera. I believe it was a Pentax Optio WPi, a 6
megapixel camera, waterproof (can withstand submersion to a depth of 1.5m
for 30 minutes) that he said he paid in the low two hundreds for. I just
did a search on Froogle and saw one for $199.

I met Mark in Ithaca last Saturday morning and we did a 3 hour paddle on our
local lake (Cayuga) where he took several shots of some small waterfalls
flowing into the lake. On Sunday we drove up (in separate vehicles) to
Wellsley Island (in the 1000 Islands region of the St. Lawrence river),
shared a campsite then went out for a paddle around the islands. We
launched in a very calm bay and paddled out with the wind at our backs to an
area called the narrows. We paddled around a couple of small islands then
worked our way across the opposite of the bay where the wind had picked up a
lot. We stopped for a lunch break, then rather than continue around the
perimeter of the bay and heading back into the teeth of the wind we went
back the way we came. By the time we back the entrance of the narrows and
into the lee of Wellsley island the water calmed and we made our way back to
the launch spot. We swapped boats for awhile and played around a bit. I
got to try his Impex Force 3, a boat I've been wanting to try for awhile. I
really liked the way it paddled. It would be on my short list for a boat to
buy if I ever decided to replace my Skerray.

Lost my old trusty 35mm into Shot Watch Cove (Pukaskwa NP/Lake Superior)
this spring and purchased the Pentax Optio 10. Handled everything the Great
Lakes could dish out over several trips this summer...wilderness hiking in
lots of rain also...takes amazing pictures...lots of easy to set modes that
really work including macro ability. I use an NRS paddle leash bag (an
exact fit!) to store it on deck and use the leash wrist strap w/o the leash
to "biner" it too me in rough conditions (it won't float) if I want to
shoot...it can even take movies submerged (you never know!) Takes such
great pictures that I use it instead of my high end Sony for daily use.
Amazon had reviews you might want to read for more info...just my $.02
"W. Watson" wrote in message
.net...
I posted the message below in 2004, but never took any action. I'm sure
things have changed, so maybe there are new cameras out there I should
take
a look at. Several people mentioned Optio at the time, so maybe they are
still a good choice. I'd prefer digital. I recently went on a paddle, and
one person had a waterproof enclosure that seemed to do well for him. A
little bulky, but he'd used it many times and we were in class II water
quite often when he used it.

========================
I'd like to take my camera with me more often on kayak trips, but am
always
concerned about it ending up in the water. Are there reasonably
inexpensive,
$300 or less, cameras that are waterproof and have some flexibility in
adding lens? I typically use a Canon Rebel G with two or three different
lenses. One is a 300mm. Perhaps there is some way to enclose it in a bag
meant for the purposes of protecting equipment from a dunking?


Wayne T. Watson (Watson Adventures, Prop., Nevada City, CA)
(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet
--

"I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to bewail,
not to scorn human actions, but to understand them."
--Baruch Spinoza

Web Page: home.earthlink.net/~mtnviews

I went on a 10d backcountry canoe trip this summer; two of the guys had
olympus cameras. One was the Stylus 720sw (waterproof) or maybe its
predecessor and the other was a stylus 600 something(water resistant) .
They both were very compact and easily accessed and stored. Pictures came
out great, even some of the aurora borealis. I have an Olympus D-595 that I
carry in a small Pelican waterproof box. It works out well, but if I had to
do it all over again I would go for something like the 720sw, it is A LOT
more convenient. It is not a SLR, but the advantages (waterproof, light
weight, small size) make it ideal for water travel and sports. We got a lot
of shots that we might not have bothered with if we had a bigger camera.
You could easily carry both, use the point & shoot for spur of the moment
and your SLR when you are on firmer ground or quiet water.

"W. Watson" wrote in message
.net...
I posted the message below in 2004, but never took any action. I'm sure
things have changed, so maybe there are new cameras out there I should
take
a look at. Several people mentioned Optio at the time, so maybe they are
still a good choice. I'd prefer digital. I recently went on a paddle, and
one person had a waterproof enclosure that seemed to do well for him. A
little bulky, but he'd used it many times and we were in class II water
quite often when he used it.

========================
I'd like to take my camera with me more often on kayak trips, but am
always
concerned about it ending up in the water. Are there reasonably
inexpensive,
$300 or less, cameras that are waterproof and have some flexibility in
adding lens? I typically use a Canon Rebel G with two or three different
lenses. One is a 300mm. Perhaps there is some way to enclose it in a bag
meant for the purposes of protecting equipment from a dunking?


Wayne T. Watson (Watson Adventures, Prop., Nevada City, CA)
(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet
--

"I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to bewail,
not to scorn human actions, but to understand them."
--Baruch Spinoza

Web Page: home.earthlink.net/~mtnviews

My girlfriend uses an "Ewa-Marine" with her Nikon D50. It's a clear,
flexible case, the cheapest way to waterproof an SLR.
http://www.rtsphoto.com/html/ewamar.html
I see Amazon sells several models:
http://amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/102...0&Go.y=0&Go=Go

Steve