this week on Monday I bought a Samsung WB150F
its 14.1 Mega pixel (some newer cheaper cameras are 16 Mega pixel)
I bought it because it has 18x optical zoom lens, and both smart and manual ASM modes
programed modes and HD 1260*720 30fs video
suggested price $200+
can sometimes be found for less if the store has a sale going
I've been using it this week taking pictures of Hawks , Herons and squirrels, getting used to the different settings and modes
Options, always have options, and the journey goes much smoother ....
Connected thru Verizon with HotSopt WiFi using a Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Member of the Verizon Wireless Customer Council
I BOUGHTthis phone
We have a Nikon Stylus-Tough (forget the model, but their second generation) and it's held up quite well. It was an emergency purchase on Mackinaw Island when the wife's pocket Nikon was dropped during a hand-off. It landed straight down on its telescoping lens, and took one last photo as it went into the light (literally, it's what a dying photo's last image would look like!).
The Nikon we have is sloooow to shoot, and the flash washes the colors a bit, but they remedied that in the next generation, and are now on the second generation since ours (The TG-series IIRC). Ours is waterproof down to 10 feet (I've used it in the pool and out canoeing), drop proof to 6 feet (which would have spared our old one), and works quite well for a pocket cam. When this one gives up the ghost, we'll definitely be getting another Nikon Tough series for sure!
The nice thing about it is that the only external moving part is the lens cover, and if that gets gummed up, they tell you to stick it in a bucket of water and cycle the power repeatedly to exercise the cover. It goes against every fiber in my body to dunk an expensive electronic device in the water and THEN power cycle it, but it does work! I no longer about sand, dirt, pocket lint, and other stuff damaging the camera as it rolls around in the wife's purse!
The fun of the smartphone (I have the iPhone 4S) is the numerous camera type apps and post editing that you can do. The biggest limitation to camera phones is you are never going to get satisfactory long telephoto shots because there simply isn't any optical zoom and most don't have enough pixels to do digital zooming or cropping much more than 6X. Nokia has 41X zoom technology that might change that.
The other big advantage of smartphones is the instant social media aspects of sending and publishing.
I reach for my iPhone most all the time now. Only when I am doing nature photography will I use my DSLR.
Davydd
2011 Great West Van Legend Sprinter B Camper Van
Visited states in an RV
Thanks for all of the suggestions. We don't have, nor will we be getting, a smartphone so no option there. I did check out the dpreview.com website. The professional website reviews are a great starting point but it helps to hear recommendations from the real world too.
I am not looking for anything with interchangeable lenses since I have the DSLR for when I need that...just looking for a good quality moderate zoom to have with me all the time. I am thinking about the Nikon P7100 but it seems rather large. I need to be able to carry it in my purse. I also was thinking about the Canon SX230 and Canon S100. I ruled out the Nikon S6300 because I didn't like that you had to charge the battery in the camera.
WyoTraveler - I did look at both the Nikon and Canon AA battery models but was hesitant about how long the batteries would last. How long do find they last?
wcjeep & gijoecam - thanks for the suggestion on the rugged types, I hadn't considered them due to an assumption that the quality might be less. I will have to go back and look at them.
Keep the suggestions coming. I hope to make a decision before our next camping trip in a couple of weeks.
I bought an Olympus Stylus Tough 3000 for the beach, and similar environments. Which model doesn't matter, you pick the price level with the features you want, and model numbers change every couple years.
Canon, Fuji, Panasonic and Pentax have all been making "tough" or at least water resistant compacts for a number of years, and Nikon has joined the crowd, so look at that one too. I picked the Olympus based on features, price point, and how it handled for me.
What I don't like about the Olympus is that the battery is too small for what it has to do, so it wont do it for very long. I don't know how the competitors stand on battery life, but generally, a less compact camera has room for a bigger battery, and might actually have one.
P.S. I made this move to a waterproof compact after drowning my first two digital cameras, a compact and a superzoom, trying to use them in the rain on once in a lifetime trips, where I couldn't tell myself "you just can't take pictures here, it is raining too hard."
An alternative to "tough" compacts for this situation might be decent cheap compacts, but you are still looking at $70 to $200 for something you will potentially throw away, and that price range overlaps with the least expensive waterproofs.
* This post was
edited 05/06/12 12:50am by tatest *
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