Re: [Texascavers] a new camera
One disadvantage of the Pentax Optio compared to the Canon is that the W60 does not support RAW format, which many users of Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom may prefer. (Go here [http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/cameraraw.html ] to see the cameras supporting RAW format.) Two small Canon cameras supporting RAW are the Canon PowerShot S90 and the Canon PowerShot SG11 but I'm not sure if either are waterproof and will focus down to 1 cm which are two of my requirements. I think the Olympus Stylus 300 and 400 are waterproof - any cavers out there using one of these that cares to comment? - Pete On Feb 18, 2010, at 10:47 AM, Fofo wrote: Hi! I use the Pentax Optio too (but the W30). I think it's very good for in-cave use, it's waterproof and relatively rugged (I use a neoprene sleeve too) and compact enough that often I just leave it hanging from my neck (tucked in the suit), ready to snap then next picture. And it doesn't have a moving lens cover or lens, which tend to have a gritty death in caves. At the International Congress in Kerrville, Bill Frantz talked about the "Always Ready" photography kit, which is pretty much this setup, but adding a flash and Firefly in a small clear Pelican box. The Pentax Optio is nice for caving, but I think that Canon has better picture quality. The PowerShot D10 would be great, but it's bulkier, so it's not a comfortable camera for leaving around your neck. - Fofo Pete Lindsley wrote, on 18/2/10 8:55: I didn't see the waterproof Pentax Optio W60 mentioned yet. I have had mine now for a year and a half and keep it in a small belt pouch with an extra SD card and battery in the small pocket. I picked it as my light weight cave camera because it has a really nice close- focusing ability plus the other more common features. I found a small imported slave flash on e-Bay (~$15) with a choice of 1,2,3 or 4 trigger flashes for use with digital cameras. It's apart now because I want to move the slave sensor from the "front" to the "side" so it will be more versatile for cave photography. Another caver modified a similar unit that works well by moving the slave sensor to the "back" of the flash. I prefer the selector switch, particularly when working with other photographers, to the much more sensitive FireFly model because it's hard to remember the programming sequence for the FF when you are at the end of a long day in the cave. - Pete On Feb 18, 2010, at 6:45 AM, Chad Fenner wrote: The digital Firefly is designed to "count" the flashes and not trigger the strobe until the focus/exposure pre-flashes are complete. It can be programed for a various number of flashes based on the specific camera you are using. The down side is that it has a long (10ish seconds? Can't remember for sure) recycle time, meaning you cannot take 2 pictures close together. And be careful using olf school flashes with new digital cameras. The trigger voltage on the old model 283/285 is over 200 volts, and many of todays digital cameras (assuming you have a hot shoe to begin with) cannot handle that much voltage. Check your camera specs. There are newer versions of the 283/285 designed for digital cameras with a lower trigger voltage. Sent on the go from my Peek CF - Chris Vreeland wrote: Firefly makes a version of their slave that's designed to work with digital cameras -- the timing on them is somehow different from film cameras. I have a hot-shoe adaptor for my Nikon D50 which causes it to function with my Old Skool Vivitar 285, but with a point & shoot built in flash, one of those digital Fireflys and one extra flash might not be too much to tote with a compact camera. The touch-screen seems worrisome, though. I thing it'd get pretty dirty pretty quick. My daughter's Olympus waterproof/shockproof camera couldn't withstand the shock of being carted around in her book bag, so I wouldn't put too much stock in them, either. On Feb 18, 2010, at 1:34 AM, David wrote: Here is a new camera that would easily fit in your cave pack: http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=4262 I doubt the flash is bright enough for cave photography, but is any pocket size camera? There is probably some cave passage where you don't want to drag photo equipment, like beyond the sump in Honeycreek. This camera might come in handy there. - - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
Re: [Texascavers] a new camera
Hi! I use the Pentax Optio too (but the W30). I think it's very good for in-cave use, it's waterproof and relatively rugged (I use a neoprene sleeve too) and compact enough that often I just leave it hanging from my neck (tucked in the suit), ready to snap then next picture. And it doesn't have a moving lens cover or lens, which tend to have a gritty death in caves. At the International Congress in Kerrville, Bill Frantz talked about the "Always Ready" photography kit, which is pretty much this setup, but adding a flash and Firefly in a small clear Pelican box. The Pentax Optio is nice for caving, but I think that Canon has better picture quality. The PowerShot D10 would be great, but it's bulkier, so it's not a comfortable camera for leaving around your neck. - Fofo Pete Lindsley wrote, on 18/2/10 8:55: I didn't see the waterproof Pentax Optio W60 mentioned yet. I have had mine now for a year and a half and keep it in a small belt pouch with an extra SD card and battery in the small pocket. I picked it as my light weight cave camera because it has a really nice close-focusing ability plus the other more common features. I found a small imported slave flash on e-Bay (~$15) with a choice of 1,2,3 or 4 trigger flashes for use with digital cameras. It's apart now because I want to move the slave sensor from the "front" to the "side" so it will be more versatile for cave photography. Another caver modified a similar unit that works well by moving the slave sensor to the "back" of the flash. I prefer the selector switch, particularly when working with other photographers, to the much more sensitive FireFly model because it's hard to remember the programming sequence for the FF when you are at the end of a long day in the cave. - Pete On Feb 18, 2010, at 6:45 AM, Chad Fenner wrote: The digital Firefly is designed to "count" the flashes and not trigger the strobe until the focus/exposure pre-flashes are complete. It can be programed for a various number of flashes based on the specific camera you are using. The down side is that it has a long (10ish seconds? Can't remember for sure) recycle time, meaning you cannot take 2 pictures close together. And be careful using olf school flashes with new digital cameras. The trigger voltage on the old model 283/285 is over 200 volts, and many of todays digital cameras (assuming you have a hot shoe to begin with) cannot handle that much voltage. Check your camera specs. There are newer versions of the 283/285 designed for digital cameras with a lower trigger voltage. Sent on the go from my Peek CF - Chris Vreeland wrote: Firefly makes a version of their slave that's designed to work with digital cameras -- the timing on them is somehow different from film cameras. I have a hot-shoe adaptor for my Nikon D50 which causes it to function with my Old Skool Vivitar 285, but with a point & shoot built in flash, one of those digital Fireflys and one extra flash might not be too much to tote with a compact camera. The touch-screen seems worrisome, though. I thing it'd get pretty dirty pretty quick. My daughter's Olympus waterproof/shockproof camera couldn't withstand the shock of being carted around in her book bag, so I wouldn't put too much stock in them, either. On Feb 18, 2010, at 1:34 AM, David wrote: Here is a new camera that would easily fit in your cave pack: http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=4262 I doubt the flash is bright enough for cave photography, but is any pocket size camera? There is probably some cave passage where you don't want to drag photo equipment, like beyond the sump in Honeycreek. This camera might come in handy there. - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
Re: [Texascavers] a new camera
I didn't see the waterproof Pentax Optio W60 mentioned yet. I have had mine now for a year and a half and keep it in a small belt pouch with an extra SD card and battery in the small pocket. I picked it as my light weight cave camera because it has a really nice close-focusing ability plus the other more common features. I found a small imported slave flash on e-Bay (~$15) with a choice of 1,2,3 or 4 trigger flashes for use with digital cameras. It's apart now because I want to move the slave sensor from the "front" to the "side" so it will be more versatile for cave photography. Another caver modified a similar unit that works well by moving the slave sensor to the "back" of the flash. I prefer the selector switch, particularly when working with other photographers, to the much more sensitive FireFly model because it's hard to remember the programming sequence for the FF when you are at the end of a long day in the cave. - Pete On Feb 18, 2010, at 6:45 AM, Chad Fenner wrote: The digital Firefly is designed to "count" the flashes and not trigger the strobe until the focus/exposure pre-flashes are complete. It can be programed for a various number of flashes based on the specific camera you are using. The down side is that it has a long (10ish seconds? Can't remember for sure) recycle time, meaning you cannot take 2 pictures close together. And be careful using olf school flashes with new digital cameras. The trigger voltage on the old model 283/285 is over 200 volts, and many of todays digital cameras (assuming you have a hot shoe to begin with) cannot handle that much voltage. Check your camera specs. There are newer versions of the 283/285 designed for digital cameras with a lower trigger voltage. Sent on the go from my Peek CF - Chris Vreeland wrote: Firefly makes a version of their slave that's designed to work with digital cameras -- the timing on them is somehow different from film cameras. I have a hot-shoe adaptor for my Nikon D50 which causes it to function with my Old Skool Vivitar 285, but with a point & shoot built in flash, one of those digital Fireflys and one extra flash might not be too much to tote with a compact camera. The touch-screen seems worrisome, though. I thing it'd get pretty dirty pretty quick. My daughter's Olympus waterproof/shockproof camera couldn't withstand the shock of being carted around in her book bag, so I wouldn't put too much stock in them, either. On Feb 18, 2010, at 1:34 AM, David wrote: Here is a new camera that would easily fit in your cave pack: http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=4262 I doubt the flash is bright enough for cave photography, but is any pocket size camera? There is probably some cave passage where you don't want to drag photo equipment, like beyond the sump in Honeycreek. This camera might come in handy there. - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
RE: [Texascavers] a new camera
Ditto that. We have the Olympus 880 SW and take it in salt water, fresh water, swimming, tubing, beach, sailing, caving (of course) and let my 5 year old use it too (she's not gentle, but takes some great pictures!). It's 2 years old now and still functioning just fine. The tricks are to 1) flush the lens area with running tap water for a minute while opening and closing the lens to clear any debris or salt before you store it; 2) upgrade the battery or get a back up (after market versions work great) for optimal performance; and 3) PUT A SCREEN PROTECTOR ON THE SCREEN so you can peel it off and replace it when it get scratched! Much cheaper than buying a new camera. ;o) Clover Clamons cclam...@swca.com From: Thomas Sitch [mailto:dreadfl...@yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, February 18, 2010 8:33 AM To: Cavers Texas Subject: Re: [Texascavers] a new camera That sounds like a defect with that particular Olympus. My Olympus 770 SW is my preferred adventuring camera, and has gone snorkeling on many occasions, caving around Mexico (including the hot/cold Carizal), cave tubing in Belize, jostled and bumped horseback riding in Costa Rica, dropped in ice caves in Northern California, etc. without any ill effects. ~~Thomas --- On Thu, 2/18/10, Chris Vreeland wrote: From: Chris Vreeland Subject: Re: [Texascavers] a new camera To: "Cavers Texas" Date: Thursday, February 18, 2010, 7:15 AM Firefly makes a version of their slave that's designed to work with digital cameras -- the timing on them is somehow different from film cameras. I have a hot-shoe adaptor for my Nikon D50 which causes it to function with my Old Skool Vivitar 285, but with a point & shoot built in flash, one of those digital Fireflys and one extra flash might not be too much to tote with a compact camera. The touch-screen seems worrisome, though. I thing it'd get pretty dirty pretty quick. My daughter's Olympus waterproof/shockproof camera couldn't withstand the shock of being carted around in her book bag, so I wouldn't put too much stock in them, either. On Feb 18, 2010, at 1:34 AM, David wrote: > Here is a new camera that would easily fit in your cave pack: > > http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=4262 > > I doubt the flash is bright enough for cave photography, but is any > pocket size camera? > > There is probably some cave passage where you don't want to drag photo > equipment, like beyond the sump in Honeycreek. This camera > might come in handy there. > > - > Visit our website: http://texascavers.com <http://texascavers.com/> > To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com <http://us.mc364.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=texascavers-unsubscribe@te xascavers.com> > For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com <http://us.mc364.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=texascavers-help@texascave rs.com> > - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com <http://texascavers.com/> To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com <http://us.mc364.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=texascavers-unsubscribe@te xascavers.com> For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com <http://us.mc364.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=texascavers-help@texascave rs.com>
Re: [Texascavers] a new camera
That sounds like a defect with that particular Olympus. My Olympus 770 SW is my preferred adventuring camera, and has gone snorkeling on many occasions, caving around Mexico (including the hot/cold Carizal), cave tubing in Belize, jostled and bumped horseback riding in Costa Rica, dropped in ice caves in Northern California, etc. without any ill effects. ~~Thomas --- On Thu, 2/18/10, Chris Vreeland wrote: From: Chris Vreeland Subject: Re: [Texascavers] a new camera To: "Cavers Texas" List-Post: texascavers@texascavers.com Date: Thursday, February 18, 2010, 7:15 AM Firefly makes a version of their slave that's designed to work with digital cameras -- the timing on them is somehow different from film cameras. I have a hot-shoe adaptor for my Nikon D50 which causes it to function with my Old Skool Vivitar 285, but with a point & shoot built in flash, one of those digital Fireflys and one extra flash might not be too much to tote with a compact camera. The touch-screen seems worrisome, though. I thing it'd get pretty dirty pretty quick. My daughter's Olympus waterproof/shockproof camera couldn't withstand the shock of being carted around in her book bag, so I wouldn't put too much stock in them, either. On Feb 18, 2010, at 1:34 AM, David wrote: > Here is a new camera that would easily fit in your cave pack: > > http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=4262 > > I doubt the flash is bright enough for cave photography, but is any > pocket size camera? > > There is probably some cave passage where you don't want to drag photo > equipment, like beyond the sump in Honeycreek. This camera > might come in handy there. > > - > Visit our website: http://texascavers.com > To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com > For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com > - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
Re: [Texascavers] a new camera
The digital Firefly is designed to "count" the flashes and not trigger the strobe until the focus/exposure pre-flashes are complete. It can be programed for a various number of flashes based on the specific camera you are using. The down side is that it has a long (10ish seconds? Can't remember for sure) recycle time, meaning you cannot take 2 pictures close together. And be careful using olf school flashes with new digital cameras. The trigger voltage on the old model 283/285 is over 200 volts, and many of todays digital cameras (assuming you have a hot shoe to begin with) cannot handle that much voltage. Check your camera specs. There are newer versions of the 283/285 designed for digital cameras with a lower trigger voltage. Sent on the go from my Peek CF - Chris Vreeland wrote: Firefly makes a version of their slave that's designed to work with digital cameras -- the timing on them is somehow different from film cameras. I have a hot-shoe adaptor for my Nikon D50 which causes it to function with my Old Skool Vivitar 285, but with a point & shoot built in flash, one of those digital Fireflys and one extra flash might not be too much to tote with a compact camera. The touch-screen seems worrisome, though. I thing it'd get pretty dirty pretty quick. My daughter's Olympus waterproof/shockproof camera couldn't withstand the shock of being carted around in her book bag, so I wouldn't put too much stock in them, either. On Feb 18, 2010, at 1:34 AM, David wrote: > Here is a new camera that would easily fit in your cave pack: > > http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=4262 > > I doubt the flash is bright enough for cave photography, but is any > pocket size camera? > > There is probably some cave passage where you don't want to drag photo > equipment, like beyond the sump in Honeycreek. This camera > might come in handy there. > > - > Visit our website: http://texascavers.com > To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com > For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com > - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
Re: [Texascavers] a new camera
Firefly makes a version of their slave that's designed to work with digital cameras -- the timing on them is somehow different from film cameras. I have a hot-shoe adaptor for my Nikon D50 which causes it to function with my Old Skool Vivitar 285, but with a point & shoot built in flash, one of those digital Fireflys and one extra flash might not be too much to tote with a compact camera. The touch-screen seems worrisome, though. I thing it'd get pretty dirty pretty quick. My daughter's Olympus waterproof/shockproof camera couldn't withstand the shock of being carted around in her book bag, so I wouldn't put too much stock in them, either. On Feb 18, 2010, at 1:34 AM, David wrote: Here is a new camera that would easily fit in your cave pack: http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=4262 I doubt the flash is bright enough for cave photography, but is any pocket size camera? There is probably some cave passage where you don't want to drag photo equipment, like beyond the sump in Honeycreek. This camera might come in handy there. - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
Re: [Texascavers] a new camera
I'd stay away from touch screen cameras for caving. I have the Olympus waterproof/shockproof camera, and I use it muddy conditions. It works great. I think a touch screen would be scratched up pretty quickly so having buttons is preferable. Of course, I like to push my equipment to the limits. Andy On Thu, Feb 18, 2010 at 1:34 AM, David wrote: > Here is a new camera that would easily fit in your cave pack: > > http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=4262 > > I doubt the flash is bright enough for cave photography, but is any > pocket size camera? > > There is probably some cave passage where you don't want to drag photo > equipment, like beyond the sump in Honeycreek. This camera > might come in handy there. > > - > Visit our website: http://texascavers.com > To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com > For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com > >
[Texascavers] a new camera
Here is a new camera that would easily fit in your cave pack: http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=4262 I doubt the flash is bright enough for cave photography, but is any pocket size camera? There is probably some cave passage where you don't want to drag photo equipment, like beyond the sump in Honeycreek. This camera might come in handy there. - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
