Autism Family Travels
Rank IV
Enthusiast III
Recommendations for cheap/simple point 'n shoot cameras?
- Thread starter tjZ06
- Start date
Autism Family Travels
Rank IV
Enthusiast III
Yes. Electronic viewfinder. Some are great some are not so much.
Check out the Panasonic FZ300. weather sealed, great zoom, great image quality. Or my fujifilm X-S1. I love that camera.
@tjZ06
My recommendation is for the Olympus TG5 or TG6 (they are basically the same camera so get the one you find a deal on) These are waterproof, dustproof, fit in a pocket or glove box, have built in GPS for tagging your pics, and can shoot raw to give you the most flexibility in post. They also have aftermarket support (think full scuba dive housings and lights etc...). As A Nikon shooter for my full time camera, This is my Scuba rig. It beats my gopro for video and pics. Once you get it to shoot raw rather than Jpg it is on par with some of my Nikon Bodies for quality.
They are only 12MP but unless you are printing 16x20 you'll probably never notice. (If you get a Natl Geo worthy shot that you want to print big, Photoshop and Topaz have tools to enlarge the resolution that work very well.)
Here is a run down of both:
Use the S21 for night shots from a tripod and your normal phone snap and send images and take the Olympus out on the trails.
If you need to send a pic form the Olympus, you can use a USBOTG adapter / card reader to download photos and develop them on your Samsung! Did it for a week while diving off Baja.
Regards,
Boort
Autism Family Travels
Rank IV
Enthusiast III
Advocate I
BTW, I ended up getting the TG-6. I took it out the first time in Moab... spent the first day with it in some random mode, then realized it and put it in Auto and am so far very happy w/ the pics. I need to learn more about it, and generally get better about how I frame my photos and stuff, but it def encouraged me to take more pics.
-TJ
-TJ
Autism Family Travels
Rank IV
Enthusiast III
Advocate I
I love the camera itself... I still haven't used it enough. My trips tend to be pretty mobile, and I'm usually the slower moving rig in the group (the FWC is very light, and my truck handles it well... but I'm still not going to bomb a trail like my buddies with long-travel 4Runners setup for desert or well-equipped JTs) so I end up just taking a lot of "windshield pics" vs. stopping and getting great shots. I also tend to fail/forget to actually pull the pics off the camera and save/edit them... so I end up just posting/sharing the pics I happened to grab on my phone instead. 100% "my fault" not the equipment. Maybe I'll bring the cam in (it lives in the rig) and pull some pics later today and post 'em here... or maybe not cuz I'm leaving super early on a trip tomorrow. ;) :D
-TJ
This is an older thread but I'll weigh in and give my two cents...
You don't have to spend a lot of money to get a great camera. Check out the site keh dot come. They have used professional grade and pro-sumer cameras for great prices. Personally I carry a Canon 60D with a few lenses. My go to camera is my phone though. But the DSLR definitely beats the phone any day. The last time I checked the site my camera was going for about $250 to $350 in great shape. Lower for less great shape units.
The only draw back of getting a camera like what I have is that you have to also buy at least one lens. A kit lens (low end but okay quality) won't cost much. The lens is where you really don't want to skimp. You will want to spend a little more on the lens to get good quality results. I borrowed a $2,000+ lens from a friend who is makes his living with his camera and compared the photos to those I shot with my $100 lenses. Night and day difference. I'm not saying you need to spend $2,000+ on your lenses BUT a higher quality lens will give you better results in the end. Depending on what and who you photograph of course.
A point and shot can deliver good results, your phone can deliver good result too. But a camera that gives you full control over the capture of an image can give you great results. It does take practice to get a camera dialed in right when using manual modes. So if you go this route, be patient.
Cheers!
Olli
You don't have to spend a lot of money to get a great camera. Check out the site keh dot come. They have used professional grade and pro-sumer cameras for great prices. Personally I carry a Canon 60D with a few lenses. My go to camera is my phone though. But the DSLR definitely beats the phone any day. The last time I checked the site my camera was going for about $250 to $350 in great shape. Lower for less great shape units.
The only draw back of getting a camera like what I have is that you have to also buy at least one lens. A kit lens (low end but okay quality) won't cost much. The lens is where you really don't want to skimp. You will want to spend a little more on the lens to get good quality results. I borrowed a $2,000+ lens from a friend who is makes his living with his camera and compared the photos to those I shot with my $100 lenses. Night and day difference. I'm not saying you need to spend $2,000+ on your lenses BUT a higher quality lens will give you better results in the end. Depending on what and who you photograph of course.
A point and shot can deliver good results, your phone can deliver good result too. But a camera that gives you full control over the capture of an image can give you great results. It does take practice to get a camera dialed in right when using manual modes. So if you go this route, be patient.
Cheers!
Olli
