Geocaching and photography

[greyhounder]

Hi!

I’ve always had cameras, but never really ever took the time to take too many pictures of anything other than my dogs. Geocaching has certainly changed this. I’ve even found that my ability to take decent pictures has improved a good deal! I just upgraded to a new camera (it arrived yesterday!) and thought it would be interesting for us to talk about what cameras we like and why. I’ll start:

Even though I’ve only been using this new camera about 24 hours, I have been using Kodak for several years now and am very happy with it. It’s an Easy Share camera, and uploading my pictures to the computer is a breeze (both my hp and mac).

I prefer digital to 35mm film, since you can do so much more fun stuff with it. I tend to take lots of spoiler pics (never posted) and scenery. I’m really trying hard to take pictures of actual people now too. And then there’s still the dogs….

My new camera is the Kodak Easy Share Z650. You can buy fun lenses and filters for it (down the road). It also apparently takes video. 6.1 MP, 10X optical zoom and 5X digital zoom. It uses SD or MMC for memory (pretty limited internal memory). It has tons of picture modes for whatever you need (landscape, night, close-up, action, etc…)

It’s not particularly cheap, but not the most expensive camera out there and you still get lots of great features. I bought it with the camera dock/battery charger and it cost just around $325 with shipping (prices may vary).

Here’s some pictures I took today. I kept with the nature theme so as to tie it to geocaching:

The rose pictures are using the special close-up mode for flowers:

Here I am taking a regular mode photo, but testing out the optical zoom feature. You can even see a spider web on the edge of the leaf:

And this would be digital zoom. Lots of people don’t like digital zoom as it’s not very clear. This turned out okay. I really need a tripod. This was about 10-15 feet up into the tree:

Now it’s your turn…what do you like to use for a camera and why?

[Timberline Echoes]

Bec, first of all let me say those are very nice pictures that you took today. Thanks for sharing.

I use a Canon Rebel 2000, it is a SLR. I really like my “old fashioned” way of doing things. I understand the many benefits of a digital but I am not ready to take the plunge into the digital world yet.
I also like the surprise when I open the envelope of my printed pictures. I like the depth and crispness of the 35 film, although digital has come a long way and is very comparable these days.
So there is my 2¢ worth.
Cathy

[Johnny Cache]

Come on now Cathy. Don’t be shy. You have much more to say on this subject. Right Jim? 🙂 Share some pics.

Check out how “Team 1316” is using their camera. I’ve enjoyed watching the adventures of Daisy, the caching GI Joe. Click on the Gallery tab @ http://www.geocaching.com/profile/Default.aspx?guid=b444aba4-e317-404d-8618-8de77806f6b2

[Buy_The_Tie]

Oh, that’s all well-and-good….. but… what happens the first time you loose your footing, and go tumbling down into that murky creek?

When geocaching I carry an inexpensive ($85) digital camera, and have been able to get some pretty good pics with it.

I sometimes also carry a portable tripod… folded up, it is just slightly smaller in length than my GPSR, and about as big around as a 35mm film canister.

[greyhounder]

@Buy_The_Tie wrote:

Oh, that’s all well-and-good….. but… what happens the first time you loose your footing, and go tumbling down into that murky creek?

According to the book that came with my camera, you take out the batteries and memory card, lens (if it’s one of the extra ones) and let everything dry out. It’s supposedly good to go after that. But I also plan to keep everything pretty well protected except when actually in use.

My other Kodak Easy Share (about $200 when new) frequently got wet, dropped on the ground, and once went into the drink for a couple moments. It’s sort of beat up looking, but still takes great pictures! For most of the time I’ve been geocaching it has just been tossed into my backpack and flopped around with everything else. Just recently I acquired a can cozy (at the Jefferson Geocaching Picnic) and that has been my camera protection for that one.

I did buy an actual camera bag this time around….

Bec

I LOVE TEAM 1316’S GALLERY!!

[Jeremy]

Nice pictures Becky… please continue to share them. We have lots of room on the new web server, so feel free to fill up your personal album.

@Buy_The_Tie wrote:

Oh, that’s all well-and-good….. but… what happens the first time you loose your footing, and go tumbling down into that murky creek?

I’m with you Brian… I usually carry a relatively cheap camera that is completely waterproof and ruggedized. It should be almost unbreakable, but now that I’ve said this is will probably stop working this weekend. 🙂 Camera review.

I’d rather have something small and rugged enough to carry with me all or most of the time than a large, fancy camera that I can only bring on certain hunts. Also important to me is the “bootup” or start up time of a digital camera. It is nice to be able to turn on the camera and be able to almost instantly start shooting so you can get those candid shots.

[greyhounder]

The Optio is a great camera for sure, and maybe one of the best for geocaching. I was looking for a digital camera that LOOKED like a real camera, and not a tiny rectangle. It’s all about personal choice — that’s what makes life fun!

I will definitely be filling up that album soon…Rock Island is just around the corner!!

Bec

[Timberline Echoes]

Yes, my camera is large… but I carry it in a front pack. I also put it inside a ziplock bag when out canoeing before I put it in the pack. It is a nice place to rest the GPSr on while hiking too.

I think Johnny is thinking about our albums of cache pages… we took pictures of our first 1000 caches and have them all in albums with the details of the caching experience and the print out. Works nice when others need a little help with a cache and we figure it will give us something to do in the future when we are too old to cache.
Timberline Echoes

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