absolutely
...but if you could, it was always easier to get the results up front, from the camera, no?
I'm ok with it also, but I have to consider it. Everything changes, and it's just a shift in the creative process. One still has to have fundamentals such as composition in mind.
no problem with manipulation
For the record, I have NO problem at all with image editing. I spent countless hours tweaking negatives and prints in darkrooms back in my film days and I really love the wide range of choices available now in digital photography and use them often.
But since I was offering examples of what my Optio camera was able to produce on its own, I linked to an album of unmodified images.
The point I’ve tried to make about camera choice is that, for me, convenience and durability wins out over technical image superiority. Everyone has their personal preferences. Having a small, virtually indestructible camera that is always within a second of my being able to take the shot even when I’m actively kayaking, means I take far more photos and capture more interesting images than I ever did when I had to keep a camera stashed in a waterproof container or fuss with a bulky housing. I do like a quality image and my present choice manages that while being incredibly handy and trouble free. It does have many options to manually control exposures and depth of field when I have the leisure and motivation to do so, but the auto settings have so far proved to be so good that I rarely do so.
As to the mention of waterproof cameras having lenses that are hard to clear of moisture, I have had no trouble with the Optio, which has a flat window in a slightly dished recess over the lens that is easily swiped clean with my thumb.
Depends!!
I think it’s much easier to start off with a lens that you know has great bokeh than to blur a background in PP, but some of the Photoshop plugins make correcting things like perspective distortion very simple.
on a related note
…have you seen some of the old lenses either regaining popularity, or in one case, being remade, because of the bokeh? What’s old is new again.
true
yes
I don’t think it’s unreasonable to carry both a DSLR that one has to protect, and a waterproof point and shoot. At least on a trip, or to somewhere you might not return to.
the Google Nik plug in
gives you classic camera and lots of old effects…
I like to take pix with a pinhole through the cap that covers the lens opening of my 70D when no lens is present
Google Nik is also FREE!
That’s pretty much…
…what I do, especially on vacation.
I’m happy to paddle around taking snaps with a little point and shoot, but if I see something really cool and I can do it safely, the DSLR comes out of its waterproof bag.
thanks!
Free is good! Have to try it out.
Pentax Optio Series
I’ve had several…the original WPi got stolen, a next gen Optio ended up going to a daughter, and I now use an Optio WG-10…been really pleased with all of them. They do amazingly good work for a very basic small point-and-shoot that’s waterproof - and the WG-10’s macro is one of the best I’ve used on any camera.
DSLR
I’ve been using one for many years as well as point and shoot camera’s. The DSLR is admittedly more versatile, yet my Pentax Optio is small and takes great photo’s. I keep my DSLR in a WP deck bag, along with my 300 mm lens and 200 mm lens. Using those lenses allow me to prove that I saw an eagle and not a pigeon.
gopro
Waiting for the release of Hero 5 next week. Mine is a few years old now Hero model that was the second generation I think.
Photos from Pentax Optio w80
Some have been post processed for dramatic effect. Still, all from a point and shoot camera.
http://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOlehS0f1FeXSB5yUccYgq-0rE4NZcxG4zNefVYRC4ZU8_N-BrFmKq8YO46VhglPg?key=T2JacDFFc2VDR1M3WDZYbllXNnRwbkFUUmViS093
For portraits…
…I still use a manual focus prime that I bought 25 years ago on my DSLR bodies. Optically, I think it has much better quality than my modern lenses, most of which are zooms.
It’s all about what you want
I will carry around a 2.8 14 mm fixed wide angle lens with a tripod and a DSLR( Canon70D) for star shots and Milky Way if I am in a dark sky area.
But my go to from a boat is a superzoom bridge camera.
I often find wildlife with it that is hiding.
I’m not going to shoot group shots on the river nor underwater.
Portaging the kit with the DSLR in a Pelican and a tripod box isn’t going to happen
As in all things it helps to know what you want and for advisers to state what environment they are taking pix in.
Another Pentax Optio
I also use the Pentax Optio - I have WG-1, but any of the waterproof point-and-shoot cameras are probably fine. Pictures are best on bright sunny days with the sun to your back, but I have managed to get decent shots in pretty much all conditions. I try not to zoom more that 2x or 3x because the pictures start to get blurry - especially when you are bobbing around in the boat. Buy a big storage card and set the camera for the highest resolution possible, and you can make up for a lot of the camera’s limitations by cropping and editing. I use Aperture on my Mac for that.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eckilson/albums
Video quality is pretty good too:
http://vimeo.com/eckilson
hey
I have a big wide-angle, it’s one of my favorite lenses to take on trips.
The camera definitely matters.
No amount of skill with my 5x point and shoot will reach out and get good photos of distant birds like my Cannon 500SX with 30x optical zoom and image stabilization or get detailed, non-blurry pictures of the moon taken freehand while standing.
The camer definitely matters, but a more skilled operator gets more out of any particular camera. I still haven’t ventured into the semi-manual mode, though skills with those features would get better pictures in some situations.
Water resistance, size, weight and price
Additionally, the Olympus cameras have the same capabilities as a full-size SLR, but without the downsides. I thought that I stated that pretty clearly.
As for the Sonys, they have better image quality than most similar-sized camera due to their larger sensors, plus many of the controls of an SLR. You’re not stuck dealing with LCD when in conditions where it’s difficult or impossible to use one. Again, I thought that I made that case, too.
I see several major changes
First, the fact that phones have cameras has resulted in many more people taking pictures, simply because they have a camera (of sorts) with them all the time. However, phone camera image quality vs. a “real” camera is about equivalent to the difference between .mp3 audio and “real” audio. For the majority of people and purposes, it’s just fine, but if you really care about quality, it’s lacking. That said, any image is better than no image and most people wouldn’t carry a camera with them all of the time.
It’s almost free to make images once you have a camera of any type, so it’s easy and cheap to shoot and experiment as much as you like. On a recent vacation in Italy, I took nearly 1000 images. If I had been shooting film, the cost of film alone would have been prohibitive, let alone the cost of processing. That’s gone with digital imaging. For anyone who’s interested in in improving their skills, there’s nothing to hold them back.
Digital images are MUCH easier to manipulate and it’s pretty amazing how much can be corrected. The learning process for editing software, at least for basic corrections, is pretty simple and free software is readily available and almost always included with a camera. Without the need for an expensive darkroom and the time it takes to develop (no pun intended) editing skills, anyone can attempt to edit their images. Most importantly, any changes can be undone, which was not possible with film.
The automatic modes in modern cameras are so far advanced from what they were in the film age. Consequently, many more people are creating good images by default, without any real understanding of why, but does that even matter? The end result is what it is.
It’s really a whole new world, but there is also an element of GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage Out) to consider. Really horrible or low resolution images still can’t be fixed to the point that they can compete with high-quality images taken by a skilled photographer with good equipment. As with most thing, including kayaking, skill still matters.