Camera Recco?

[SKYKO]

There are some great photographers on this forum and I would appreciate some opinions from you all. I haven't owned a camera other than the cell phone variety since I was a kid, Kodak Instamatic.. I'm not a tech guy at all and like really simple stuff. Thoughts on a straightforward point and shoot for having in the pocket while out fishing, landscape shots, fish pics, occasional bird Pic? Durability and ease of use would be paramount with a budget of say $500 +/-. Or are the latest phone cameras on Parr with the description above and I should just stick with what I've got?
Thanks in advance

 

[Cabezon]

There are some great photographers on this forum and I would appreciate some opinions from you all. I haven't owned a camera other than the cell phone variety since I was a kid, Kodak Instamatic.. I'm not a tech guy at all and like really simple stuff. Thoughts on a straightforward point and shoot for having in the pocket while out fishing, landscape shots, fish pics, occasional bird Pic? Durability and ease of use would be paramount with a budget of say $500 +/-. Or are the latest phone cameras on Parr with the description above and I should just stick with what I've got?
Thanks in advance

I would recommend the Olympus TG-7 (or TG-6 or TG-5, incremental improvements). It is a point and shoot camera that you can stick in a shirt or vest pocket. It is waterproof and shock-resistant = tough. You can shoot various modes, but where these cameras really thrive are close-ups. Almost all the fish (and flower / insect) pictures in my posts are shot with this camera. It is also a decent landscape camera. As is, it is NOT a good camera for birds, not much zoom. While you can purchase a telephoto lens to add more zoom to the camera, this attachment does not have very good reviews and I haven't added it.
Steve

 

[Evan B]

What are you looking to get that a phone camera won't do? For point and shoot, a phone is hard to beat these days.

If you want to get in to shooting with a SLR with specialized lenses, then you'll start to see the difference.

The main secret these days is getting a camera that can shoot in RAW format then doing post processing in something like Lightroom.

 

[Jake Watrous]

For your stated budget Fuji X100 series are fantastic cameras and it’s hard to take a bad photo. And the straight out of camera results (no computer time) are fantastic.

Ditto the Ricoh GR III.

I've had both and loved them.

 

[SKYKO]

What are you looking to get that a phone camera won't do? For point and shoot, a phone is hard to beat these days.

If you want to get in to shooting with a SLR with specialized lenses, then you'll start to see the difference.

The main secret these days is getting a camera that can shoot in RAW format then doing post processing in something like Lightroom.

Mostly just take pics while I'm out fishing or on walks/hikes. River, landscapes, plants, flowers, occasional birds and fish. I really don't like figuring and remembering a bunch of steps, processes and so forth. Maybe I'm a phone camera guy forever but looking forward to seeing what people like to use.

 

[Cabezon]

A few more comments on the Olympus TG cameras.
1. It can shoot raw or jpeg.
2. It shoots good video.
3. You can take a picture one-handed as they are very ergonomic. I can hold a fish in my left hand while zooming in, focusing, and taking the shot with my right. In tricky situations, I have the phone secured by a strap to my wrist; if I drop it, it isn't going anywhere. Cell phones are crappy ergonomically.
4. The camera has a built-in flash or a light to illuminate the subject.
5. You can shoot in automatic mode where the camera chooses the best settings or you can select a particular situation (nightscapes, fireworks, landscape, panorama, etc.) to have the camera use the most appropriate settings. There are also special close-up, movie, and underwater settings.
Steve

 

[SKYKO]

Different question:

1 Canon R3
1 Canon 1dx iii
1 Leica CL + Leica Elmarit-TL 18 f/2.8
GoPro 10

Thanks for the input, appreciate it. I should have been more clear in my follow on reply and said " looking forward to seeing what people like to use given my criteria above." I'm never going to be a great photographer as I just don't have the disposition for it.

 

[Buzzy]

A few more comments on the Olympus TG cameras.
1. It can shoot raw or jpeg.
2. It shoots good video.
3. You can take a picture one-handed as they are very ergonomic. I can hold a fish in my left hand while zooming in, focusing, and taking the shot with my right. In tricky situations, I have the phone secured by a strap to my wrist; if I drop it, it isn't going anywhere. Cell phones are crappy ergonomically.
4. The camera has a built-in flash or a light to illuminate the subject.
5. You can shoot in automatic mode where the camera chooses the best settings or you can select a particular situation (nightscapes, fireworks, landscape, panorama, etc.) to have the camera use the most appropriate settings. There are also special close-up, movie, and underwater settings.
Steve

A second vote for Olympus TG cameras. I used several of the models at work to document construction activities and bought myself a TG-7 a couple years ago. WARNING: If you have this camera in the pocket of your float tube and the camera strap is sticking out of the front of the pocket and you get excited, grab the pocket zipper straps and quickly pull open the pocket and that camera strip is inadvertently in your grasp. TG-7's sink very quickly. Don't as me how I know.

This coming Friday you might find many of these cameras discounted some..........

 

[SKYKO]

A few more comments on the Olympus TG cameras.
1. It can shoot raw or jpeg.
2. It shoots good video.
3. You can take a picture one-handed as they are very ergonomic. I can hold a fish in my left hand while zooming in, focusing, and taking the shot with my right. In tricky situations, I have the phone secured by a strap to my wrist; if I drop it, it isn't going anywhere. Cell phones are crappy ergonomically.
4. The camera has a built-in flash or a light to illuminate the subject.
5. You can shoot in automatic mode where the camera chooses the best settings or you can select a particular situation (nightscapes, fireworks, landscape, panorama, etc.) to have the camera use the most appropriate settings. There are also special close-up, movie, and underwater settings.
Steve

Great feedback and points on the attributes sounds like a good option, thanks.

 

[Jake Watrous]

Thanks for the input, appreciate it. I should have been more clear in my follow on reply and said " looking forward to seeing what people like to use given my criteria above." I'm never going to be a great photographer as I just don't have the disposition for it.

No worries. I answered your first question and then thought perhaps I’d missed a piece of it so I posted what I bring for fishing photos.

Then I thought better of it and deleted that second post.

 

[Zak]

There are some great photographers on this forum and I would appreciate some opinions from you all. I haven't owned a camera other than the cell phone variety since I was a kid, Kodak Instamatic.. I'm not a tech guy at all and like really simple stuff. Thoughts on a straightforward point and shoot for having in the pocket while out fishing, landscape shots, fish pics, occasional bird Pic? Durability and ease of use would be paramount with a budget of say $500 +/-. Or are the latest phone cameras on Parr with the description above and I should just stick with what I've got?
Thanks in advance

I use my phone (Pixel 6pro) for all picture taking, but it does not have a macro setting and I really miss that. FYI, the Pixel "Pro" series have much better cameras than the not-Pro versions. It is basically the only difference.

I had a Olympus TG-?? when I did site visits at my old job and it was great, for all the reasons mentioned above. But my phone is good enough that carrying an extra piece of gear when I'm fishing doesn't seem worth it to me.

 

[SKYKO]

No worries. I answered your first question and then thought perhaps I’d missed a piece of it so I posted what I bring for fishing photos.

Then I thought better of it and deleted that second post.

Yeah I liked the straight outta the camera results are fantastic comment on the Fuji, that's for sure right up my alley.

 

[Otter]

For camera security, two words: neck strap. Like this one:

Long Neck Strap for Ricoh GR Contax T3 Olympus Mju Minolta TC1 Big Mini Camera | eBay

1 Long Neck Strap. Universal small end loop system.

www.ebay.ca

For cellphone, like this one:
Amazon product ASIN B01KYCQDUO
I've been happy with my Olympus Tough TG-870. It's not much larger than a deck of cards. I don't know the difference from the TG-5, 6, or 7 models that Cabezon mentioned, but it sounds like it may have a few similar features. You can set it on fully auto, or chose different modes. For fishing, you can set it for modes like action, underwater (regular or moving subjects). I really like the flip-up viewing screen. Take underwater shots of fish by flipping the screen up 90 degrees, hold the camera underwater, and look straight down at the screen to compose your shot. As an amateur, I'm very happy with the image quality, especially on underwater shots and closeups. Oh, and the screen also flips totally vertical for selfies. You can also quickly and wirelessly copy photos onto your phone.