Tough, quick and good. A question.

Dave P

Howdy All:

First, thanks for having me. This is an awesome site, and I'm learning a lot.

Here's my situation and question:

I run a wildlife control company and am looking to upgrade my current photo gear to something I have more control over. My current "system" consists of an Olympus Stylus 400.

After reading many threads and many reviews, I'm still a bit confused as to which camera "is the best" for my needs.

In a nutshell, these are the needs, in order of priority:

-The body and lens must be super tough, and compact enough to get into tight spots. I'll be dragging the unit under homes, through desert terrain, exposing it to high temperatures and dusty conditions, bumping it around in the truck, etc.

-The ability to manually adjust shutter speed and aperture would be very nice for predicable results in specific situations.

-Quick and easy operation is key, as well. Often, there is not much time to get set up for a wildlife shot in this industry.

-Built in flash. It's dark and cramped in those attics and crawlspaces.

-Auto focus, 8-10+ optical zoom and a frame rate of at least 1-2 fps would be nice.

-Last, but not least, a good image would be very cool!

I've been checking out the recent Canon Powershot cameras, but don't know much about their durability. I'm certainly not opposed to going with a dSLR, as well.

My apologies if this is a worn-out, boring, vague topic. I promise to stick around, and be a productive member of Digital Grin, for what it's worth.

Thanks for any tips, clues and advice!

Dave

swintonphoto

Well, if you want a camera that will meet almost all of these demands I would recommend the Olympus E-620. It is one of the most compact DSLR's you can get, it are quite simple to use, has a built in flash, you can get it with a 2 lens kit that will give you 10x zoom, and excellent image quality. Olympus DSLRs have the most effective system for cleaning the sensor which may be necessary in dusty conditions. Also this is one of only a few DSLR's that exists with a flip out LCD screen which may come in very handy if you are taking pictures in difficult to reach places. You could get this camera with the 2 lens kits for:
E-620 body - $800: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/607510-REG/Olympus_262162_E_620_SLR_Digital_Camera.html
I have it and i absolutely LOVE it.

Toshido

I am surprised you did not refer to the Olympus tough series that you recently posted about. Sounds like small compact and extremely tough are primary.

Check out this thread for more...

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=131984

Dave P

Thanks, Jonathan and Toshido.

You two have got me thinking of the "obvious." Buy a good P&S for the trenches, and invest in a good DSLR for those moments that can be planned (ie. no damage to the gear). I'd hate to drag a $700 - $2000 camera through the muck and other abuses of daily life, when a stomp, water and drop resistant camera is out there.

The Stylus links were hilarious! I've never dunked my 400 in water (certain death), but I can certainly attest to its durability. Mine has been dropped from ladders, used during rain storms and collected an ounce or two of dust and grime. It still, somehow, lives on.

Back to researching your links.

Thanks!

Dave

Grainbelt

Pentax is the only manufacturer I know of that has a weather-sealed entry level model, the K200D. Feature set is similar to olympus - Image stabilization in the body, a self-cleaning sensor, etc. I've worked a bit with the JPG settings to get results I like - the Olympus is probably better right out of the box.

Worth looking into, at least. Also worth noting that the new K7 will be out shortly, and they have weather sealed both kit lenses to go with it. The K7 is a very full-featured crop-sensor camera, but smaller than the 50D from Canon.

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/pentaxk7/

Dave P

The K200D was certainly tempting; nice price, nice features and water resistant.

After reading a bazillion more reviews, I decided to go with the "ancient" Nikon D40. The features seem adequate for my needs, lens availability seems decent and the price was very nice (no need to hang myself if I trash it). It comes with the Nikon 18-55mm lens, Nikon 55-200mm lens (VR) and a bunch of other goodies.

Ok, my flame suit is on. Let me have it.

Dave

ziggy53

Dave P wrote:

The K200D was certainly tempting; nice price, nice features and water resistant.

After reading a bazillion more reviews, I decided to go with the "ancient" Nikon D40. The features seem adequate for my needs, lens availability seems decent and the price was very nice (no need to hang myself if I trash it). It comes with the Nikon 18-55mm lens, Nikon 55-200mm lens (VR) and a bunch of other goodies.

Ok, my flame suit is on. Let me have it.

Dave

Dave,

We don't flame here.

The Nikon D40 is a pretty competent entry level camera. Of the kit lenses you got the Nikkor 55-200mm, f4-f5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR is a nice upgrade over the non-VR model.

The D40 does have some potential limitations that you may, or may not, run in to, but if something comes up you can always get a number of informed opinions here, at the Digital Grin.

There is a nice collection of tips with links for the D40 here:

http://www.dpnotes.com/nikon-d40-tips-and-tricks/

For now, we just need to see some wonderful images.

Dave P

ziggy53 wrote:

Dave,

We don't flame here.

The Nikon D40 is a pretty competent entry level camera. Of the kit lenses you got the Nikkor 55-200mm, f4-f5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR is a nice upgrade over the non-VR model.

The D40 does have some potential limitations that you may, or may not, run in to, but if something comes up you can always get a number of informed opinions here, at the Digital Grin.

There is a nice collection of tips with links for the D40 here:

http://www.dpnotes.com/nikon-d40-tips-and-tricks/

For now, we just need to see some wonderful images.

Ziggy:

Thanks for the links. Those will certainly come in handy. I really like Ken Rockwell's site (in those links), and will read every last letter of everything I can find! I'm really looking forward to finally utilizing a camera to my fullest capabilities, once again. Full auto P&S cameras have slowly driven me to a state of semi-madness over the years (including today).

Wonderful images are coming soon.

Dave

Dave P

Just a quick update....

My D40 arrived today, right on time from Adorama.

I spent the day reading more about the camera and modifying various menu items, and finally took a few late night shots.

My only "willing" subject was my daughter's black and white dog (mostly black), in my dark living room.

With an Al Gore lightbulb (energy saver 40W) in the lamp, I fired off eight shots of the poor pooch (Flash = Ouch!) with the kitted AF-S 55-200 VR lens in super low light. I know you pros might think this is silly, but the results were absolutely awesome, in my eyes!

Seven out of eight shots were actually "useable," vs. the usual 3 out of 20 with my P&S in flash situations.

Even after only 8 shots, I know this camera is going to be a blast and a half. I can't wait to try it out in actual sunlight, tomorrow.

Here's a couple of my first shots with the D40. They are cropped, downsized, and hopefully not to large for the forum. I'm considering placing the first one in the "Circles and Squares" photo contest.




Thanks for all of your help. I truly appreciate it, and love constructive criticism.

Back to diddling around with the priority "S" and "A" modes.

Dave

ziggy53

Dave,

Congratulations on the new camera.

The qualities of a camera with an "SIR TTL" autofocus section (Secondary Image Registration, Through The Lens) are a level of magnitude better in speed than the contrast detect method P&S cameras use.

Mostly the good stuff.