Liking the Lumix

 

Last week I mentioned ordering waterproof Panasonic Lumix camera and being eager to put it to work. Camera has since arrived and I've played with it home and even spent a day with it around my neck in a trout stream. So far, I'm delighted. The images are ultra crisp and the files plenty big for all that I do. It also has a lot of cool specialty settings that I had fun (maybe too much fun) playing with to see what they did. I also figured out the WiFi easily, and that's going to be hugely handy for so many things. Battery life was less than I'd hoped, but I bought a spare and will always have two charged at the beginning of the day.

 

As anticipated, it was also really nice having a good waterproof camera around Asher's neck. We got far more pictures than we otherwise would have, and he did a really good job and seemed to embrace helping with the photo end of things. Good practice for this summer's Rebel Trout Trek!

 

Another Camera?

Yep. I did it again. Another camera for the collection. In a way it seems silly because I often tote backpack full of cameras. The waterproof point-and-shoot cameras are critical to my approach, though, and one of mine is showing quite a bit of age.

B&H Photo advertised a good deal on the Lumix pictured above today, and I bit. Beyond being waterproof and drop-proof and all that good stuff, this one has WiFi, which means I can go straight to the phone with images from it and post or share them on the spot. That should prove pretty valuable this summer when Asher and I are on the Rebel Trout Trek, and I don't want to stop somewhere to load, sort and send photos.

I'll also want a camera around my neck and one around his most of the time. We'll be fishing a lot of places where anything other than a waterproof camera would have to stay stowed away, and I want either of us ready to go to work when the other one catches a fish or just when we see something cool. It also shoots HD video with one touch of a button, so I ordered a great big memory card to go with it.

Looks like I need to get back in a creek some time very soon to learn how it works and put it to the test!

#RebelTroutTrek

Cameras, Cameras, Cameras

If Nathaniel and I fail to deliver images or video clips when the fish start biting, it's surely not due to a lack of cameras. The camera arsenal includes a new waterproof Pentax that allows us each to have one handy when we're wading or floating and really cool pair of i-KAM XTREME sunglasses, which have a built in video camera right in the center.

The cameras (not all of which are pictured) almost seem like overkill, but they really do all have different jobs. The Canon SLRs still get the most work, but the weatherproof cameras stay ever handy and help me get way more photos in streams. The GoPro gets video from Nathaniel's head and is also cool for extreme wide angle, water-level shots. Our phones allow for immediate posting on blogs, Facebook and Twitter, and the glasses can film everything that goes on and are apt to get us some really cool footage of things like topwater strikes.

The big challenge, of course, is bringing and keeping up with all the corresponding power cords and memory cards and getting cameras recharged and images downloaded at night. However, I'll take the challenges for the opportunities these cameras will provide.

My Little Green Camera

If you were to see me in a creek or a boat, I'd most likely have a green and back, rubbery looking camera hanging around my neck (or in my hand, with my finger on the button). That camera, a waterproof, shockproof and freezeproof point-and-shoot made by Pentax, has become one of of my most favored and most valuable tools.

I bought my "little green camera," as I usually call it, a couple of years ago, primarily for wading trout streams and floating in canoes. I wanted a camera I didn't have to keep stowed in a Pelican Case and that I wouldn't need to wrestle out every time I wanted a single shot. It's performed in that role exactly as I had hoped, but I've also learned that I like having a quick and handy camera even when I don't need the water protection. It takes great, high-resolution photos, so I use it for a lot of quick shots of fishermen and gear when I am out in the boat or just walking around. It also shoots better macro than I can get with my SLR, and it's loaded with cool pre-sets for special effects. I've never gotten very good with it for inside photos, but inside pictures are rarely important for my work and there's no need for a camera to be waterproof when I'm inside.

Lately Nathaniel and I have been playing more with underwater uses -- especially underwater video -- and I'm pretty sure that's going to be something we'll do more with in the future. The newest video on our YouTube channel, which features me talking about trout lures, includes some underwater footage of trout lures in action and even a trout on the line, and Nathaniel shot all the underwater stuff with the little green camera. I'll probably also use it as a field video camera for getting tips from fishing pros and guides when Nathaniel isn't with me.

Despite having owned my little green camera a couple of years, I'm continuing to discover new applications and learning how to better use its tools. And the more I discover, the more I like it, which is why I'm rarely without it afield.

My camera is a Pentax Optio W90. Looking at Pentax's website, it appears the newest generation of the same type basic camera is the Vermillion Red Optio WG-2. I'd be surprised if it doesn't do all the same stuff and more, except better, and their current online price of $249.99 is about what I believe I paid for mine. I may eventually find out how I like the new version. The only shortfall of my little green camera is that I only own one, and Nathaniel and often have to pass it back and forth in the creek or the boat. Maybe some day he'll be sporting a "little red camera" in photos of him afield!

Photo courtesy of of Pentax.

Win a Waterproof Camera

Would you like to win a camera that's waterproof and seriously tolerant of shocking drops and freezing temperatures? The North American Fishing Club is offering the opportunity to do just that through a photo contest being run through their Facebook page. To learn more or to enter, the first step is to visit the NAFC Facebook page and like the page. Once you've done that, entering is as simple as posting a photo and filling out a form. The top prize is a Nikon Coolpix AW100, and three of those will be awarded. Other prizes include North American Fishing Club rain jackets and Shakespeare fillet knives.

The Coolpix AW100 shoots 16 megapixel images and is waterproof to 33 feet and shockproof to 5-foot drops. That means you can just hang it around your neck with no concerns whether you're wading, canoeing or fishing in the rain, and you can even take underwater photos. Designed for rugged use, this cool camera even offers GPS and E-Compass functions.
If  you want a chance to win, visit the page right away, get your photo(s) posted and start a campaign to get friends to vote early and often. The club will judge photos. It's not strictly a numbers game. However, the popularity of individual photos will be taken into consideration. The contest is going on now runs through August 31.