Best Camera
- Thread starter Bowhunter_60
- Start date
JimP
Administrator
A small compact one with a decent zoom would be the best.
I use a Olympus C-7000 to pack around. It fits on my belt in a small pouch and works great. I have packed it for a lot of miles and quite a few hunts and all I have had to replace are the batteries once a year.
For pictures back at camp I'll pull out a lot better one.
I use a Olympus C-7000 to pack around. It fits on my belt in a small pouch and works great. I have packed it for a lot of miles and quite a few hunts and all I have had to replace are the batteries once a year.
For pictures back at camp I'll pull out a lot better one.
Colorado Cowboy
Super Moderator
Thanks Jim, I wasn't sure which one to get. I'd like one I can take video with as well, should I become proficient enough to set up for a shot and video simultaneously.
JimP
Administrator
What I would do is to go down to the local Walmart or a camera store and check out the newer models. You can buy a lot of camera for very little money these days.
If I was to do it again I would look at a camera that takes common batteries and not a special one like the Olympus that I have does. I would also try to get a larger zoom and any newer camera with a zoom comes with a digital zoom along with the optical zoom. You don't need that digital zoom very much but it does come in handy at times. The camera that I leave in camp has a 50x optical zoom and a 4x digital zoom that when you use the two together it ends up with a 200x zoom lens. It is a little hard to hold steady at that high of a zoom but it is fun to play with it.
If I was to do it again I would look at a camera that takes common batteries and not a special one like the Olympus that I have does. I would also try to get a larger zoom and any newer camera with a zoom comes with a digital zoom along with the optical zoom. You don't need that digital zoom very much but it does come in handy at times. The camera that I leave in camp has a 50x optical zoom and a 4x digital zoom that when you use the two together it ends up with a 200x zoom lens. It is a little hard to hold steady at that high of a zoom but it is fun to play with it.
hoshour
Veteran member
Very hard to go wrong with Canon. Make sure you look at the sensor size and quality. That makes a huge difference.
Like JimP said, get one with a lot of optical zoom. Digital zoom is pretty worthless though, it doesn't maintain the sharpness like optical zoom does.
Like JimP said, get one with a lot of optical zoom. Digital zoom is pretty worthless though, it doesn't maintain the sharpness like optical zoom does.
Had no idea the difference between Optical and Digital zoom. That's good information. Thank you both.
JimP
Administrator
The optical zoom is like what you would have on your variable power scope. It starts out low and then goes up. The digital zoom is all electronic and as it goes up quickly so does the err factor on your end. Playing around with a digital zoom I need a rock solid rest or the photos will be blurry.
I've always had good luck with the Canon digital elf series. I upgrade every few years, currently on my 3rd one. Olympus makes a nice one as well, which I had prior. I chose canon because they a very thin, small and one of the digital elf models offers a very good field of view that is close to wide angle. Great for scenic shots in backcountry or up close photos. The optical zoom is important as well. Digital zoom not so much. It's basically a zoomed in and cropped version of whatever the max is on optical. All of these should offer video as well, which does come in handy on occasion.
mntnguide
Very Active Member
I use a Canon sx50hs...great for wildlife photos and I can use the dang thing as a super spotting scope because it has a 200x zoom that actually stays pretty clear. Its not the smallest camera, but it takes some great photos and you can shoot in RAW and give yourself more ability to edit later on. It also shoots great video etc..and is relatively affordable for how good a camera i think it is