small digital camera - old but still going strong?

[FlyingJ 0]

I'm in the market for a used digital camera, specifically something pretty small that will easily fit in a pocket. I'm looking primarily on eBay at cameras 4 or 5 years old or so, in the 3-5mp range.

I have a great digital, but it's large and cost a bundle. I work on a wildland fire crew and I'm looking for something small enough to stash in a pocket and cheap enough (hence, 4 or 5 years old) that I won't be too upset if it gets toasted, literally.

A friend has a Pentax Optio that is about the size of an altoids tin, which is the perfect size. Because I'm looking for something 4 or 5 years old though I'm hoping some of you might have some suggestions for a model that you own that fits the description and is still up and running strong.

I get the opportunity to see some pretty fantastic scenes now and then and I want to be able to take advantage of them!

Thanks,
jason.

Killing threads since 2004.

[iamsam 0]

You really need to specifiy a budget to get good advice on specific cameras, but at the budget I'd reckon you're talking you most probably wont go wrong with a Canon or FujiFinePix or NikonCoolPix. I'd buy a Canon. They make good cameras with good lenses. Then do something like this.

The best camera is the one you have with you.

Hope that helps

but what do I know

[LouDiamond 1]

Check out the Sony Cyber shot DSC-U20. It's 3" long and 1" deep at 2 mega pixels. You can wear it around your neck inside a shirt easily or stash it in a pocket. They are pretty durable suckers. I carried mine while in Afghanistan in a small pocket specifically for recording faces and evidence when we took down objectives. It survived through all that so I think it would work fine in your situation as well. I'd imagine you could pick one up on e-bay for pretty cheap.

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[FlyingJ 0]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll check those out.

At the moment I'm still hoping to find something in the $50 range, you know, something some guys kid drew all over with a permanent marker or something. I'm not a big fan of the tiny cameras, so I've never shopped for them in the past and just don't know what models were worth a snot when they came out a handful of years ago.

The altoid tin case is great. That's exactly what my friend did with his pentax, and precisely what I hope to be able to do with whatever it is I find.

Thanks guys!
jason.

Killing threads since 2004.

[FlyingJ 0]

Quote

The best camera is the one you have with you.

Precisely the reason I'm looking for something small and somewhat disposable! I never carry my good camera when I'm on a fire because it ends up covered in soot and I've seen more than a few cameras not fare so well after getting a little too up close and personal with the heat.

Killing threads since 2004.

[iamsam 0]

Be interested to see some of your pics.

If your budget is limited purely because you don't want to trash a decent camera, I'd consider this; spend a bit more and look at ways of protecting it against the heat.

For anothr $100 or so, expotentially, you'd get a far better camera, 2nd hand or new.
Pixelcount isn't everything and I'd be as interested in the quality of optics and sensor as how many megapixels, but I'd want at least 4MP + . You might want to crop into images and A4 prints are nice..

You're really specialising and I don't think anybody caters for your heatproof niche market, so get the toolkit out.. Could you line an altoids tin / hard case with some come kind of insulating material, and keep the camera stowed unless it's at your eye? Would that offer enough protection?

Or howabout fashion a soft pouch out of an oven mitt? Photography is a lot about problem solving, often before you even compose an image.

Just 2 more cents..

Sam

but what do I know

[HeadLicker 0]

Here is a story that you might like. When I was at Eloy for the holiday boogie, someone told me that he took his small Sony dig cam up with him for the first time. He stuffed it in his jump suit, and when he deployed, it fell out his leg and fell 4,000 ft. He noticed what field he was over and looked for it the next day to find the memory card. He actually found it and all it had was a small dent and the batteries popped out. The camera, including the LCD screen worked without any problems!!! How is that for durable?

"Political change which ran ahead of social and psychological development was at best useless and at worst dangerous."
--George Eliot

[FlyingJ 0]

FOUND ONE!

Thanks for the suggestions in this thread as well as the ones I received by PM and email. I just won a an auction on eBay for a Pentax Optio S4 that also comes with a couple extra batteries and all the accessories, right down to the altoids tin that the guy stores it in. Only about $60. Unfortunately shipping from Canada kicks the price up a bit higher, but well worth it!

In response to the last question...I know that it will be when the camera bites it, not if, so that's my main reason for looking for something cheaper that I wouldn't mind replacing in a year rather than trying to protect my larger and nicer camera.

Unfortunately most of my fire pics are on an external hard drive that is still in storage, but attached are a couple pics I snapped last week. Nothing special, but I was happy about how they came out because they were taken with a disposable point and shoot. The sunset pic doesn't even come close to doing justice to how brilliant it was. Unfortunately this pic didn't pick up the deep orange of the sun. In real life it looked almost photo shopped, with all of the color removed except for the sun.

Killing threads since 2004.