# best river camera



## Roy (Oct 30, 2003)

For the quick and dirty/ease of use/tough as nails category, I've got the Pentax WG-1, which I wear in the mesh pocket of my PFD and never had any problems with leaking. Waterproof/shockproof/freezeproof, etc. point and shoot. Battery handles a day skiing in the cold. Works great for boating, skiing and dusty/sandy environments. Dunk it in water if it gets dirty. At 14 MP, it's got plenty of resolution for a point and shoot, and pics are good, but not SLR quality, obviously. 

It's also pretty affordable, now that they've got the W-2. If you wanna spend another $70 for 16MP and a GPS, get that one.


----------



## huck_finn (Oct 20, 2010)

I was really impressed with the Pentax optio wg2 on our trip. Good all around great panoramic photos, and good video with a lot of features. We did a few time elapsed of set up and take down at camp that were cool. But i'm no professional. Just my opinion


----------



## adgeiser (May 26, 2009)

Remember, or realize, that most panoramic feature just crop the top and bottom of your image to make the pano. Some will auto stitch multiple images together ( think take 2-3 prints and taping them together) 
A true panoramic camera will have a larger than normal sensor ( or film ) for the lens used. 

As an ex professional photographer ( photojournalist )
I am very picky with my cameras. I do not like the shutter lag time of point and shoots. I demand the shutter response of a high end DSLR. 

Point and shoots are great for rafter's pics of their rigs and yeti coolers but for kayakers and actions shots you want something quick. 

Just remember to buy a quality waterproof bag if you bring a nice camera with you.


----------



## Dwave (Mar 23, 2009)

Hey there, here's my current set up.
POV - Drift Ghost HD
DSLR - Canon 7D
Drybag - Watershed Ocoee with liner

Aboslutely love this.


----------



## MT4Runner (Apr 6, 2012)

bwest said:


> Best camera for quick and dirty shots, best camera for ease of use, ...whats actually affordable.


Olympus Stylus/Tough series is hard to beat for waterproof/shockproof/quick and dirty/ease of use/affordable.

$50-100 for used ones in pawn shops or eBay. $250-300 new.


If you're a good photog and can take advantage of decent glass, DSLR in an Otter box. I leave those shots to the good photogs and concentrate on candids.


And the little fisheye cameras you don't want me to mention take great scenery shots.


----------



## adgeiser (May 26, 2009)

Watershed!!!! They work. Period. 


I've seen to many otterbox's leak. Not a lot but if you are putting something of value in it... 

Go with the best system you can afford. Camera and waterproof system as well.


----------



## Cartwheel (Jun 5, 2008)

I have the fuji xp. Its water/shock/dust and freeze proof. It has 14 megapixels so it takes great pics. Its small and lightweight. This camera is constanltly in and out of the water and I have never had any problems. Its also affordable about $150


----------



## KSC (Oct 22, 2003)

Talk about an open ended question. 

Here's another angle. I went with the Sony NEX camera, which is a mirrorless interchangeable lens system. Sensor is a APS-C, so it's essentially DSLR IQ. Kayaking advantage (and in general) over an SLR is that the body is much smaller and lighter. 

Main disadvantage over a mid-upper range SLR is slower focusing due to lack of phase detection (being added to newer sensors but think the technology is not perfected yet - ?) For kayaking purposes I've found the focusing to be plenty fast, but if you were filming NASCAR from the front row it might be frustrating. Also lens selection is more limited compared to older mounts that have been around a long time.

The size, weight, and ease of use without sacrificing IQ has won me over though. I can get it in a small Pelican case, which I generally prefer for day to day use over Watershed, and large Pelican cases are a pain to deal with in kayaks.


----------



## Favre (Nov 17, 2010)

Can't believe no one has mentioned the GoPro.

The Hero3 (and Hero2) takes awesome photos. The one thing it lacks is a viewfinder. But the new GoPros have been producing some outstanding images across the internet.

-Micah


----------



## upshitscreek (Oct 21, 2007)

bwest said:


> ..... whats actually affordable.



best value dslr these days are the canon t2i/t3i bodies. same top notch sensor as the 7d but $1000 dollars cheaper and not a soul crushing loss if it goes in the drink. slap on the fun 10-22mm lens and it's a light "disposable" camera with incredible image quality and HD video.

for a point and shoot but a DSLR quality sensor, shoots RAW and manual controls then the canon g series. WP housings are available.

haven't had a WP PS in a while but the pentax optio i had was bulletproof. problem is anything without RAW is ultimately just a pool toy of a camera.


----------



## MT4Runner (Apr 6, 2012)

Favre said:


> Can't believe no one has mentioned the GoPro.


I did, but he doesn't want to talk about it.

Set and forget. Put it on timelapse mode and get the shots when you're holding tightly to your paddle and afraid to reach in your pocket to take a pic.



upshitscreek said:


> best value dslr these days are the canon t2i/t3i bodies. same top notch sensor as the 7d but $1000 dollars cheaper and not a soul crushing loss if it goes in the drink. slap on the fun 10-22mm lens and it's a light "disposable" camera with incredible image quality and HD video.


Find a used t2i body on bhphotovideo.com and spend more $$ on nice glass.

..or the t3i's are available in kit form from Costco for ~$800 right now.


----------



## Eric Haynie (Jan 1, 2013)

Use a pelican case if u absolutely don't want your camera wet! Watershed bags are great but not the protection of a case. My wife had a watershed camera bag strapped to the side board of our raft when we pinned in crystal.... It had our DSLR a couple of lenses our video cam, bat., memory cards etc. the boat was pinned for 24 hrs. An oar rubbed through the bag and filled with water. Everything was soaked. When we got the bag back on shore.... Everything was dried in the 100 degree heat for about a day. Luckily we got everything working. I had pop tarts in my pelican case..... Stupid.... Ill never carry our camera gear in a bag again!


----------



## cataraftgirl (Jun 5, 2009)

I keep my camera in a pelican also. Strapped to the raft frame right were I can reach it easily. For many years I used a Fuji 5000. 3MP, great pictures but no video. I strap a cheap, but decent Kodak Playsport camcorder to my raft for "boat cam" video (decent video as long as you never zoom at all, pictures suck). This year I'm trying out a Panasonic D20??? not waterproof, but great pics and video. Hopefully I won't kill or drown it. We will see.


----------



## brandob9 (Jun 13, 2010)

Nate has a nice piece on this, and he takes awesome photos: 
Wheels & Water: Camera Gear

Darin has a similar list: 
Darin McQuoid Photography

Both of these guys are also kind enough to write tutorials on how to use this gear in a whitewater setting as well.


----------



## bobbuilds (May 12, 2007)

Favre said:


> Can't believe no one has mentioned the GoPro.
> 
> The Hero3 (and Hero2) takes awesome photos. The one thing it lacks is a viewfinder. But the new GoPros have been producing some outstanding images across the internet.
> 
> -Micah


 
excelent point!

I grabed a touch screen for my hero 2.

It makes a world of differance being able to see and quickly edit, and adjust settings.

I was disapointed with the heros or my ability to get a good photo before, but with the new screen, it is much better for me.

I use the hero 2, a pentax, non water proof somthing? great for video,

and the plympus tough, for a pos.


----------



## JIMM (Nov 3, 2009)

*kodak playsport*

Just get a kodak playsport. Either the original, if you can find it or the 2nd version will do. Not fancy, but gives reasonable quality vids and pics, and is as reliable as they come.I have used mine for the last 2 1/2 yrs without any problem whatsoever, in extreme cold, think 4 degrees F whilst sledding as well as humid and hot conditions.In fact I bought a second new one this Xmas as a fall back when this one finally falters , if at all it does. Price is around 100$ new on Amazon, I think...can't beat that.Of course its waterproof to 10 feet, and as far as I can tell pretty much all else proof also.

Have tried to attach a video that I made recently whilst snow yaking.


----------



## Nate Dogg (Apr 16, 2008)

brandob9 said:


> Nate has a nice piece on this, and he takes awesome photos:
> Wheels & Water: Camera Gear
> 
> Darin has a similar list:
> ...


Thanks for the nod Brandon! On that note, I've changed up my gear a bit since that post. My new gear setup + some of my techniques, can be found here:
Wheels & Water: Tutorial: Basics of Whitewater Photography

My feeling is that there are a lot of good options/brands for both cameras and drybags/boxes. I would highly discourage you from buying a camera based specifically on a brand name. Find out what features are important to you, and buy your gear based on that. I happen to shoot with Sony, which has strengths that better suit my personal requirements, but those may not be the same as yours. 

A good place to find reviews and browse some forums on camera gear is:
Digital Photography Review

-Nate

http://wheelsandwater.blogspot.com/2013/01/tutorial-basics-of-whitewater.html


----------



## FastFXR (May 22, 2012)

MT4Runner said:


> Olympus Stylus/Tough series is hard to beat for waterproof/shockproof/quick and dirty/ease of use/affordable.


+1 for the Olympus Tough. It's a rugged bitch--water and dirt bike trails and it still shoots like a champ. My only complaint is that it *IS* slow on shooting.



I pack the Tough, my Canon, and a GoPro for about all outdoor stuff. Get something waterproof and in your price range and go from there.


----------

