Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge - View Single Post

CobraTandem · 08-06-2011, 06:46 AM

I have used my Canon S300 since 2000 when it first came out. At that time it cost $499 without the Compact Flash Card. It has been abused, dropped and kicked in parking lots, left in a salty puddle a couple of times on deck and been handled by wet hands and splashed in salt water continuously. It is only 2.1 megapixels and has about a 1" long LCD. Finally in 2009, the lens cover started to get sticky and required a manual assist to open. It does still work, though.

So in 2009, at the recommendation of LakersFan, I got a cheap Olympus Stylus 550WP online through Amazon brand new for only $88.00 with free shipping and, shhhhh, no tax! This is the cheapest waterproof Olympus they make (if it's still made). I have been using this since then and it has been happily dunked in salt water in attempt of underwater shots. It hasn't had an issue yet. 95% of my kayak fishing is in the harbors so it has never been slapped by a yellow's tail but it definitely survives being submersed (so far). At this price and after two years, it won't be a giant loss if I lose it or if it dies a salty death.

Negatives of both cameras is probably consistent with most cameras in that it is difficult to see the LCD in bright sunlight through sunglasses. The Olympus has a close shooting range which is important when you can only take photos at arm's length. But I still have trouble fitting the whole fish in the frame. I wish you could take a close range shot and zoom out to get more area in the picture (I don't know what that is called in lens or camera terminology).

08-06-2011, 06:46 AM	#11
CobraTandem Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 76	I have used my Canon S300 since 2000 when it first came out. At that time it cost $499 without the Compact Flash Card. It has been abused, dropped and kicked in parking lots, left in a salty puddle a couple of times on deck and been handled by wet hands and splashed in salt water continuously. It is only 2.1 megapixels and has about a 1" long LCD. Finally in 2009, the lens cover started to get sticky and required a manual assist to open. It does still work, though. So in 2009, at the recommendation of LakersFan, I got a cheap Olympus Stylus 550WP online through Amazon brand new for only $88.00 with free shipping and, shhhhh, no tax! This is the cheapest waterproof Olympus they make (if it's still made). I have been using this since then and it has been happily dunked in salt water in attempt of underwater shots. It hasn't had an issue yet. 95% of my kayak fishing is in the harbors so it has never been slapped by a yellow's tail but it definitely survives being submersed (so far). At this price and after two years, it won't be a giant loss if I lose it or if it dies a salty death. Negatives of both cameras is probably consistent with most cameras in that it is difficult to see the LCD in bright sunlight through sunglasses. The Olympus has a close shooting range which is important when you can only take photos at arm's length. But I still have trouble fitting the whole fish in the frame. I wish you could take a close range shot and zoom out to get more area in the picture (I don't know what that is called in lens or camera terminology).