Disposable Cameras

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Disposable Cameras

Postby plicpriest1 » May 1, 2009 11:53 pm

My wife and I had visited Hubbards cave the other day. After a long hike in the cave was a real treat. So much so that we took some pictures with a disposable camera. We had 4 lights shining on our targets to light them up quite well. When we returned to the surface we took a few more. Than we hiked out (once again it was long). At home to take care of the last two shots we took pictures of the dog. :shrug:
We took the camera to walmart and the next day picked up our pictures. Much to my horror only 4 pictures came out!!! They were just a few from the outside. The dog pictures didnt even come through. Now was it just to dark in the cave for a disposable? or was it that the walmart photo guy screwed up and was just BSing us?
I guess it all comes down to what do yall think of disposable cameras in the cave?
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Re: Disposable Cameras

Postby NZcaver » May 2, 2009 12:49 am

I moved your topic here to the photography forum. :camera:

I've seen one or two folks use waterproof disposable cameras for caving, but they usually have a built in flash. I guess your one did not? Assuming it was a 35mm film camera, what ISO was the film? Most disposable cameras have a tiny fixed lens aperture, and a fast shutter speed (like 1/200 second) to capture moving action. Therefore most of these cameras are only good for outdoor daylight photography, unless they have a built in flash and a fast film speed like ISO 400. Even pointing a few headlamps at the subject won't help much.

My thoughts about disposable cameras - you get what you pay for. Maybe if you're doing a tough/wet trip and you don't care much about the quality of the photos, a waterproof disposable with flash might be a good option. Otherwise, get a real camera and maybe an extra flash or two for really nice results. :wink: Digital cameras are getting smaller, cheaper, and more sophisticated all the time. Some are waterproof, many have optional housings to keep the moisture, mud, dust etc out. Feel free to read back through some topics in the photography forum and/or ask for further advice.
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Re: Disposable Cameras

Postby Chads93GT » May 3, 2009 8:01 am

I took several disposable cameras sea kayaking in florida on spring break in 03, and a bunch of the pictures didnt turn out worth a damn in broad daylight. get a pelican case for your digital compact. As long as you are careful with it and keep your hands dry before you take it out of the case, it will be fine. I use a sony cybershot for caving and ive yet to ruin it.

The major problem is, even though you think your lights are bright enough to lite up passages, they arent. I shot a ton of video clips a few weeks ago with my modified apex lamp. In person the lamp is blinding...........but in reality it just doesnt put off a big enough spot for that kind of work. The problem with on camera flashes, you get nothing but steam in the photo, usually.

For good photos for amateaurs (myself included) you need a digital with night camera mode, and an off camera flash.
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Re: Disposable Cameras

Postby Scott McCrea » May 3, 2009 8:47 am

I have seen cave pics from a disposable that were very good. Of course, they were sherpa-ing on a photo trip and was allowed to fire the multiple slave flashes with the disposable camera's flash. With enough light, they will take a decent photo. But, it is rare that there will be that much light in a cave.
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Re: Disposable Cameras

Postby plicpriest1 » May 3, 2009 10:45 pm

Yesterday we did another trip with two cameras. one was a disposable with a flash and one was an old film camera. THey both did quite well. What we did differently? first of all was not hike to a far off cave, and secondly we went to walgreens. Sure the customer service may have been lacking but they did a good job not ruining our pictures. Maybe im just bitter, but after a long hike to a cool cave to not have the shots come out is frustrating. Thanx 4 the help
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Re: Disposable Cameras

Postby NZcaver » May 4, 2009 2:43 am

Just for kicks, take a look at the negatives from the first disposable camera (the one you had processed at Wal Mart).

It should be pretty obvious if the photos were all underexposed (usually a camera/lack-of-light problem), or if there was a problem with the lab processing the film. Compare them with the good negatives from the recent trip. If the old negatives look OK, try getting one of the labs to make a few new prints. If not, chalk it up to experience.
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Re: Disposable Cameras

Postby Ralph E. Powers » May 5, 2009 8:33 am

Those disposable cameras WITH flash do work well enough in a cave... my best experiences are with the Fuji green boxes brand and the 400 ASA/ISO speeds... click on my link and a majority of the photos I took were with this camera (best selected posted of course) and in my experience for processing and developing... Walmart.... SUCKS! Four times in four different Walmarts in two different states... pictures are ruined... Take 'em to other places and wow gorgeous.
The flash range is only up to 14-16 feet or so... Gotta watch for that if you're wanting to take pics of a formation 20 feet up a ceiling.
Without the possibility of death, adventure is not possible. ~ Reinhold Messner


http://ralph.rigidtech.com/albums.php
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