My new 'toy'. (Canon SD900)

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My new 'toy'. (Canon SD900)

Postby ooohfishy » Mar 21, 2007 1:26 am

Just purchased the Canon Powershot SD900 I'm pretty happy with it. It's a nice 10 megapixel camera in a titanium digital ELPH size body. (can't seem to find a waterproof housing for it, in stock, anywhere)

Not that I'm NOT happy with my new toy (it's been cloudy and rainy here and I haven't been able to take it out on a nice bright, sunny day to see what it can REALLY do! Foliage rocks!) I just told myself, I was going to have a compact point and shoot for everyday use and then a nice SLR (I'm looking at the Digital Rebel XTi, since I'm an amateur) and I know the lens makes a world of difference (a friend just pointed me out to this ridiculous $7,200 lens!) so I'll have to invest in a couple nice lenses.

I will forever be a Canon fan.

BUT the whole jumpstart for the SLR purchase:
this is the girl shopper in me...
I went to REI to get the Gorilla tripod (it's a cool little tripod with these bendable legs that wrap around virtually anything, probably the best investment in any of my mini tripod purchases) and then I saw the Pelican media cases and I thought it's not worth investing in for just my point and shoot. So I thought, hmmm...a nice SLR would be worth investing for the Pelican case.. it'd be perfect for caving (once I actually set foot in one :( )!!! So that's my pretty stupid, materialistic excuse for getting a nice SLR.... it's all about acessorizing!
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Postby Dane » Mar 21, 2007 5:35 am

Congratulations!
I have a cheap little Olympus 5mg, and because of the most excellent little Pelican case I got (EXACTLY the right size for my PnS!), I take it with me every time I go caving!
I may not always use it, but by golly I've got it if I need it! And with the snug fit in the impervious Pelican, it just bangs around hanging from my cave pack until I DO need it! (or like last w/e, floats around until I need it!)
Congrats again - I'm very envious!

:camera:
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Postby bigalpha » Mar 21, 2007 8:23 am

Yeah, Canons are very nice cameras.

Depending on how much you want to spend, the Canon XT is a little cheaper. Also, you could looking into getting a Nikon. They, too, are kick-ass dSLRs. Don't wanna pigeon-hole you into getting one thing. At the dSLR level, Pentax is also a good camera.
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Postby Evan G » Mar 21, 2007 9:09 am

Looks like even Amazon is understocked:
Availability: In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.
Canon WP-DC7 WaterProof Case for Canon SD900 Digital Camera
http://tinyurl.com/2zcc8g

Also Ikelite makes a housing for your camera:
http://tinyurl.com/26sr9s

I have a Canon A640 that I really like and I found a weatherproof Case for it and waterproof housing, NOW I ready to go caving with it!! :-)

Oh, I found that a soft weather resistant case like this: http://www.thewaterproofstore.com/cameracase.html then a cheap Waterproof case (which I found at Walmart for 7 bucks) work very well for caving.

I just put the camera in the pouch then a small piece of foam at the bottom of the Hard waterproof case. Put the camera in the Hard Waterproof case then another small piece of foam (mainly to keep the camera from moving around) and seal it all up. It is a cheaper way than a housing, also any case in a cave will get beat up. I like my housing but I'm keeping it for diving.

FYI- This is my favorite website for finding "what camera housings fit what camera" http://tinyurl.com/2s6udl
Last edited by Evan G on Mar 21, 2007 9:46 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Postby Todd » Mar 21, 2007 9:30 am

I've used a similar sized Casio camera in caves. (I'm saving up for a DSLR too right now) I carry it in a little pelican case that I paid about $10 for. I think I got it at REI, but I've seen them all over the place and most speleo-vendors carry them too. I put pieces of foam in the lid and bottom of the case to keep the camera nice and snug so it doesn't bang around inside and it works great.
One thing to watch out for if you do end up taking it into a cave is to be very careful not to get mud/dust into the telescoping lens. With mine, even a little dust causes the lens to hang up just enough so that the camera thinks it's being blocked by something and I get a "Lens Error" message. So far it's not a big deal and it always opens the second time I try it, but some day too much will be too much. I clean it off after each trip and it's held up very well for all the abuse it takes!
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Postby bigalpha » Mar 21, 2007 12:05 pm

Evan, have you used that little soft case before? I think I'd be pretty wary of sticking my beloved P&S in that and dunking it underwater.

I see they make a hard case for my camera for >$200 :shock:

I think I'd like a waterproof case just for the heck of it.

Todd,
I've been lucky so far; I've not clogged up my camera. I've used it in a cave, and dropped it, etc and it still works. Amazing.
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Postby Evan G » Mar 21, 2007 12:22 pm

Evan, have you used that little soft case before?


Yes, I have one. I mainly use it for protection from the cave environment: wet, dust, humidity, mud, dirty hands, etc. The Hard Travel case (not camera housing), I use for transporting the camera through the cave. I stuff the soft case (with camera inside) into the hard case.

Camera Housings are expensive and will get scratched up. Also I notice with one of my old housings that dust and dirt has worked it way into the seal around the shutter button. Which makes me wonder about the integrity of the housing.
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Postby hank moon » Mar 21, 2007 12:28 pm

Dane wrote:Congratulations!
I have a cheap little Olympus 5mg, and because of the most excellent little Pelican case I got (EXACTLY the right size for my PnS!), I take it with me every time I go caving!
I may not always use it, but by golly I've got it if I need it! And with the snug fit in the impervious Pelican, it just bangs around hanging from my cave pack until I DO need it! (or like last w/e, floats around until I need it!)
Congrats again - I'm very envious!

:camera:


Is it a Pelican "micro" case? Those have a bad habit of opening themselves - had 2 friends lose their cameras with 'em.

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Postby Todd » Mar 21, 2007 1:56 pm

Is it a Pelican "micro" case? Those have a bad habit of opening themselves - had 2 friends lose their cameras with 'em.

That's good to know, I'll have to watch for that. I've never had that problem with mine (#1020, or maybe #1040... can't remember) but I always carry it in my pack or in a pocket. I suppose if it was hanging loose the latch could bang into something and come open, or if it got caked in mud it might not close all the way.
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Postby wendy » Mar 21, 2007 2:01 pm

wow even B&H is out of stock of the housing for your camera

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/control ... ype=search
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Postby hank moon » Mar 21, 2007 2:29 pm

Says "in stock" here

http://tinyurl.com/3bnst6



I've read that the SD 700 takes the best pix of the tiny bunch...

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Postby ooohfishy » Mar 21, 2007 8:14 pm

hank moon wrote:Says "in stock" here

http://tinyurl.com/3bnst6

I've read that the SD 700 takes the best pix of the tiny bunch...


They just came out this month with the SD750. It's really nice!!!

Thanks Evan for the links.
Unfortunately I won't be diving anywhere near 200 ft :) let alone 130 ft. More like... 5 feet ;) But I tend to bang my camera around when i'm kayaking so a sturdier casing will do, over the zip-loc like bags I've seen at REI and other sporting goods stores, that are much cheaper.

I just ordered it at tristatecamera.com for $165 (total). I just called Canon and they recommended this place that has it "in stock". We'll see. They're on the East Coast so theyr'e closed right now. We'll find out tomorrow!

Wendy, BHPhotoVideo.com is where I got my new camera!
adorama.com is another place I've been eyeing. We'll see how tristatecamera.com holds up.

Note: zipzoomfly.com has horrible customer service. no email or phone call to tell me my product was on backorder and it took days to try and get a hold of someone, to talk to a real, live person. Would not recommend zipzoomfly.
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Postby wendy » Mar 21, 2007 8:21 pm

If you decide to take the camera with the housing into a cave, make sure you really clean the housing good afterwards and before you take it in the water. A single grain of sand or dirt can make an o-ring leak and say bye bye to the camera.
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Postby Realms » Mar 21, 2007 8:53 pm

lost a reefmaster that way :-( heh heh thankfully i had it insured :-)
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Postby hewhocaves » Mar 22, 2007 8:17 am

i just got a digital rebel XTi and holy sweet Jesus, its a nice camera. My previous digital was a Nikon coolpix 995 (which is another great camera - but currently showing its age) and i've been stunned by the pics.

I almost bought the XT, but figured that i'd spend the extra couple hundred to get the XTi. i think i bought it camera + lens for about $750-.
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