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Panasonic and Sony both recently released two new waterproof digital compact cameras.

Panasonic released the Lumix TS1. And Sony released the Cybershot TX5.

In the beginning there were far fewer choices for paddling with a compact digital point and shoot camera. Pentax and Olympus were the two choices. Recently the market has opened up to offer major competition for the waterproof compact digital point and shoot camera.

I have personally gone through two Pentax Optio’s. In short their durability isn’t terrific. Water droplets and fog appear under the LCD and the lens after limited paddling use. I had my new Pentax Optio w60 for less than a month before it started happening. It hasn’t killed the camera, but it obviously renders the camera quite useless.

Digital Photography review has given the Panasonic Lumix TS1 high marks.

Digital Photography review also has a waterproof camera group test. I highly recommend checking it out.

DP review has not downgraded the Optio for waterproofness or any of the other defects, so take the review with a grain of salt. It is highly technical in that if you want to find out which camera to buy based on the sensor size, mega-pixel rating, or video quality, you will most likely find the review very thorough. But for kayakers shooting in white water, the surf zone, or in colder climates, they haven’t exactly done their field testing so to speak.

So DP review if you want to send Go Kayak Now, a crate of cameras to test for durability. I promise to give them each a thorough Great Lakes Surf Kayaking once over. We will return all paperweighted cameras. $10.00 says they are all Pentax Optio Wx’s.

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DP Review rounded up the available waterproof cameras for a thorough review. For Kayaking it is a constant question as to which unit offers the best image quality, waterproofing, and durability. In my experience I am 2 Pentax Optio’s into my digital photography career. I am considering a switch to an Olympus. Looks like the 8000 Tough Might be worthwhile.

Check out the review and let me know what you think!

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Canon has released a new camera for kayakers to consider, the Canon Powershot D10.

Digital Photography review has a preliminary set of specs and information on the Canon Powershot D10.

Olympus and Pentax have been holding court over this dominion for quite some time. Any third party competition is welcome in my opinion. Pentax has been known for some time to have some issues with quality. Their cameras tend to be finicky, and to have bad waterproof seals around the battery and memory card. My camera a Pentax Optio WP20 developed fog under the LCD in the first year of use. The Pentax Optio models also tended not to operate well at colder temperatures. The camera would simply shut down when it was cold.
The Olympus Stylus has fared a little better for their quality, but not by much. I’ve heard similar complaints from Olympus owners about their Stylus cameras having battery, cold and longevity.

Kayaking with a digital camera, even a waterproof one is risky business. They tend not to last long. Derrick Mayoleth and I have had many a conversation about this. Simply put it is hard to think of a $300 item being disposable. I certainly don’t want to think of a camera this way.

That said having a point and shoot camera at the ready in your Lifevest can really make your life fun. I’ve gotten some great shots with my Pentax Camera.

The Canon Power Shot D10 camera itself is a little different than the Olympus Stylus or the Pentax Optio.

First it has an unusual bulge to allow the lens to zoom. Check out this image.

Hopefully this lens bulge doesn’t get in the way of stuffing it in a lifevest pocket as easily as the Olympus Stylus or the Pentax Optio.

Second the camera is a 12.1 Megapixel with a 1/2.3″ CCD Image Sensor. Which without seeing the image quality doesn’t sound like it will really create any better of an image than the 10.1 and 10.0 Mega Pixel images.

Third the zoom, despite that bulge doesn’t look like it will be any better.
Canon Power Shot D10 Focal Length: 6.2-18.6mm f/2.8-4.9 (35mm film equivalent: 35-105mm
Pentax Optio W60 Focal Length: 5-25mm (28-140mm)
Olympus Stylus 1030:5.0 – 18.2 mm (28 – 102 mm equivalent in 35mm photography)

Fourth the LCD screen, which is what paddlers use to preview their image before shooting has always been the Achilles heel of kayaking photography, is no larger than the other two. 2.5″. Not sure if they have any glare reduction or super bright LCD technology to crack this problem for waterproof cameras.

If you end up buying a Canon Powershot D10 drop me a line and let me see some photos. Let me know how it is doing in the cold, the saltwater, and after being dropped on a sandy and or rocky beach.

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Evil Forces at Work

You know those days when you wake up to an overflowing coffee maker, broken glass on the floor, or a flat tire on your car? And you know the rest of your day is not going to go well. I had that feeling all day yesterday about surfing. I somehow knew it wasn’t going to go my way. I knew that it was going to be more pain that pleasure, and more fight than love. Not sure why I knew this.

For the record, my Pentax has completely crapped out on me. Hence no photos of the event. The camera claims my battery is depleted despite a full charge. That is once contributing factor to the evil forces at work yesterday. Not sure if I will be as trusting as Derrick about buying a new Pentax.

I drove out to the lake with that bad feeling in my gut. I knew that the lake might well be beyond my strength when I arrived and was ready for surrender in that event. When I did arrive, the wind had turned north-northwest around the pier in South Haven. The conditions looked manageable. I suited up replete with pogies. I had a heck of a time with cold hands getting my bomber IR skirt on. But it eventually bent to my will and around the coaming. Once out I paddled to the outside break. They were spilling in and breaking at around 7-10 feet. The wind was every bit of 30 knots. The pier was acting as a windbreak for the most part on the way out. I paddled hard to catch a few rides but seemed to be lacking either enough propulsion or hull speed from the Maverick to make the takeoff on the 7-8 footers. I caught a few short rides I worked hard to catch.I waited a bit and watched the waves.

Here’s a tip for Great Lakes Surfers. The sand bars around the pier tend to shift with wind and waves over time. Where good waves were breaking last time may have moved the next time. It’s a good idea to sit and watch the waves from a sheltered spot, if you can find one. Watch to see where the majority of them are forming steep crests that spill, (not dump). Once you see that paddle in a little further on the outside and try to spot a good set and paddle hard into it with some hull speed for a good ride.

I saw a good section further south, but more exposed to the wind. I paddled over knowing it might not be a good idea. I got in position. I saw a good steep wave coming and paddled hard. Once I started to plane out near the crest, that 30 knots of wind caught me and an edge flipped me a bit, thus ruining my takeoff. The wave started to dump and I plunged nose first from the crest and was then grabbed by the hydraulics. My paddle was directly in front of me when I capsized- a definite bad move. The wave pulled on the paddle before I could swing it alongside the kayak. I felt both of my shoulders scream in agony as the wave dumped me from crest to trough. It took me three tries but I rolled up. I was frantic for breath when I finally came up and was succinctly knocked in again. I rolled up again after I was released from the wave. As I looked around hail began pelt me. I began thinking is the day out to get me or what?

I tried to relax and surf some of the inside break. I caught a few small short rides. I then went back to the outside break. I tried to pick some of the smaller 7 footers coming off the pier. All I got was short mushy rides that closed out quickly. Every time I got on the crest of a wave for takeoff the 30-35 knot winds would start pushing me southerly. My non-engaged blade would catch the wind and throw off my stroke too. I was on a good steep wave carving towards the pier and the wind actually held me in place and then started to push me the other way. Somehow this was not my day. I had to accept it and pack it in. The lights from the pier twinkled on. This was not the magical moment of fall surf I had been dreaming of for weeks. It was ignoble defeat at the hand of the wind and waves.

I felt less than competent as a kayak surfer, and that I really needed to spend more time in my surf boat on smaller waves again to regain some of my skills. I felt at the top of my game last year and just ran into bad luck, this year I feel out of it and off balance now that the big sets are rolling through. We’ll have to see what the future holds and if I can get out again on a smaller day to get my timing and strokes down. It could be that I just had an off day. My body today is aching and I feel lucky to have survived the evil forces of the lake. Perhaps it just didn’t want me to surf yesterday.

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I had to bite the Pentax Optio W20 Bullet. I borrowed Deater’s camera for Wilderness State Park this year, and really liked being able to take on the water shots.

I’ve found that often I am in the best position to take a photo by being able to take my hands off my paddle. I liked the camera for the most part. The autofocus was slow, and the lens fogged up sometimes. But the majority of the time it was quick and easy to shoot.