Great fish photo camera (revisited)

Fish Chris · Post by **Fish Chris** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 11:43 pm

Several weeks ago I mentioned a couple cameras that would be great for fish photos.

Well, I ended up buying both of them, and one of them is so awesome for fish photos, I just wanted to tell you guys about it. (the other is so great for general photography, I just have to keep it too

)

It is the Canon A630. It is an 8mp camera with "excellent" image quality, and tons of great features.

The features I like the most are, the tilt and twist screen, which allows you to take photos of yourself, with your fish, and to see yourself holding the fish, while your doing it, for easy line up.

Also, it uses "easy to find AA batts". Rechargeables are great, but don't have as long a shelf life as regular alkalines. No matter which you go with, always carry a set of Alkalines for a back up.

Finally (and this feature is absolutely the coolest) this camera will allow you to tweak everything just the way you like it... flash level, focus distance, ISO, shutter speed, self timing length, and number of shots after the count... everything ! Then, you simply hit "save settings" in custom mode "C".
So, the next time I'm out on the water, and stick a pig, I break out the tripod, attach the camera, and turn it on (in "C" mode). Grab the fish out of the livewell, and hit the shutter button. Bam ! It remembers "everything I have it programmed for" ! So it counts to 6 seconds (or up to 30), then takes 3 shots (or up to 10).

Anyway, here it is: http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/A630/A630A.HTM

.....and you can get one for only about $200 ! A freaking steal, for what it is ! Yes, I have other cameras that will work, but I like this one so much, I'm buying another one of these for a back up, this week !

Here's a couple shots from my new Canon A630

This was a little Northern Pike from Lake Davis last week. All gone in a few more....

Oh, and although not as nice for self-taken fish shots, my new Fuji S6000fd is a fine camera for general photography.... (without taking the full plunge into dSLR's..... which I would, if I wasn't a poor man)
I took these yesterday morning at Bodega Bay.

Peace,
Fish

PS, If anyone buys an A630, just let me know, and I will tell you all of my settings (for a starting point), and how to save them in the cameras preset "C" mode.

mark poulson · Post by **mark poulson** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 4:48 am

Chris,
Your timing couldn't have been better. I was in the market for a digital camera for the boat, so your post was a life saver.
I ordered one online this morning, and it should be here in 7-10 days.
I have been taking hand held shots, so, when I fish alone, the larger fish don't fit into my old camera screen.
What kind of tripod do you use for the Canon camera?
Also, I will be emailing you for the camera setup you talked about.
Thanks for the heads up, and those are great pictures.
Mark

GW · Post by GW » Fri Aug 31, 2007 5:32 am

Hey Chris,

Is that a Pike in the second photo? have you been fishing Lake Davis????

MrSkeeter · Post by **MrSkeeter** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:16 am

GW wrote:Is that a Pike in the second photo? have you been fishing Lake Davis????

If I'm not mistaken, it's a Sacramento Pike or i.e. squaw (sp?) fish. The real pike, like those in Davis, have nasty teeth.

Chris,

Those last two photos are very pretty!!

Fish Chris · Post by **Fish Chris** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:26 am

Hey Mark, that's cool ! Your going to love this camera. Let me know when you get it, and we can get you all lined up.

For the tripod, just a small, light one, that, when folded down, fits in the sotrage compartment of the boat easily. No more that $20.

Oh, and as for memory for your camera, a 512mb card will be good for about 142 shots, at the highest resolution ! And will run less than $20. Sure, you could go with a 256mb, which will still take 71 shots...but will only save you about $3 or $4.

Let me know,
Fish

Fish Chris · Post by **Fish Chris** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:31 am

yes, this is a Northern Pike from Lake Davis. They do have teeth. That one pretty much shredded a Huddleston Shad. I know the teeth are hard to see in the photo, but that's because 1) he was just a little guy, and 2) even with big ones, the teeth are somewhat concealed behind the skin around the lips.

Peace,
Fish

bruizer343 · Post by **bruizer343** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:42 am

those are clean pics, chris.

Whats the final day for davis, I heard this comming tuesday ?

B

gt5bass · Post by **gt5bass** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 8:17 am

Hey Chris,

Thanks fer the revisit...I keep meaning ta git me a camera ta keep in me boat fer capturing better shots of the big gurls

2 c-notes ain't bad at all

Nice pics. When do then plan to destroy Davis? I wonted ta git up thar an catch a couple o' dem tooty critters before they tried to kill dem off agin.

Greg_Cornish · Post by **Greg_Cornish** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 11:19 am

If I'm not mistaken, it's a Sacramento Pike or i.e. squaw (sp?) fish. The real pike, like those in Davis, have nasty teeth.

Chris,

Nope, it's a Northern Pike. Take it from a former Minnesotan. I made a movie of my brothers on the best Northern Pike fishing day of their lives. This lake was unfortunately turned into farmland since this movie. Fortunately there are still 9,999 lakes left in Minnesota

They happened to be driving by this unfished lake and had the Jon Boat on top of the Suburban. They asked the farmer if they could fish it and he said, "Sure, but there aint no fish in there."

Hope you have broadband because its to big for dial-up and I hope you don't mind Bluegrass music.
http://www.clearlakebassmasters.net/Fis ... Movie.html

Greg_Cornish · Post by **Greg_Cornish** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 11:25 am

Walmart has the best tripods for the money. Near pro quality for $25. Chris did you fish the Bass Derby last year?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 11:53 am

Hey GT -

I can't recommend this camera enough Olympus Stylus 720SW

It's waterproof and shock resistant (drop proof)

About $200-$250 street price! I use it for the magazine all the time. take a look at this next issues cover and the Angling exposures from the last 2 issues.. all done with this camera and my very little photography experience.. Works great on a tripod too!
Tom

getalife · Post by **getalife** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 12:23 pm

Fish Chris, How did you get the misty effect on that last photo, leave the shutter open? I have a Canon dSLR and I cant get near the quality that you seem to be getting. (it could be the idiot behind the camara)

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 12:27 pm

Those are some great shots Fish Chris...

I might have to venture up to Lake Davis for some Northern Pike action.. that could be fun!

Are their a lot of them up there? Easy to catch? What's the scoop on those things! I used to catch them up in Michigan... where I never did try to catch smallies... Pre Bass fishing days for me, wish I could get another crack at Erie or St.Clair!

bruizer343 · Post by **bruizer343** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 12:38 pm

the lake is getting treated next week...game over.

USFS â€œforest closureâ€

mark poulson · Post by **mark poulson** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 12:49 pm

Greg,
That movie was great.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 12:59 pm

Ouch... we have lots of trout waters... Let's keep this one for the PIKE! Their fun to catch! Just don't try to lip them like a bass!

gt5bass · Post by **gt5bass** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 1:04 pm

Tom,

Remember Davis Lake is in the Feather River watershed...if they get out of there, they go to Oroville...then the Delta...Things would get real interesting at that point...Ya Think

Greg_Cornish · Post by **Greg_Cornish** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 1:18 pm

I'm wondering how disasterous the impact of Pike would be! In the midwest and Canada there are good trout and pike fisheries existing well together, Pike co-habit the same waters as Bass, Crappie, Blue Gill and trout. Personally I think the danger is overblown, but I've got an open mind if someone can convince me otherwise. At the same time, Its probably a good idea not to be changing Mother Natures Balance without Mother Nature doing it herself.

I doubt they'll get rid of the Pike. This is what... the third attempt? I think you've got some midwesterner up there throwing them back in.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 1:20 pm

I am no biologist.. so I really don't know. As for Lake Davis.. I actually have no clue where it even is. I was just thinking some Pike fishing from time to time would be fun!

Long Nguyen · Post by **Long Nguyen** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 4:11 pm

Long Nguyen · Post by **Long Nguyen** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 4:12 pm

getalife wrote:Fish Chris, How did you get the misty effect on that last photo, leave the shutter open? I have a Canon dSLR and I cant get near the quality that you seem to be getting. (it could be the idiot behind the camara)

Yep. A tripod is a must and use a longer expsosure. You need the tripod to eliminate camera shake. I have a Canon SLR too, so feel free to ask any questions.

Good shooting.

Fish Chris · Post by **Fish Chris** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 8:34 pm

Hey Bruizer, I heard both the 5th of September, and also the 15th.

Either way, I'd call some F&G people first to make sure that 1) the lake is still open to fishing, and 2) there is enough water left at the ramp to launch.

I had planned to give a big, booming, no holds barred report about my trip to Davis, here on this forum.... But the fishing was SOOO tough, I didn't feel like it would be worth it for most. I mean, that 1 Pike, my first, and maybe the only of my life, was all good. But I didn't think it was worth going back again.

I met this very cool Fish and Game girl, who told me how many, and how big of Pike were being caught in ther Spring.... Damn I wish I would have did that trip ! She showed me a photo of the fattest 42" incher I have ever seen ! Must have been close to 30 lbs !

Anyway, its just about time to zap the whole lake again.....

Peace,
Fish

Fish Chris · Post by **Fish Chris** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 8:37 pm

Hey getalife, a tripod, and long exposure are "half" of the trick. The other thing is to use some REALLY dark filters, to cut down the amount of light entering drastically, otherwise you will end up with a completely blown out, bright white frame.

The fliter I use is called an NDX 400. You can probably do a Google search for it.

Peace,
Fish

BIG DADDY BLUE RANGER · Fri Aug 31, 2007 8:41 pm

Hey Chris,, I'm using the A640... love it. so far I've only figured out how to push the button though..lol.. I think I'll need some of your tips on how to take better pics.. especially when I'm solo

Fish Chris · Post by **Fish Chris** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 8:48 pm

Hey Tom, I went and checked out that Olympus Stylus 720 again. I'm sure it takes great quality photos.... I mean come on, its a big name brand 7mp camera, in 2007. Its really hard to find a camera like this that "is" a bad one.

I really like my tilt and swivel screen though... and I'm telling you, once you played with one, you wouldn't want to go back. Plus, I really prefer my AA batteries. Easy to find, and cheap.... both rechargeables, or long shelf life alkalines.

And then the pre-set memory mode of my A630... I'm telling you Tom !

OH BTW, mine will be waterproof to 130 feet ! Okay... granted I will have to spend another $175 on one of these

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-WP-DC8-Wate ... B000J4GKTM .....but I do plan to get one, to start doing some underwater photography too. My A630 even has a mode setting for this

Peace,
Fish

getalife · Post by **getalife** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 9:05 pm

Thanks Fish Chris, It sounds way too complicated for me. I put it in auto mode and accept the quality I get. I have thought about taking a class on photography but I just dont have the time. While my Canon dos'nt take AA batteries, I took over 600 pic's last year at Spring training in Phoenix on one battery. Overall Im happy with the Canon Rebel but I know that with my limited photography knowledge I am really not using it to its full potential

707 basser · Post by **707 basser** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 6:55 am

I have been raving about the Powershots since they came out. For under 2 bills great pics and easy to manage on computer with the zoombrowser. FishChris: How do you keep that tripod attached to your boat? And also If you go bodega bay again PM me and I'll show you some killer little lakes/ponds that have big girls in them around sebastopol area. it may expand your "pig stickin" lake list. thanks, J.[/list]

Fish Chris · Post by **Fish Chris** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 7:35 am

Hey getalife, this is the beauty of the "C" custom mode. With a few light weight instructions, from somebody like myself, who knows how to use the A630 / 640, you can pre-program the camera for great fish photo shots in most daylight conditions.
Then, you just set the mode dial to "C" instead of "auto". In other words, it makes a list of manual instructions (which some might find to be complicated) totally automatic

How sweet is that ?

Heck, even for myself... Sure, I know the basics of ISO, shutter, F-stop, flash, etc.... But under pressure, with a hawg in the livewell, and my hands shaking from adrenalin, I need my fish photo camera to make it as easy for me as possible

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BTW, the two problems that using most digital cameras in the full "auto" mode causes, are:

1) they tend to jump to a higher than neccessary ISO, which causes the shots to have more digital noise (like film grain, but worse) I prefer to stick to ISO 100, using flash if I need more light.

2) many of them tend to over expose the bright spots in the photo. It's actually better to slightly underexpose a digital shot (if you must), as it is easier to brighten a photo later in photo shop (getting some of the detail back from dark areas) whereas it's imposible to get detail back by darkening bright, blown out areas.

Peace,
Fish

Greg_Cornish · Post by **Greg_Cornish** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 8:33 am

This is a good camera too. Just got one for the wife's trip to Europe.

Fish Chris · Post by **Fish Chris** » Sun Sep 02, 2007 4:52 pm

It took me a few passes to realize that "this" was linked too

Yes, my buddy has a Canon 6mp Elph, and he raves about the photo quality. I'm sure it will take "at least as nice" of fish photos as my A630 / 640.... just a bit harder to do self photos without the tilt and twist LCD screen. That said, I know a lot of people rarely fish by themselves anyway..... Whereas for myself, I rarely fish with anybody else, so my cameras need to be best for solo photo shoots.

If I didn't already say this, I meant to; Their are just so many sweet digi-cams availalable today, at really bargain prices, that we really can afford to be picky

You just have to know what you want / what to look for.

Peace,
Fish

mark poulson · Post by **mark poulson** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 2:49 am

Chris,
My camera comes this week.

What program should I be running to deal with the pictures?
Mark

Fish Chris · Post by **Fish Chris** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 7:24 am

Hey Mark, I use Adobe Photoshop 2.0..... but unless you have a LOT more money than I do, I sure wouldn't recommend going out and paying full price for it.
The price might have come down some, but last time I checked, Adobe Photoshop was more expensive than my A630 camera ! At one point, the top level version was going for $700 !

A lot of people, including myself, end up getting there photo programs completely free, with the purchase of a camera, or printer, or some other electronics...

Fish

bruizer343 · Post by **bruizer343** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 7:37 am

awesome thread,,.....im learning...not easy for me

I got a d80 a few months ago...still scratching my head...

Im getting the one you rec. chris...for the boat..

welll done !!

B343

Greg_Cornish · Post by **Greg_Cornish** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 10:42 am

Yes, some cameras include Adobe Photoshop Lite which has enough features for any amatuer.

Mark Hiser · Post by **Mark Hiser** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 10:54 am

Fish, is this camera going to work to take photo's for my website? I need to take photo's of baits in the different styles and colors and need them to be clear. I would like to talk to you about the photo editing options available. This whole high tech thing has me tipped

Course so does catchin a fish big enough to photo

Thanks
Mark Hiser

Fish Chris · Post by **Fish Chris** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 2:21 pm

Hey Mark, absolutely, this camera will do it !

Again, only a few years ago, it would have taken one of the nicer (more expensive) digi-cams, to take the "nicer shots" that I know you want of your baits.
But nowadays, even a relatively inexpensive digi-cam (like the Canon A630, as well as the others mentioned in this thread) can produce amazing results !

But like I said, let me know when you get your camera, and we can talk by phone, so I can guide you through the setup, while going through the same steps on my own camera..... Just the way the Canon tech girl did for me. Just makes it easier for everybody

Fish

Mark Hiser · Post by **Mark Hiser** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 2:48 pm

Thanks Chris, The A630 is on it's way home and should be here in 20 minutes, Circuit City had them on a little sale for the weekend. Glad you replied so quickly, I had already decided to pick it up

, I already have a couple different tri-pods I use for spotting scopes so I should be able to hold it steady. Now I'm workin on the best way to hold my baits so they are presented to allow people to see the whole bait, blades, skirt colors, Jig head design etc. This may be where I need to use some editing stuff.
Again thanks alot

Mark Hiser

Tags

Notice