Not a new...or controversial topic for that matter, but hopefully some photographer-type enthusiasts out there could help me.
The cook's very keen to get into photography (I can't get her into windsurfing, so at least she can take pics of me while I enjoy it! 
). She's managed some pretty good shots with a very basic standard digital camera and wants to get some high quality pics of the kids & the outdoors.
What's a good camera, or qualities I should look for in a camera that covers all forms of outdoor photography? Btw, we also dive, and although a waterproof camera isn't necessary, one that has a waterproof case available would be very handy! After seeing a few images here over the years, there's obviously some talented amature photographers (and professional ones) about.
Digital SLR full stop. Get as many pixels as you can afford. A range of lenses is good too but not essential as they can be added as you go. Because the format has been around forever in the form of 35mm SLR, you can often use old (ie relatively cheap and readily obtainable) second hand lenses with the modern cameras (CHECK FIRST!!). You can probably also get waterproof cases as well.
Any of the top makes is good - Olympus, Nikon, Canon, etc. although obviously some will slightly outshine others.
I've recently gone Digital SLR, image quality is excellent, but the big camera is a bit inconvenient, and the cost of underwater housings is insane.
I've had great results for years with Canon compact cameras and Canon underwater housings.
Take a look at the Canon G11 or S90.
Olympus had a great reputation with underwater compacts too, but I'm not sure anymore.
Thanks for the feedback. I was looking at DSLR, just not sure of the best one for taking to the beach. The size did concern me, especially with underwater pics. I guess a good zoom is also one of the main criteria.
I'll check out your suggestions! 
if on a budget i'd get the canon 40d (2nd hand) or 50d.... the 50d would be better though and has a few extra features like micro adjust plus an up to date sensor. both are weather sealed.
underwater housings are very expensive. can cost the same as the camera body,
and then a point and shoot waterproof camera for diving.
Hi Sailhack,
Agree get a DSLR with as many pixels as you can afford. There is no 'best' one for the beach but if weight is an issue then go for the 400-500 range as apposed 40-50 (Canon of course) the bodies are made out of different material. Remember people it is not the camera but the person behind the camera which makes for a great shot.
Take as much care as possible on beach, I use a sports cover but invariably get sand on sensor and in all nooks and crannies, the life of you camera will be shorter than those who use for other purposes.
Agree waterproof housing is v expensive and most good ones are only specific to that body, ie: if you upgrade camera you upgrade housing. If you do get housing, test it, test it, test it. I love my Olympus underwater, it is diff to shooting with SLR, subjects need to be close (wear helmut) but it is good enough for amateur fun and was recommended to me by a diver.
Only buy camera when offering a twin lens kit deal - will give you wide lens for portraits and a 300mm which is good enough zoom for windsurfing - get cheap tripod for extra stabilty = sharpness of image, although this will get grainy with sand and will b extra to lug accross beach. Want better quality pics? Then upgrade your lenses but expect to pay $800+ basically the lower the f-stop the better.
A really good lightweight practical alternative to SLR is a non-compact digital camera such a Panasonic Lumix - love, love, love and was my first camera, is like SLR but with out extra lenses, they have high mp and can get really good optical (ignore digital) zoom x18 - should do the trick.
btw - a friend of mine runs photo courses 4 SLR newbies specialising in kid photography, it has had rave reviews and booked out all over country - go to Love your Camera website.
Jodi :)
White Caps Photography
Agreed - SLRs underwater can be bulky and costly, but of course the results of a properly set-up system (used properly) is unbeatable..
On the plus side for compacts underwater - you're not stuck with the lense set-up you went down with...you can decide between wide and macro on the run..eg: if your SLR is set-up with a macro, it's no good for shooting the big stuff etc..
If the $$ aren't a huge issue.... You could always look an DSLR like a Cannon 5D. She would have the option of full HD video with that sucker!! So you'll get great stills and video of you out there
It's all fun in the end!
I've got two cameras that are perfect for what your talking about.
first is a canon sx20is about $600. its not an SLR but one with a built in lense with 20X zoom (this years model is probably even bigger), a lens that big on an SLR would be big$$. Good photos and basic to use, still heaps of functions i have not explored yet and probably wont.
here is a photo i took from probably 500m away from the action with no tripod (in 20kt winds)
the second is one of those Olympus underwater numbers which costs around the same as a basic underwater housing. great for mucking around in the water and good camera to chuck in the pocket.
they are not fancy SLR's but i have never been disappointed with the photos. hope this helps as i think they are a good & easy options.
^^ knows his sh!t^^
so what's your dream (NO BUDGET) weathersealed DSLR camera model?
This question comes up every now and then so wouldn't it be a good idea to have a dollar amount you have to spend which will make it heaps easier to provide the right advice. There's just so many options from $500 - $20,000. That said, I'm assuming you're on a budget (<$1,500) so maybe any of the kit set-ups plus a go-pro for watershots/video. If I was starting out from scratch and knowing what I know now about lens quality etc. I'd spend a minimum of $8,000.
Hey Jodie, long time no see - Dan says hi!
Col.
dreams hey....
1d body mk4, underwater housing.
14mm f/2.8 II prime
24mm f/1.4 II prime
85mm f/1.2 II prime
24-70 f/2.8 IS (not released yet)
70-200 f/2.8 IS II
400mm f/2.8 IS Prime
17mm tilt shift.
my camera- canon eos350d comes to the beach with me all the time....it lives in a sandy case and i clean it with a paint brush every now and then. It has lasted over a year in this abuse now...I don't know if I agree with all the stuff about cheap lenses- I have cheap lenses and they seem to do the trick but require a bit more thought behind the photo.....they are limited but I think they can still provide good quality images, just my 2 cents.
Hi I have been pondering this for some time and was about to buy the Canon Sx20is but am going to put my spendies on a Fuji HS10 instead.
BTW - the fellas above are right about DSLR's but unless you want to fiddle with multiple lenses (and potential for sand to ruin your baby) then go for a superzoom hybrid/compact. My sis in law went on hols with a Canon 450D recently and forgot the 28-80 lens, so with only the 80-250mm the cam nver got a look in and they used a compact point n shoot. Ba ha ha - she has always had more dollars than sense.
Anyhoo, the Fujimama has a massive 28-700mm (equivelent) lens that is actually more than I need but reviews have raved about the lens quality - not just length - and it is heaps faster than the Canon. The Canon has very mixed reviews (many have suggested it is a step backwarsd other than HD vid from the SX10is) and suffers from very slow processing for it's class. Good pics but 1 frame per sec at very best - no burst etc. The Fufi will allow 7per sec and that is a factor for me.
The Canon has slightly better IS than Fuji (but Fujimama is no slacker).
The Canon is going for as low as $370 $408 (Citywide) and the Fuji $500 $488 (Citywide).
Wish the Fujimama was $370 so i could grab a cheap waterproof also for kiting pics and squids at the beach. Oh well - roll on Chistmas. Gives me nore time to get half decent at lkiting so the vids/pics aren't yawn inducing.
Spoilt for choice. Good luck.
EDIT: $488 at CW. The HS10 has only just been relased and the Canon is almost a year old so both should steadily drop in $$.
Amazes me the bang you get for ya buck with these cameras.
Ha ha - Anyone want an analogue Canon EOS 5000 that is virtualy new with 28-80/polarising/UV etc?? 
I didn't think the pic was bad at all DunkO (speshly after crunching down for SB upload).
Didn't mean to make your Sx sound like a lemon BTW - tres nioce cam but like all technoschmeckno stuff 6 moths later you are getting more for less.
BTW - I have a tripod and even with IS at long zooms you will get blur on just about any cam without one. Wetty is optional.
i'm happy with the thing, evrything is outdated as soon as you pay for it.
if i had to do more than point and shoot (like attach a lens) that photo would never have existed.
no arguments with you guys for superzoom point and shoots...
i think why a few of us went down the path of dslr is because sailhack said his wife wanted to get high quality shots.
A lot of knowledge here - always knew it!
Budget, haven't set one. I'm more interested in quality vs cost vs application, and I'm working on if we get a decent camera, my spending on gear can upsize also! In saying that, $8k is waaaay outta my league, but can appreciate that those in to photography know their stuff & I'm sure would know what to do with an $8k or $20k camera...the good lady's just starting out, so not quite ther at this point.
Also, re; 2 cameras, sounds like it makes sense to have a seperate underwater camera, so I'll look into an underwater point-shoot camera down the track (once the water warms up to above 16deg!) I did have reservations about taking a big costly camera underwater.
Thanks for the input!
Yeh - Fujimama have gone all out to top the class it seems.
Caveat: The high frame rates drop to very low resolution but you can still strike a very good quality balance between frame rate n resolution. Oh and apparently zoom auto focus motor can be heard on vid - not a prob is wind is buffeting tho.
7 fps for stills at full resolution and 720P vid with dual IS are killers for me. The 30x zoom is a bonus (spesh with minimal tunnel effect) and as I said it just blows me away how many features and quality you get for the buck in most superzoom cams.
*Hey I forgot to say the coolest bit (well I like it) the Fujimama has a manual zoom (and focus if selsected) ring rather than jerky motor driven button! That is one of the best features i reckon!
One day I'd like to do a photography course but until then the superzoom will satisfy my (lack of) creative output 
with minimal fuss and less stress everytime kiddies go near the cam etc.
Woh! Planning on working for the CIA or lusting after a scantily clad sunbather 2 suburbs away?
Buying a good camera is only half the battle. Learning how to get the most out of it something else.
I have a Nikon D40 (entry level D-SLR), not expensive. I like to shoot action at the beach (kiteboarding) and over time I've learnt to shoot in RAW to capture the most information in each shot, aperture preferred mode for short focal length (5-6 stops) , vivid colour so the sky’s are really blue and the rider stands out, low ISO for clarity, etc and then post production tweaking of the histograms and curves with Photoshop to really get the best out of my shots. You need to take 2-3 hundred shots in a day to get 10 good ones. I only save to JPG at the very last if I want to present or print an image since you lose information every time you save a JPG.
Happy to pass on info to any budding photographers
Example
LOL.
Is it cause he didn't photoshop out the straps or cause he di PS the middle skeg or is it just cause everytime someone tries to play nice 10 orshools shoot im down?
Nerd Alert:
graphics.stanford.edu/courses/cs178-10/applets/
Yeah, if you're going to pick a point-and-shoot don't spend too much time choosing, the churn rate for those products is ridiculous. Whatever you pick will be superceded by the time you get home anyway. For sport shutter lag speed will be most important factor (ie get a dSLR)
If you are going for a dSLR spend a bit more time.
www.dPreview.com (not DPReview you perverts).
Object > Lighting > Lens > Camera
I think it's arguable where you put the photographer in the above. If you're taking a photo of bigfoot who cares about anything else, but then a good photographer can make the most boring object interesting.
Ive got a Nikon D60 twin lens kit, cheap as chips $1200 from memory 10pixies and easy to use. I like it for price and useability 
Went and got an old tripod from cashies and you are away.
Sorry about the size.
