looking for a ride along camera.
 

icyclist inspired this thread with his excellent ride report photography.

i see a lot of you folks photo-document lots of your rides and some of you are excellent photographers, especially to my untrained eye.

i'm looking for a nice, inexpensive ride along camera that is relatively rugged, lightweight and easy to come out of the jersey pocket and snap pictures. my smartphone takes ok-ish pics, but its very cumbersome to use, and even more cumbersome to get pictures off of.

what are you all using?

Cannon Power Shot A710

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...rstRide048.jpg

Keep it in a stem bag

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...els/517001.jpg

JoeyBikes would know. Look him up.

Olympus iTough. Waterproof, shock proof, modes, easy one handed operation. Mine has been dropped on the move, ridden over and survived many tropical storms. Before this I killed 2 Canon Powershots

The "best" camera is one that you actually you carry with you, this one is one to put in your back pocket and forget, no ziplocks, no worries!

Some sample images:

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...P7200011-1.jpg
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...k/P9300064.jpg
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...P9190006-1.jpg
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...k/P3170001.jpg
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...k/PB260076.jpg
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/f...ylus850SW2.jpg

What's the ISO range?

I have a little Cannon Elph, which is small and takes good photos but it doesn't take regular batteries, so that's inconvenient. Also, in order to recharge the battery, I have to lug around the entire docking station.

I think something like the Olympus is a great bike camera. I'm not sure that concerns over ISO range in a point and shoot are valid. It's going to handle ordinary lighting situations very well. If you are looking for exposure control you need to look at a camera that is configured differently than a weather proof, shock proof compact camera. My biggest irritation with compact digital cameras is the slow shutter lag times.

Nice pictures, ROLLIN. And a nice bike. Do you use those old wheels after you got the Zipps?

I have one of the Nikon Coolpix. Can't remember the model, but it is ver handy and good. I think the most important things when it comes to a camera you can bring along when riding are resistance to elements, and how easy it is to take out and use while still riding. The iTough above is a good suggestion.

The iso is not adjustable. For that I use one of the 3 G9s or 3 5ds that are in the apartment (wife is a photographer).

Problem with cameras like the G9 on a bike is bulk and fragility. I take a lot of photos on the move, can't do that with a camera in a ziplock bag.

I do use the ESs when I travel and on longer rides, touring on tubulars worries me.

reminds me of the first rule of gun fighting, bring a f-ing gun. same goes with photography.

actually if I was buying a riding camera today I would look at the Panasonic Lumix (DMC-TS1?) waterproof camera because it has HD video recording. Not sure of the price.

my canon sd550 is the camera that i've used for my various ride and gran fondo reports. seeing as it's 4 years old, i assume there's a new version out there, but i'm in no rush.

Canon's S90 surpasses the G11 (the current G series) in a lot of ways. Like the G11, it shoots RAW files, has the option of manual control for everything,same sensor as the G11.

But it has a faster lens, and the S90 fits in a jersey pocket.

Only disadvantage is lack of an optical viewfinder.

Another option travelling light is a cell phone camera.

My Bahamas pictures, which admittedly are pretty much just record shots, were taken on a Blackberry.

cell phone cameras are fine for the unexpected moments, but that's it.

who uses optical VF with a point and shoot?

Can't go wrong with a Canon Elph. Even the larger A-series isn't bad. Just takes up more pocket/bag space.

Actually I have because I cant see the screen on my old Nikon coolpix cameras in bright sunshine. And I don't replace something until I have a compelling reason to do it.

yep.

elph pics:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/botto/dor_01.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/botto/ronde5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...longo_corv.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...la_descent.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...i/23_stelv.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...i/26_stelv.jpg

I use an Olympus Camedia C-560 Wide Zoom on the bike. I made a lot of the on bike shots on VeloWeb with it. Video quality is very good as well (compressed example). It is pretty bulky though. For Paris-Brest-Paris, I borrowed a waterproof Pentax Optio. It rained the whole time but I just pulled the camera out of my soggy jersey pocket and grabbed shots. Great little camera. The new W80 -- 12.1 megapixel Waterproof, Dustproof, Coldproof and Shockproof Wide-angle 5X internal optical zoom -- looks awesome and I'd like one of those when I can afford it.

I had fun with the camera but for now, I'm having fun with the videos!:thumb:...Extract still shots, not as nice as a digital camera but the vids are cool:D


The video


BF'er Dutchboy2 and The Greasers
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2801/...f87f4ae3_o.jpg

RiverVelo riders, few BF'ers in the mix
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4008/...52368fcb_o.jpg

Gina, all smiles when it's over!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2779/...b5f2ebf0_o.jpg

my daughter has this one and I was thinking of getting the same for my rides:

Nikon - Coolpix 10.0-Megapixel Digital Camera

Model: L20 | SKU: 9220167
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Nikon+-+...ikon%20coolpix

Wow! Numbers 3, 4 and 5 are ... just ... wow. Passo Sella Italy?

I disagree, but I won't argue about it, I'll just look it up. Thanx!

Cell phone cameras are getting better

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...localbeach.jpg

Me, until I started using an S90. You can hold a camera more steady to your face, than arms out in front of you, and you can see better in bright daylight that washes out the screen.