Houndmans and Cameras

dgarrett · Post by **dgarrett** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 4:36 pm

Most Houndsmen work there butts off to get to the tree and end up using an outdated or cheaper camera to capture the experience. Im as guilty as anyone in doing this also. I have an old 35mm camera with 7 lens all the way up to 500mm but hardly ever have ever carried it the last 4 or 5 yrs as i swear that boat anchor is bad luck. I usually dont believe in curses or that. But everyone I hunted with including my self knows when i bring that camera we cant even find a track most of the time. I like to use photos in my art work and i like to do super detailed work. My cheap digital just doesnt produce the image quality i want. Yes id like to have the latest greatest camera but just cant afford it. There are a few people that post pictures that are quality but most are are poor at best. Guys wait a life time for pictures that are what we all call cover photos ( the poses and pictures that are great enough to grace the covers of magazines) and when that opportunity finally comes all they have is a cheap or outdated camera. I understand that everyone usually wouldnt want to carry a $2000 camera setup in there pack because on the death march to the dogs to many things happen like falling down getting wet and ect. Its just a shame that houndsmen get to see scenes that very few people get to experience and most of the time the pictures are poor quality. I understand that 99% of the guys are doing it for the dogs and the love of hound hunting. Id like to know what you have for a camera. Is a better camera on your wish list? dgarrett

Melanie Hampton · Post by **Melanie Hampton** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 4:49 pm

We have a 3 year old Olympus digital camera... It takes dang nice photo's.. Enough to get me complements, in the Big Game/Coonhound calendar 2 years running and the cover of Coonhound Bloodlines.. Of course we pack the damn thing everywhere we go LOL And out of every 400 pictures we might get 5 great ones..

We put ours in a ziplock bag inside the camera case when it goes.. It did spend most of elk season outside, lost, packed off by one of the pups until I finally found it.. Had an inch of water in the camera case.. Ruined the battery and that is it..

We do want to upgrade to a camera with a faster shutter speed.. Not sure what yet...

kdrchuck · Post by **kdrchuck** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 6:38 pm

I will have an upgraded camera before i start hunting hard again this spring. Cheap Kodak right now. 100$ job. Has taken a lot of good pics but not the highest quality photos. The canon 720 is has had my eye untill last niht when i got hold of panasonics, Lumix with 18X optical zoom. It is a bit big for packing with hounds but it is nice. 400$ and circuit city has total replacement insurance for all of their cameras. The Canon is a little bit more affordable but in theory has less quality and 10x zoom. 250$

I don't know anyone who really wants to pack around a bag full of camera and lenses for their SLR, i think these two are two great mid range point and shoot cameras that are fast and take good, quality photos.

Like was said. part of getting a good picture is taking a bunch of bad ones.

r_cordell · Post by **r_cordell** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 10:07 pm

I've got a Fugifilm S700 that takes really nice photos, It's 7 megapixels and pretty simple to use. It's got 10x optical zoom and a 30x lense is available for it that doesn't add too much size to it. Sells for about $225, so it's not a huge deal if it gets lost. I've blown pictures up to 11x14 and they are very clear.

sow flat slim · Post by **sow flat slim** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 10:50 pm

Yeah I got the Fuji s800 with 10X. Just startin to use it and like it pretty good. Takes some nice pictures.

Liz ODell · Post by **Liz ODell** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 10:57 pm

I packed around a 35 X 150 mm film camera for a quite a few years after having REALLY bad cameras for alot of years. That camera was alright and a definate improvement over the disposable cameras...it took a dump on me about half way through bear season this year and did not get replaced til February...money issues. I bought a Kodak Z712 ($250), the first 2 didn't work right, the third one is pretty darn good. It has 12 X optical zoom = equivilant to a 435 mm lens. It also takes decent video with sound. But you REALLY need to read the owners manual and download the online one, then you need to take lots of pics and play with the settings or you might be unhappy. I always put my cameras inside a zip lock bag and then into the case. Hopefully I'll get to put the thing to good use this fall. It sure is nice with the digitals to take tons of pics and cull what you don't like.

easttenngator · Post by **easttenngator** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 11:25 pm

Go with the Fuji...look at my ...myspace...great pics and paid 199.00 for it

Majestic Tree Hound · Wed Apr 30, 2008 10:36 am

We have had 4 Full Cry Covers and all were taken with a Fuji that was under $400 and its 6 years old now. Its only a 6 mgpix but all photos are taken at full res. Camera is set on "Sport Setting" and forced Flash always No matter how sunny unless your over 15' from the subject.

But now its time to buy a new one and at least 2-3 frames per second but still around 6 mgpix .. I have never needed any higher res. Full 8x10 prints enlarged and croped and no Pixilation noticed..

huntinweim · Post by **huntinweim** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 2:07 pm

I have a great little olympus point and shoot digital camera. But I definitly would like something with some more features and better zoom.

My wife is looking really hard at the Fuji's said they have gotten consistently good reviews!

scott christian · Post by **scott christian** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 3:14 pm

I have a Sony dsc-h7 it takes some really nice pictures it has a 15x digital zoom and 8.1 megapixels.

Spanky · Post by **Spanky** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:13 pm

I with Scott on the Sonys. The only company that is using Zeiss lenses and that take superior pictures of game in the tree where the lighting is the most difficult. Most any camera can take a good clear shot of a hound at the bottom.

kdrchuck · Post by **kdrchuck** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 11:43 pm

Dropped the buck today. Went with a panasonic, 10x zoom p&s, lots of good features. Liecron lenses. I'm diggin it

BlacktailStalker · Post by **BlacktailStalker** » Thu May 01, 2008 1:29 am

I'll second the Sony DSC-H7.
Great camera, too bad I paid double what its worth now, just 8 months ago :evil:

Spanky · Post by **Spanky** » Thu May 01, 2008 1:49 am

Mine is a DSC -F717 bought it 5 years ago and paid over $600, you can get the same camera on e-bay for less then $200 today :evil:

Blackwater Plotts · Post by **Blackwater Plotts** » Thu May 01, 2008 8:40 am

I went off of the deep end about a month ago and bought a Canon 40D SLR digital. It's 10 mega pixel. It has a 28-135mm IS lens and a 70-300 IS Zoom lens. It will shoot 7.5 frames a second for up to 75 frames. It's capable of a lot more than I've figured out thus far. LOL