[12 Volt Man]

I have a nice Nikon DSLR. It is too big to take with me out in the field or on hunts.

I recently dropped and broke my little Pentax Option Wpi. That was a fairly good camera. Waterproof etc....

I am looking to pick something up around 200-250. I think I want to give the Panasonic Lumix cameras a whirl.

Which one of these and why? I am looking more seriously at the smaller one just for ease of keeping with me. But the larger one might take better pics. The Lumix models get good reviews and the optical zoom is a plus.

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMC-TZ3 ... 347&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MW ... 314HA8RA18

 

[Treehugnhuntr]

dpreview.com

 

[12 Volt Man]

read those. I'm wondering what my fellow outdoorsmen like.

 

[Treehugnhuntr]

I figured that about the moment I pushed submit. A lot of the guys I know that go fishing to Alaska every year use the Pentax you were speaking of, because of the waterproof feature. I recall the price being a bit higher than 200, but you would know better than me.

I'm a big fan of throwing my DSLR in a dry bag, although I smoked a video camera last year when we swamped the drift boat on a rock and I didn't have it sealed properly yet.

For fishing I just make sure the dry bag is secured on my wading belt and has a fair amount of air in it to keep it floating on top of the water.

 

[Goshawk]

I own the FZ-8.
If you are choosing just between those two cameras and since you already own the DSLR for serious photo taking and are looking for a camera to take into the field I would defiantly go with the smaller camera.

The FZ-8 is just too bulky to comfortably carry in a pocket. You'll end up leaving it in the truck or carrying it in a fanny pack, If you do that you may as well carry the DSLR.

 

[12 Volt Man]

Thanks Gos. I assume the recent nice photos you have taken were with that FZ8? Nice!

 

[James]

The digital cameras are getting better and less costly it seems.
The Panasonic-DMC-TZ3 has some nice features for the price.
10X zoom is great and at 7.2 MP you could get some good prints if you ever want prints.
Nice camera for the money.

My first digital camera was a Sony. It has been a good reliable camera. This is the one I pack when out in the field and don't want to tote the DSLR.

I guess it is not real important the model, but important to have it with you and actually take some pics.

 

[threshershark]

Hi 12 Volt!

I am also a Nikon DSLR guy, but love Canon point & shoots. They have excellent image quality and fantastic color, especially when you use the "vivid" mode. My favorites are the newer generation of IS (image stabilized) elphs. I have the SD700, which is a previous generation of the SD850 ($247 on Amazon). I could not recommend it more highly. It is a great size for my chest pack while fishing but is well built and durable. Here are a few shots taken with it:

 

[wyogoob]

Nice pics Threshershark, you nailed it in that second one!

I have used Canons point-and-shoot digital Elphs for long time, especially at work. Here's some brookies from an old S100 model.

The pics are kinda washed out, but they were good back then when digital point-and-shoots were new.

The Canon series takes nice pictures but they don't like dust. It gets in the camera and may jam up the lense. I have changed to Sony at work and play. Great battery life even in the cold.

 

[JAT83]

Those are great shots! Maybe I'll have to invest in one of those!