Waterproof camera .. or none?

[denver1911]

My iphone died on my last trip. It is supposedly waterproof to 1 meter. I had it in a pocket that got damp. Not sure if this is what killed it or not. It’s been dunked in the salt before and came out fine, so I’d be surprised. Anyway, that’s not the point. I’ll get a new one. The point is that I didn’t have a camera for seven days. I didn’t get pics of a 40-inch GT or a very large trigger (guide said 10 pounds and I believe him). Now here is the kicker .. I don’t care. I don’t try to re-live yesterday. Those fish came and went. There may be more or there may not be. Having a photo doesn’t matter to me. One trip member asked me, in jest, why we should believe you if you have no evidence. I responded that I’d be disturbed if you didn’t. Why would you essentially accuse me of lying? If I’m going to lie, it would be over something important, not the size of a fish to people I hardly know. And besides, if someone doesn’t believe me, other than having a less-than-positive opinion of them because they think I am a liar, why would I care? In this case, the boat was coming back to the flat to pick me, the last fisherman, up for the day. They got to watch the final fifteen minutes of the battle and see the size of the fish wnen it was landed and released .. to their asonishment .. without a photo.

Alright, with the backstory done .. the question: Should I spend $100 on a waterproof digital camera so I can share my experiences with others? Or just fish?

 

[Joey Bagels]

Just to clarify, since I’m a little slow to understand forum posts at times. The first paragraph of your post goes into all the reasons you don’t care about photos or other people’s opinions, other than to not like them if they don’t believe you.
The second asks for advice from people whose opinions you don’t value about whether you should take photos that you don’t care about to appease the folks who’s responses you don’t like.
Maybe more time fishing, less time online is more the key here.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ia_trouter]

Pretty much what Joey said. Based strictly on your post, I suggest no camera, more fishing, and perhaps a second cup of coffee before you post the forum.

 

[denver1911]

Sorry if you didn’t fully understand. The first paragraph is to establish that personally having a photo isn’t important to me. Nor is having “proof” that I caught a certain fish.

The question is essentially asking for others opinions on whether I should value photos more than I do and, thus, spend the money. In particular, should I spend the money on a camera so I can share those memories with others (friends, family, etc.)?

If that last sentence was a snipe at me .. why?

 

[rfb700]

Agree with Joey. Sounds like more fishing less worrying about photos is for you.

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[ia_trouter]

Sorry if you didn’t fully understand. The first paragraph is to establish that personally having a photo isn’t important to me. Nor is having “proof” that I caught a certain fish.

The question is essentially asking for others opinions on whether I should value photos more than I do and, thus, spend the money. In particular, should I spend the money on a camera so I can share those memories with others (friends, family, etc.)?

If that last sentence was a snipe at me .. why?

If not for you, a couple shots for the loved ones after we pass is kinda cool. We enjoy looking at a few fishing shots of the relatives now gone. Brings back some nice memories.

 

[Rip Tide]

 

[tcorfey]

I don't take to many pictures any more usually just a selfie for the family to show where I have been and one or two of fish I found exceptionally pretty. Most of the time I am just fishing and hopefully catching. Fish live in such wonderful places it is always good to have a camera along just in case. If it is just a camera as part of a phone that is usually fine as most phones have pretty good cameras now.

Regards,

Tim C.

 

[denver1911]

Some of the last ones I got before the phone died:

Gear before I left:



Tide table for Christmas Island:

 

[karstopo]

I like having a camera on outings and used to have a waterproof camera, but the saltwater destroyed it. I’ve had a couple of waterproof cameras taken down by lengthy exposure to saltwater. Mine were Olympus models. I did rinse and/or soak them in fresh water post outing as per the manual.

Now I rely on my cheapo Samsung cell phone and put it in a gallon plastic zip bag with some folded paper towels. So far, so good.

Some trips, the phone stays in the bag and no photos of fish get taken. One friend I fish with pretty often almost never takes a photo of fish or anything else so I’ve decided I can’t take any photos when I fish with him. It’s his boat so when in Rome...but even we fish on my boat, I’m reluctant to take a photo. There’s something macho going on between us, whose going to blink first type of deal.

Photos of fish, people or other wildlife/scenery help me remember enjoyable trips, though, so I like to take some. Sometimes, I wish I had a better camera than a cruddy cell phone type, but then I remember my past experiences with the rugged waterproof Olympus models that didn’t prove to be all that tough.

I’m not worried about whether people believe me or not. I live on a lake and fish a lot and it would be tedious to take a photo of fish everytime I fished. Then in the saltwater, if the fish are really there and willing, it’s hard to take the extra time for the photo therefore missing out on some additional good fishing.

It is nice to have evidence like photos of fish to support one’s position regarding discussions of experience with a fish and fishery, Plus, I think it’s fun to look back on an old photo of some specimen fish and sort of go over the events of the catch in one’s mind. And then some folks way exaggerate about the size of fish they caught in such and such place so I like to see a photo to confirm or refute their story, just to get a better understanding of the fish in particular place they fished.

For me, photos of fish are not living about in the past, but more like the past informs and shapes the future. If I get a truly special fish in a particular spot at a specific time point using x fly and y presentation, it’s nice to have the photo of the event to jog the memory and then perhaps try and duplicate the sequence at a future date. I have enough evidence to support this so I’m inclined to take photos of the special fish and note when, where, and how. Special fish seek out the same structure year after year after year and tend to respond to the same presentations.

 

[denver1911]

I do appreciate having the photo of the first humuhumunukunukuapua'a I caught .. a long story that dates back to my early childhood and involves my mother, the encyclopedia volume “F,” a guide named Kurt who is also an artist, and a painting now hanging on my wall. I also now sort-of wish I had a photo of the surge wrasse I caught last week to show my wife.

 

[jzim]

There's something about taking photos of caught fish and scenery. I can look at a past photo and remember that exact day. A photo has more to it than just the subject of said photo.

 

[Rip Tide]

Most of the time, I don't remember to take pictures of fish. When the fishing is fast, I'm thinking of other things, it's when the fishing is slow that I remember that I have a camera.
That's when that you realize that there's other interesting stuff going on that you might like to record.

... like an old ship wreak



...or some wildlife



... or maybe just the sunset

 

[plecain]

I take lots of pictures, both of scenery and of fish.

With fish I mostly try to get underwater photos. Pictures where the fish have their fins out as they normally would are much more appealing to me than fish in hands or nets (or sand).

The 'underwater photos' preference means I have waterproof cameras. One older (Nikon AW100) and one a little newer (Nikon AW120). The AW120 powers up faster, but otherwise there's no real difference.

My iPhone 7 says its mostly waterproof, but I have no desire to test it. I dropped an iPhone 5S to the bottom of a river, picked it up, shook it out, and still use it like it was an iPod for music in my car.

 

[brownbass]

I think for most people the pictures help tell a story. About the day, and the fish. It isn't important to most of us whether or not we get in the picture it is about being there.

 

[penak]

Tagged, this seems like a very interesting thread

 

[jeep.ster]

I like taking pics when I fish to have later to enjoy, share with friends and often create trip reports for this forum to enjoy. I would definitely get a camera. My only suggestion is get a $199 one.

 

[k_e_v]

Funny replies aside, in response to the original question..... buy the camera. I would love to see the pics and I’m sure at some point in your life you might appreciate that $100 spent on those memories

 

[dillon]

How about a waterproof case for the phone? Hopefully people are joking when they say, "no pic no proof." I always believe people when they say they caught fish, but sometimes wonder when the say how many they caught, or how long the big one was. I try very hard not to say anything about it to them or to make snarky posts online...

 

[gpwhitejr]

I have the Nikon AW130 waterproof camera, my wife got it for me for snorkeling. It is a nice little camera, and I have had it in salt water without any problems. Funny thing, I have never taken a picture of a fish that I caught fly fishing. Generally I am trying to get the fish unhooked and back in the water as quickly as possible, and sometimes I am struggling to keep my dog away from it; I don't have enough hands. I do use it for taking pictures of family, friends and scenery/wildlife.