Advice on camera selection

Not being able to change lenses might not be as big a deal as you might think. I use a Nikon Coolpix P600. It's not really a small pocket size, but the reason I bought this model is it has a 60X optical zoom. That does away with the need to change lenses unless you're doing some VERY long range photography.

This model Nikon can be bought through Costco or likely online at some pretty good prices. I take my camera with me when I travel and it's been knocked around a bit and still functions well.

I also have an Olympus pocket size camera that's waterproof but I've found I don't take it with me as much as the Nikon because of the Nikon's ability to zoom a long ways.

We have a great camera onboard that has produced superior results over the last three years and been reliable, it's similar to a DSLR. I'll get the details and post here shortly.

Most of the better cameras have Image Stabilizer, built in or in the lens. And with a zoom lens you can always zoom out, unlike most binoculars.

Take a look at the Sony Alpha 6000. I have found it one of the best for quality, size, and features at a very good price.

This is a good camera, especially with the 16-70 mm lens. It has an APS-C sensor and is using more or less the same lenses as a full frame 35 mm camera.

If you want a smaller camera, there is a system called 4/3 or Micro 4/3 where the sensor is 1/4 of a full frame and all lenses are smaller. With a 4/3 sensor a 14-140 mm zoom compares to a 28-280 mm, just double the numbers to get the right length.

The first 4/3 cameras were launched by Panasonic/Leica and Olympus and they had mirrors, later the smaller mirrorless Micro 4/3 cameras took over and today there is a third generation which is even smaller. I have all three on this picture and prefer the one in the middle. The left one is too big and the right one is too small. As a small camera with high quality I am using the Canon G-series and for full frame the Canon 5D:s. In reality, I am bringing the full frame whenever I know I will take pictures and the rest of the time I have my iPhone if something comes up that I must capture...

... When it comes to lenses, i am using the 24-105/1:4 for 80 percent of my pictures, it is with a built in Image Stabilizer. The second lens I use quite a lot is the 16-35/1:2.8, it is a good lens but more expensive and not as versatile as the 24-105.

Swear by this. 5DS is presently "the best" on the market. 5D III also works wonders. And all of it matters only if you are going really serious.
As a photographer friend of mine once said, "people buying DSLRs as opposed to shooting with their phone should already be deep enough not to ask questions about lens choice."

I have a Nikon D7100 with a variety of lenses that I use for personal and business photography but for a carry-around camera that has worked very well, I have a Canon G9. You can't change lenses but the image quality is very good (6000x4000px) for a point and shoot. It has many of the settings that I have with the Nikon, including the ability to shoot in RAW. There have been several G series cameras introduced since the G9 but many reviews I have read rate it higher than the later releases. The G9 is still available on Amazon.

You are right, the G9 is one of the best and after that they got bigger and bigger until the G15, when they shrinked it to about the same size as the G9 again. The main difference is a shorter zoom with more wide angle on the G15 and G16. Good cameras all of them...

We've got a Sony A33 onboard
It's got an 18-55 lens. 7 frames a second at 14 megapixels. Around $300 used on Amazon. Great camera for many years now and it's held up to multiple users and boat life.

I don't think you will be disappointed. I bought the 55-210 lens but find the 16-50 is more than adequate and hardly ever use the longer one.

Don't forget that being able to zoom all the way out when the water is rough is not really necessary. Zoom about half way out, take the pic, then crop the photo later to get what you really wanted.

This photo was taken from about 1/2 mile away from those grain elevators.


Here's what you can get by cropping. Same photo, cropped to show just the grain elevators. It could have been cropped more, but you get the picture. (OK, that was a bad pun!!)

We have an Nikon F7000 with half a dozen lenses and a Canon G15. My wife got herself a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000. The Lumix is really a perfect camera in between the others. Great sensor, great zoom, stabilized, and lighter than the Nikon, but more performance than the Canon. Same with weight: in between the others. Also good for macro! The only minus is the power consumption / battery capacity: we need to recharge every second day.

https://goo.gl/J0smc5 and https://goo.gl/ct2pLp