Job Site Digital Cameras

johnjm

My company is looking to outfit our traveling installation specialists with digital cameras. They should be of decent quality, 4 mp or so would be suficient, with a good sized memory and easy to use. Most importantly, they should be rugged. Does anyone know of a manufacturerwho makes a camera specificaly for the job site or has experience with a camera that fits our needs??

-- btw rugged also means they go through airports a lot....

Thanks for your feedback!!
John

Bone Saw

unless your jobsite is underwater or it outerspace or some other harsh environment, I suppose any camera that meets your res. zoom and $$ requirements will do. far as airport and abuse protection, pelican case
http://www.pelican.com/cases/cases.html

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Grumpy

4 megapixel is more than enough, even if you are going to print the pictures the image quality at 3.5 is more than adequate. Look into something with chargeable battery, like Kodak has. This makes life so much easier. Also there are two types of zoom, optical and digital. Optical is an actual zoom and image quality does not suffer. What you will notice with digital zoom is the larger you go the poorer the image quality because all a digital zoom is, is the camera enlarging the photo.

Get a nice case that can be worn around your neck. This makes life ohhh sooo much easier.

Bone Saw

camera ergonomics are important to, Personally I hate the little tiny cameras the layout, shape, buttons suck and probability of droping it because of this is high, I had a exilam and HATED it. panasonic lumix, and canon power shot are nice. far as im concerned only thing good about these little cameras is if you're a chick and you carry a purse

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A+Carpenter

KODAK COLOR SHARE is good enough

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slickshift

Ease of use it's Kodak Easy Share hands down
A n00b can figure it out w/o ever cracking open the instruction book

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Teetorbilt

I use a Kodak and my bro uses one approved by NASA (about $500) that is water and bounce resistant. The batts. also seem to last longer than most.

I find EasyShare not so easy but Picassa is a free download and works great.

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JustRightCo

kodak great dropped a couple times. still works great.

quality's great you can pick em up for $99 got mine with printer $250.
look this pic quality I took recently.

lukachuki

[QUOTE=
look this pic quality I took recently.[/QUOTE]


What is that in your picture justright? It is real blurry on my screen. looks like you took it while driving as you were being chased by the police.





Just Kidding looks good and I agree with teetorbilt that Picasa is a nice program especially for emailing pictures to people. It automatically resizes and re-resolutions them when you email which is a great time saver.


Tim
www.abcmasonry.com

JPV123

I used to do insurance inspections and have had my share of digital cameras. I would take an average of 200 photos a day. If you are taking alot of indoor photos you want a bright flash. The cheaper cameras have weaker flashes on them. Do your own online research. Do not take the salesmans words. I'm on my 6th digital camera and every time I went in to buy one I knew more than the person behind the counter. Optical zoom is great. However the lense on most cameras penetrate outward and if it's raining the camera will get ruined. Olympus has a weater tight camera. My current camera is a minolta that has a vertical internal optical zoom lens so it fits nice in my pocket an the lens does not stick out. I would try and buy one at a place that has a good return policy to make sure it fits your needs. Then when you find the right one buy the rest that you need. I used to be against the rechargeable batteries but now the last alot longer and I also had a small power inverter in my car so I can recharge while driving if needed. I always said they shoul come out with a "job-site" type camera.

JustRightCo

"just Kidding looks good and I agree with teetorbilt that Picasa is a nice program especially for emailing pictures to people. It automatically resizes and re-resolutions them when you email which is a great time saver."


how bout this one lukachuki .... I went back after the cop chased me and went up will the crew went out to lunch lol

Rapture

Sony makes a rugged point and shoot camera. My 5mp has a strong metal body (bought it 3 years ago). If you are looking for something small enough to fit in your pocket and have good images...look at the Nikon Coolpix 4600.

Rapture

All point and shoot cameras have a "Auto" function...which basically sets the settings for ISO, aperture and shutter speed....basically push the button and there's your picture. Easy to use for anyone.

johnjm

Thanks for all of your quick replies! I have been on other forums like this and usually wait 4 or 5 days before anyone replied.

Anyway...

Your real world experience will be put to good use!

If anyone comes across a digital camera actuall designed for jobsite abuse, post it here. Soome one told me they saw one like that, maybe from poloroid.

Anyway,

Thanks again!!

John

ChuckEA

I used to sell cameras for a living so here is my $.02. First, I'd look for a model that has a sliding cover for the lense. The little diaphragm covers are easy to damage and a regular cap is easy to lose. Next, I'd search for a camera where the zoom lense favors the wide angle which will offer a wider field of view. This is important taking shots indoor where space may be constricted. Should be at least 35mm and lower would be better. If you need to take close ups, make sure the camera has a decent macro setting. As far as batteries go, all cameras on the market use rechargeble batteries. The option is whetheer to go with a proprietary battery or AA/AAA. Personally, I would go with AA since you can always use regular alkaline batteries if your rechargebles go dead while in the field.

Glen

"Most importantly, they should be rugged.."

Sorry, John, no such animal currently exists in the affordable compact digital camera market. Fierce price competition and customer demand for megapixels and zoom capabilities have left things like internal parts build and worksmanship far behind. You guys that don't like Chinese cordless drills would scream if you saw how these things are put together. Paul Simon won't be writing any pop songs about digicams....

These autofocus digital cameras are nearly all made in China of rather fragile components, especially the LCD screens, printed circuits, power modules, AF modules, and zoom mechanisms. Drop the camera on its back (or even press the back too hard), you break the LCD panel. Drop it on its nose, something usually breaks in the lens extension. The plastic cams and gears of the zoom extensions don't last very long even without any impacts, btw. Combine this with very thin flexboards, cheap soldering, and pricepoint electronics, and you have a camera that would be lucky to make it past the warranty coverage.

Did I mention that compact digicams don't like the least amount of jobsite dust, dirt, moisture or other contaminants, none of which is covered by the warranty? Most manufacturers restrict parts to their own 'authorized' repair centers, charging so much for out-of-warranty repair that most people regard these as disposable once broken.

About the best you can do with a compact digital camera is to get a relatively simple one from one of the better makers who actually service what they sell. Avoid an optical zoom if you don't need one - it's a major cause of early malfunction. Keep it in a plastic bag or case when not in use, keep it dry and away from dust and dirt, and on a lanyard or case so you don't drop it. Plan on having to replace them every 2-3 years or so.

cutnroller

has anyone used one of the newer phones with built in camera to take jobsite pics? im looking at new phones right now and was just wondering.... if so were they high enough quality to show customers or post on a web site?

ProWallGuy

From the pics I've seen, not even close.
IMHO, they are a novelty only.
I wish I could get a phone, rip out the stupid BS parts like camera, games, etc., and put better PHONE circuitry in there. I want a phone that is reliable and clear, not a damn camera!

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cutnroller

umm ok ill take that as a no prowall.

i_plant_art

not to get off the topic of the cameras but you guys with the ladders on the roofs ..... umm duh are you idiots ( maybe its just me but i wouldnt think its too safe ) and on top of that with the snow and ice on there.... man oh man .... like i said maybe its me .... but is this common practice for contractors to do this?