Pocket camera for work?

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Brennotdan

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I am searching for a camera to keep in my pocket all day while I am working.

Okay, I'm probably not suppose to take pictures at work, but I have a summer job mowing lawns where I am constantly surrounded by photographic opportunities. I would like to have a camera on me for 2 or 3 shots per day of buildings and people walking by. I have recently been considering a digital p+s (it would be my first step into digital), since they can be so small, but don't know where to begin for this search.

I am open to anything that will fit in my pants pocket, and hopefully cost less than $100. With digital, I could go a little higher since film+processing would be elimintated.

I hope to keep this a cheap side thing and shots will probably just stay on the web. I just sent my Rapid 100 to greg weber to get an overhaul and I am going to be shooting MF and scanning for proofs with a canon 8800f for more "serious" photos. I figured the 8800f could scan the 35mm for the web as well.
 
Are you set on a scale focus camera (just noting the forum in which you posted)? If not, I would recommend an Olympus XA. It's a great little camera that will easily fit in your pocket and that you should have no trouble finding for under $100 (I recently bought one for $45).
 
Rafeal, definitely not limiting myself to scale focus, it just seems that most small 35s are scale focus

I got an XA2 from =bay last week. I paid $15 plus $15 shipping from australia. I shot a test roll of superia 200 in different lighting conditions and the exposures were terrible, just all over the place over and under exposed. As a side note, I shot a roll of the same film with my Konica S2 unmetered that all came out perfect!
 
Hibbs said:
Have a look at Shadowfox's blog entry here:

http://zuikography.blogspot.com/2007/08/going-smaller.html

From RFF article here:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46015

If you can find one...they're handy little rigs.

Gotta love Oly eh?

~Hibbs
Click to expand...

Now that's something I don't see everyday, someone actually reads my photo-journal :)

Btw, the link is obsolete (and slow), which is why I move my blog to my own server here:
http://nextcoder.net/advalev/zuikography/2007/08/24/going-smaller/

On to the question, like Hibbs said, Oly has just about the coolest line-up of pocketable vintage cameras. If you'd like to stick to film, look for them.

Actually, I am in preparation to let go of my Olympus collection, so stay tuned (ack! it's painful just to type this sentence in :( ).
 
I usually use an olympus epic stylus with a 35mm 2.8 fixed lens.

If I need depth of field I use a Rollei 35S.

Digital cameras in that price range have very annoying shutter lags.
 
Under $100 while mowing lawns maybe will get broken by end of summer? Olympus series yes. XA will go about $100 maybe a little higher. XA2 scale focusing much less. There are several later models with f2.8 & f3.5 lenses and then there are the some with zooms. All very small and good for up to 5x7 prints no problem maybe even 8x10 but then I think you are scanning for net. Another camera is the Nikon L35 AF. Ken Rockwell has a great article on this camera very sharp very sturdy will run less than $25 What! I got mine for $10 & it comes with a flash. It is a point & shoot autofocus came out in 1984 for $160. On some of these older cameras seals may need replacement runs about $7 plus shipping for seal. Easy to do. The Rollei is a scale camera but it runs around $200.
 
Sweat, pocket lint, dirt. Possible crunch while lifting something heavy.

Hmm, I like the XA2 or Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim advice. I'd start with two, one of each or two of one. The Viv is smaller but really wide angle.

Digital? Not many suggestions yet, so here goes. I used to have a Pentax Optio S4 that fit in an Altoids tin. Lens was not very good, but it did work. Good video mode. http://cgi.ebay.com/Pentax-Optio-S4...ryZ50531QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

My suggestions are based on the concept that the camera will be destroyed in the line of duty. I'd get a thin nylon or cloth pouch to fit the camera in this scenario, to give it a little extra edge for survival in the pocket.
 
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FWIW, I purchased my Oly XA new over 25 years ago. I've carried it around in a jeans pocket when out and about, including on day hikes and even backpacking trips, school trips, trips to sporting events, in short any time I wanted to have a camera w/ me but didn't want to carry something larger. It's bumped around in briefcases and knapsacks as well. The thing is still going strong. If you prefer a point and shoot, I'd recommend the XA2; or if you want something wider look for an XA4 (28mm lens).
 
shutterfiend said:
I usually use an olympus epic stylus with a 35mm 2.8 fixed lens.
Click to expand...

I am a huge fan of this same Stylus Epic with the 35mm f/2.8 lens. I've gone on entire trips with just the Epic and been very pleased with the results. The lens is very, very good, the camera is truly pocketable, and everything is weather-sealed. They can be had for very cheap too (which would probably explain why I've collected three of them).

Here are some sample shots from the Epic:

9315232_a1d3f4e2ae.jpg


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1743998_baaa451d77.jpg


1645778_b557fa16b0.jpg
 
Get a Canon SD1000. It should be around $150 online. You can also try older SD models like the SD750 or maybe get a slightly used older model on craigslist or ebay if you want to go cheaper.

A Canon SDxxx will be far smaller than any film camera (about 20mm thick, 58mm tall, 90mm long) so you can easily have it with you at all times. There is still a bit of a shutter lag, but the newer ones are pretty responsive. Most of the SD models have metal bodies, so they're pretty tough.

Keep in mind that you'll probably have to spend $15 to $20 on a memory card as well.
 
The camera might not break but it will take some hits in my pocket, so a rangefinder would probably go out, although I get the feeling that I exaggerate the fragility of rangfinder alignment.

I can't handle any amount of shutter lag...so digital is out! Wheww that was close again...

sockeyed, that last photo is beautiful
This is now very tempting http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/131332-REG/Olympus_102320_Stylus_Epic_Camera_Black_.html
How does this camera compare with an XA2?

Claremont photo, The vivitar ultra wide and slim has pretty mediocre optics right? I like your work on your website, been meaning to tell you that
 
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Brennotdan said:
Claremont photo, The vivitar ultra wide and slim has pretty mediocre optics right? I like your work on your website, been meaning to tell you that
Click to expand...

I don't have a Vivitar (yet) but a guy named Trotsky does, and i like his work with it. They are only £5 on eBay.

Thank you for your kind comments about my own work.

In many ways the sucessor to the XA was the Olympus mju V, the bright chrome clamshell one and the last compact film camera they made. It was expensive new a few years back, but ffordes has now got a stock of 'As New' ones for £79 in their eBay shop.
 
The Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim is a finicky beast ... but you know exactly what your getting

Fixed focus, fixed aperture, fixed shutter speed; ISO 400 film is a must for any flexibility or even ISO800 if you get a lot of cloudy weather... ISO 100 only for the brightest days but its an option you just limit when you shoot

Also at 22mm your getting a very wide lens and need to be close to the action; but it does produce some very unique results, surreal and some of the most colorful/bizarre flare on any lens I have ever seen.

but its cheap I got mine for 10 bucks and is good when you want no control over your shot other than composition; its good practice with cheap film

I think the most ideal, most versatile, and ideal for your situation (dirt, weather, sweat) would be the Stylus Epic; a good lens, relatively fast, and from the examples sharp with good flare control

I have seen the best results with that camera using Slide film

I say the same thing about my Yashica T4 but its a bit more money these days, not as pocketable as the Olympus and unless you find the T4super not weather sealed
 
If you can live without a meter, consider a Retina IIa. Lovely 50/2 lens, full manual control, tough rangefinder (I've never had one go out of alignment, and I wouldn't worry about that happening with a decent camera), folds away to virtually nothing...

My pocket camera for well over half a decade, when I was your age (I assume you're a student, given what you say about a summer job), was a Leica IIIa with collapsible Elmar. It finally wore out (insoluble shutter problem) ten or twenty years after that -- but it got a LOT of use, it was dropped, bumped. knocked... Not under $100, though.

Cheers,

Roger
 
The mju II/stylus epic is a great camera. I keep trying other compacts and coming back to mine. The one single complaint I have is that the motor-wind is louder than I'd like.

My Retina takes wonderful pictures and has a great lens but it's a lot bigger and heavier [Retina IIc].
 
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