Camera Saga

 I dropped my camera in the sea while in Florida. 2 and a half days in rice dried it but it was too corroded and didn't work. 

Last time I had to replace my camera it took a while to find something that works for me. I need it to be small (fit in a pocket), relatively light, simple to use (I tend to have it on automatic most of the time but also use sport mode, sunset, macro and panorama pretty regularly), have a good optical zoom and I need the photos to be good enough quality for the blog.

Initially I checked out Staples (where I got my last one), Walmart (the Staples guy suggested it) and Henry's (in Hamilton). Well, they don't make little "point and shoot" cameras any more. The phone cameras have replaced them. Unfortunately at the time I bought my phone I was not in need of a good camera so didn't pay the extra for it. So far my phone has taken photos that are fine for reference and WhatsApp but don't look good when uploaded on to the blog. Nicola has suggested that I need to learn more about it and it may be ok for my needs.

So I bought a very cheap camera from Walmart ($69) just to see what the quality was like. I am returning it tomorrow. It met some of the criteria - light, small - but none of the rest and had an annoying loud trill when it turned on and every time it took a picture. Picture quality was terrible and it had very few options. I really hadn't expected much and that is what I got.

I turned to Amazon and ordered a brand I had never heard of for $340. Rick then sent me info on a Kodak and a Canon, for considerably more money. I decided to see how the one I had ordered was before trying out one of them.

It arrived today. Its an Ordro. Came with 2 batteries, an SD card, sturdy shoulder strap and instruction book. I charged it up and have been trying it out.

It has a 12X Optical zoom

Handled shooting into the sun.

Ok with an inside shot

and another.

Lovely on the Macro setting.

Not really a lot of colour this evening but it picked up some on the Sunset setting.

Very little light but managed to get the geese landing on the lake on Auto setting.

I will continue to play with it and try and get better at using it. It does not meet all the criteria. It wont fit in my pants pocket as the battery area bumps out from the body of the camera, as does the lens. It is a bit slow to respond to the shutter. It has a flip out screen that will take some getting used to and no viewfinder (though I never put my eye up to the one I had on my last camera). I have a couple of weeks to get used to it before my next trip.