Help finding a rugged outdoor camera.

[mike_jones3]

I am equiping an archaeological project and need advice on sturdy,

auto-focus, auto-exposure film cameras.

 

I need to buy 10 of them, so low cost is a must, around $300- $350

body and 28-80 lens.

 

The perfect archaeo camera is the Pentax K1000. Always took the

abuse and kept on shooting.

 

Any advice on a rugged autofocus equivalent to the K1000 workhorse?

[phule]

Why not just 10 Olympus Stylus Epics?

 

No zoom, but water resistant, autofocus, and a sharp, fast (f/2.8) lens. Rave reviews here and elsewhere. Only $90 each on B&H.

[mike_jones3]

Thanks for the suggestion, Rob. Shooting site overviews, details of test units, and features really requires a zoom. The epic looks like a winner for beating back the dust and bumps.

[pontus_gustavsson]

Buy ten used Nikon 8008n. It's an extremely rugged camera, with a metal housing underneath thick, tough plastic. More rugged than the F4 in my experience (broke the finder the first week despite babying the camera, while the two 8008n have been to hell and back without failing once) although the latter is probably better sealed. Autofocus is a little slow, but sufficient for archeological photography. Finding rugged zoom lenses is harder, at least within your price range. The manual old Nikon E 75-150mm is both cheap, rugged and exceptionally sharp, but doesn't have much zoom range.

 

/Pontus

[jim_gifford]

<<sturdy, auto-focus, auto-exposure film cameras>>

 

The N8008 is a fine suggestion. Also look into its little brother the N6006. The N6006 is built more stoutly than modern-day equivalents like the N60, N75 and N80 models. Good metering options and as a bonus, good control of onboard (or accessory) flash. The variable aperture AF-D 28-80 autofocus lens of mid-1990s vintage is pretty good although it certainly feels plasticky on the outside. The current 28-80G lens is truly inexpensive and would work in (P)rogram and (S)hutter priority mode on a N6006. The N6006 is not quiet, so if you're worried about waking long-dead mummies, get something else.

 

Not sure how easy it will be to find a set of 10 good solid N6006 or N8008 bodies.

 

It would be child's play to get ten N75 or N80 kits with the 28-80G zoom. They'd all be under warranty. They'd all probably survive the task. If you give your team members an N80 and a rock hammer, they WILL know which one goes "click" and which one goes "clack," right?

 

Zooms suck dust; they inhale and exhale as you move the elements in adjusting focal lengths. Fixed focal length lenses are better sealed, but they breathe too. Whatever... if you need zooms, fine.

 

Have fun,

[enlightened-images]

I'll 3rd the suggestion for the 8008s. <br>

<br>

I used one for 8 years of solid hard shooting, and never needed a repair until I accedentally stuck my finger into the shutter. (Doh!) It's still my only back-up camera.<br>

<br>

 

Gary Crabbe<br>

<a href="http://www.enlightphoto.com">Enlightened Images</a>

[stemked]

Hello Mike.

 

It depends a little on if you want to go new or used. Based on what I've seen with my students in Nature Photography in the new camera catagory I would be looking at Pentax cameras, likely a ZX-L or ZX-5n. They are MUCH more sturdy/better built than say a similarly priced Canon Rebel, into Nikon or intro Minolta autofocus cameras, but even the Pentax's aren't tanks. They are also fine cameras, the ZX-5n being the step above and a bit more retro, the ZX-L (or ZX-7) having access to 'idiot' menues. However, if you are looking at used cameras and you need to go into that kind of quanity I would likely be looking into Nikon gear myself.

[pontus_gustavsson]

I see I wrote 8008n when I meant Nikon N8008s... They're called 801s where I come from, but I didn't want to confuse you... Guess I did!

 

They can be found at bargain prices ($100-$150) these days, but are still very capable. If you put ads everywhere, offering $150 for N8008s bodies in good shape, I don't think you'll have a hard time finding ten of them. To make it easier for you, you can contact a large dealer in used photo equipment and say you offer $1500 for ten bodies. I wouldn't say no to that if I were the dealer. If they don't have ten, ask the second largest too!

 

Finding suitable lenses is the problem. Cheap zoom lenses breathe in dust as stated above, and feel flimsy/plasticky. G-type AF-lenses won't work on the N8008s bodies. I'd go for cheap AF-D zooms and bring 15 of them with the 10 bodies.

 

/Pontus

[tim_watters1]

Are you sure you need a zoom? It seems to me you need close focusing more than zooming. Most inexpensive zooms simply do not focus close enough to be useful for the kind of up close detail you imply.

 

A good 35 or 50mm close focusing fixed focal length lens might be really what you're looking for.

 

I would not dismiss the Olympus Epic mentioned above. Very good lens, close focusing, weather resistant, and simple to operate. Spend the extra money on film or some tripods and I think the results you get will be better than those made with a cheap zoom.

 

Also, unless the 10 or so people using the cameras know what they're doing you might want to keep things as simple as possible. Tripods will usually result in the biggest jump in image quality than any other factor.