Quick Survey

[john101477]

hey I am doing some research on cameras, accessibility, and automobiles. a little input would help a lot thanks.

1- When driving on back roads/ off road how long does it take you to have your camera ready to shoot?
2- how often have you missed a shot because your camera was not right at hand?
3- If you set your camera on your center console, how disruptive is this and how often do you have to move it around to sit properly?
4- Do you consider your current camera location (while driving) safe for you and your camera?
5- do you worry about vibration, bumps, dust, moisture?

Feed back would be appreciated. thank you

 

[BlackX]

While driving I keep my less expensive point and shoot in the center console. I rarely miss a shot and when I stop to take a pic it only costs me about 15 seconds of time. I do kind of worry about dust but that's why I don't keep the good camera there.

 

[photoman]

hey I am doing some research on cameras, accessibility, and automobiles. a little input would help a lot thanks.

1- When driving on back roads/ off road how long does it take you to have your camera ready to shoot?
2- how often have you missed a shot because your camera was not right at hand?
3- If you set your camera on your center console, how disruptive is this and how often do you have to move it around to sit properly?
4- Do you consider your current camera location (while driving) safe for you and your camera?
5- do you worry about vibration, bumps, dust, moisture?

Feed back would be appreciated. thank you

Like everything else- it depends.

1. If everything is packed up I can have it out in two minutes. That includes changing the lens and grabbing the tripod if neccessary. If I have already been shooting- it is a matter of seconds.

2. I have only missed a shot because 1. the animal moved as soon as I safely stopped the vehicle 2. there was nowhere to safely stop the vehicle 3. I did not have the camera with me to begin with

3. My camera with my wide angle lens can sit lens down in one of the cup holders. Pretty convienent. The XJ center console is quite small so if drinks are in the cup holders the camera is either on the front passenger seat or behind my seat.

4. Depends on the driving being done. I am more concerned about wrecking the vehicle than the camera - so if the camera is affecting or may affect my driving it gets moved in a hurry. Seat or even floor board.

5. Not really- even the low end Olympus dslr's are splash proof and the E-3 is weather sealed. Everything except moisture is part of shooting in the desert. As far as moisture- I have stood in water up to my waist to shoot and have shot both in the rain and snow. As long as I do not drop the camera into a large body of water I am not concerned.

If you are concerned about these issues and are looking at point and shoots- there are several waterproof cameras available - many of them are shock proof as well. Watertight housings are also available for almost any camera made today. They are bulky and a little expensive but you can take your camera diving with one.

 

[john101477]

I am more looking at the DSLR end of things, about 90% of the time I have my wife and daughter with me so the center console is generally where it sits. The only reason to have a camera quick at hand is animals for the most part and that usually requires a longer lens to fill the frame.
this is the situations i am more steering towards

 

[Bella PSD]

I keep a DSLR with a 200 2.8 in the center console. In the Ford I have the center console is giant big. This has work out driving off road for years. No dust at all as long as the lid is shut. Takes about 5 sec. to pull out. I have thought about adding some kind of padding to the center console but I have never had a problem. I tried keeping a 35-70 2.8 in a cup holder one time off road, it ended up falling towards the floor, but I caught it in time.

Louie