After searching far and wide for a pocket sized camera that takes really sharp images, I think i have found one. This photo is less than 5% of the entire image and I think it's pretty dang sharp.

What's the camera?

Trade secret.

Spill the beans Vedder.... I've been chomping at the bit for an upgrade.

We need to bring up a worthy digicam in July to capture the 2008 Team KeenEye mega-sealer.

It is a Panasonic LUMIX DMC lX2. About $350.00 Sebastes , who is a top notch professional photographer, recommemnded it to me. You can use it as a point and shoot, but can also do a lot of more technical stuff as well.

I will attach some others soon.

Can you drown it?

No!

Is this the one?

Drown it? How about moisture resistantance?

That's it.

It says nothing about moisture resistance. But none of the wettable ones I tried had as sharp an image as this.

I have tried and sent back three cameras in the past year. This seems to do as good a job as my full sized Nikon D 200

It's an amazing little camera... Here's the write up from Cool Tools:

http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/001340.php

Nice write-up, but I think that one's a little different....

OK I just re-read the write up... it's dated 2006!

Here's the latest DMC-T-series camera

Lumix DMC-TZ5A




click here for full spec's

I'm kind of going the other direction. I just bought a digital SLR and am in the process of learning the SLR approach.

As for point-and-shoots, I still advocate the housing and camera combo. More expensive, but more flexible and reliable IMO.

I'll jump in here since I recommended the camera to my buddy Vedder.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC LX2 is a very fine camera. It is small and compact enough to fit in a shirt pocket, although I would recommend a small padded case and when carried on a boat, a small dry bag is not a bad idea, (for any P&S camera that is not waterproof).

I got a raindrop on the lens once while fishing the Sky and it temporarily fogged the lens. I couldn't use it the rest of the day, but it dried out when I got home and I have taken a few thousand photos with it since.

It is so handy that I carry it with all the time. The one complaint about this camera is that does not have a rangefinder viewing for composition in bright sunlight can be a little difficult, but that applies to any of the P&S without rangefinders, which is practically all on the market.

The LX2 offers three image views, Panoramic or wide screen TV, 16.9, 35 MM mode 3.2, or computer screen mode 4.3.

Several of my peers, now including Dave have this camera and use it professionally in situations that they don't want to drag out the heavier dSLR.

I think the camera that FNP shows an image of is a different model and one available at Costco.

It seems like a nice camera as well and is priced a bit lower, but I haven't shot with one yet.

So far I'd rate the LX-2 as the best P&S digital I have used extensively. The files are not quite as sharp as my Nikon D200 dslr,due to it having a smaller sensor, but they are so close that I never took the D200 out of its case on a trip doing an assignment last June. The editor was very pleased with the photos and would probably be shocked it he knew I used a P&S.

Nice pics Dave!

I used to love doing Macro photography. To my surprise, I actually had a couple of pics published back in college.

Maybe when I get around to dumping the old 35mm and get a new digital SLR I'll get into it again. The modern costs of traditional film development was just too absurd to continue.

I think the Costco model is the DMC-TZ3A. I will check the next time I go there.

The lastest is the DMC-TZ5A.

The camera Dave bought is a DMC-LX2, which has been around for a year or two.

I bought mine in Jan. 2007.

Check Amazon.com.

Sebastes

OK.... I did the on-line side-by-side comparison of the lx2 vs the tz5.

The main differences were the CCD: 1/1.65" vs 1/2.33"

Also the optical zoom: 4x vs 10x

Minor difference in the bulk: smaller vs bigger

And the MSRP price: $450 vs $350

Care to enlighten us on the CCD numbers?

That camera is so sharp I can see the naked girl in the reflection of the fishes eye.

FNP,

I'm not a technical guy, let me run this by a couple of digital experts I know and I'll get an answer.