Oh look, another camera thread.

[palmettoinspect]

So, I picked up the Ricoh WG-4. Have tried the "auto" setting and not liking it too much. Anyone have this camera willing to share what settings you might have found works best in our gig?

Try the "P" program setting. You can set it to what you want, but the factory "P" setting works great for me. I never use the "auto" setting anymore.

My biggest grip with the "auto" setting was how long it took to take a damn picture in the dark. It has to cycle through which one is best and that's what takes time. I leave the flash on auto 95% of the time. If you leave the flash on constantly it will really eat at your batteries.

I can cycle back and forth between the "P" and "micro" mode by muscle memory now. I don't even have to look at the buttons anymore lol!

[John Dirks Jr]

I too love the DCM-TZ Lumix Panasonics. The most recent one I wasnt too crazy about since they went to the push button on off. I really like the older mechanical switches better. They are quick and you know what you have asked the camera to do. The newer push buttons have a delayed reaction where I make the command and then have to wait to see what happens. I hate that, but the cameras still take good pics.

I've killed a few TZ's with sandy crawlspaces but I love them so much I keep buying them. I just bought a used DCM TZ5 (old model with mechanical switches) on ebay for $90 and it works great. This one will never see a crawl. It's the best all around camera I've ever used and I'm going to preserve it.

Other new camera purchases include a DCM TS25 which is my primary work horse. It's not good on zoom but does very good macro, wide angle and general stuff.

I also just picked up the Nikon Coolpix L840. So far this will seem to do good for the occasional need of a decent zoom shot.

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[John Dirks Jr]

Here's a few shots of a 65yr old slate roof I took today with the L840. Big two story house in Baltimore City. The L840 worked well on its first outing. These were all taken from the ground.

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[Marc]

At what zoom are those?

I've taken a few at over 60X.

Marc

[John Dirks Jr]

At what zoom are those?

I've taken a few at over 60X.

Marc

I don't think I was all the way out. Maybe 30X.

Great camera bundle for only $219 at Costco.

[John Dirks Jr]

For those who have access to Costco, the Nikon L840 is on sale for $159 over the next few days.

http://www.costco.com/Nikon-Coolpix-L84 ... 71006.html