Taking pictures while white water rafting

[Grandpaw]

Hello, it has been awhile since I have visited here but I see some of the same folks are still here helping answer questions. I need some help with a question about how to carry a camera while rafting and be able to take pictures.

My son likes to go on white water rafting trips and canoe trips that involve rapids. He has a Nikon Coolpix 4300 that he has purchased a underwater plastic case for that works well. The problem is he needs some suggestions on how to carry the camera in the under water case and be able to have quick access for picture taking and still not loose the camera due to the raft bouncing around or turning over.

He will be wearing a life preserver and setting it in the boat and tying a cord to it won't work due to the raft slapping against the water or hitting rocks.

I know thousands of people every day take rafting trips each day and some take pictures, we just don't know how they carry their camera while going down the river.

Any ideas or links to a site that has a product or information on this would be a great help. Jeff

[another view]

Hi there - good to hear from you again. I can probably help with this one because I carry a camera when I go sea kayaking. I use a film camera (Pentax WR series) which doesn't require a waterproof housing. It says you can't use it underwater but it does work...

What I do is tie about a 4' piece of cord onto the camera strap - maybe he could use a shorter cord or tie it more towards the center of the boat so it doesn't bounce outside (and onto a rock). This gets tied to the deck lines on the kayak so if I drop it, it won't go far. When I'm not using it, it stays under the bungee cords on the deck. I'm not going thru rapids, but big waves can wash things off the deck just like rapids could, so that piece of cord is important.

Another idea which may or may not work depending on the size of the housing - I know someone who stuffs his camera (similar to mine) into the top of his PFD. This way he can grab it quickly and it stays out of the way. Someday he'll probably lose it, but that's what he does.

Also - the camera could probably be leashed to the PFD. I have a diver's knife, whistle and nose plugs leashed to mine. One thing to always consider is the risk of getting tangled in a piece of line though (one reason for the knife). My PFD also has a couple of pockets in it. One of them is big enough for a small camera but again with the size of the housing it may not work. Pockets on PFD's can only be a certain size due to USCG regulations. If he doesn't have his own PFD he might want to look into that option - it's usually sea kayaking PFD's that have the most pockets (I have a Lotus Designs Strait Jacket, sold thru Patagonia).

[Grandpaw]

Thanks for your response. The camera cannot lay in the boat, it needs to be something like you suggested with the pockets in the PFD. He needs to be able to get the camera and put it back using one hand. I was thinking if we could find something like a camera case like you would put on your belt with a flap on the top could work. The flap could be removed so that the camera could be placed back in like a pistol in a holster. I am not sure we can find one big enough for the water proof case and also snug enough to keep the camera from falling out.

We also thought of using a fanny pack but that would require two hands to put it up and zip it shut. This also has to be able to be done very fast because he would like to be able to get pictures of the rapids and get it put back up quickly to paddle over the rapids.

In any case it will still need the cord you suggested. Thanks again for taking the time to respond, you gave us some good ideas.

[Liz]

I'm sorry I can't answer your questions, but I had to pop in to say hello because I'm so glad to see you around again!

You sound good - hope all has been well with you. How's your photography?

Liz

[another view]

I have one of these bags and it might be along the lines of what you're looking for. There's a flap over the top that fastens with velcro and on the inside it can be cinched up with a cord. You could probably cut that part out and it'll do pretty much what you describe. On the back is a flap that's the height of the bag and the bottom attaches with velcro so you can put it on a belt without having to take it off. They come in several sizes - this is the one I've got but you might need one a little bigger. It's a good fit for my 35mm P&S waterproof, which is a little bigger than most 35mm P&S cameras.

[Grandpaw]

Hello Liz, I retired last year and had a 24x40 shop built for my woodworking tools. I have been concentrating on my woodworking since I retired. All is well and and I'm glad you remembered me from before. My photography has been put on the back burner for awhile.Hope everything has been going well for you and the rest of the fine folks here on the forum.

[Liz]

I retired last year and had a 24x40 shop built for my woodworking tools.

Good for you! I hope you enjoy many, many years of good health and fun in your woodworking. And if you want, you could post a picture of something you did with your woodworking.

And come around to say hi once in a while. Good to hear from you.

Liz