Alright - basically, if you are in salt water - get a waterproof camera. Ziplock baggies do not work.

And whatever you do - TETHER your camera.

I've got a waterproof kodak playsport video camera that takes HD video & takes 5 megapixel pics. It has no optical zoom but does a good job. If you want more info on it, tell me & I'll post a link to my review (it's on cpakayaker.com 's forums) and sample pics & video. You can get it for about $130 - or $110.

Otherwise - waterproof cameras - I use the pentax optio w60 - the new one is the w90 - some reviews & pics over at goingprepared.com, I have my review of the w60 over there and there's a comparison of the different waterproof cameras. I would avoid the olympus because it uses proproietary cards. The panassonic & canon get the best reviews - the canon is a funky shape. The fuji is probably the cheapest and it's not bad, I can link to some pics my friend took with it if you're interested.

I keep my waterproof camera tethered to the shoulder strap of my PFD, I tuck the camera in my pfd when not in use. I keep a carabiner on the shoulder strap of the pfd, so I can just hook the camera on, my nose plugs and things like that.

I use a fat gecko mount (tripod mount that's a huge suction cup) on my kodak playsport - but again, the mount is tethered and so is the camera.


When I want to take my good camera with me - that's my dslr, I have a pelican case on it. I drilled two holes through the back flanges of the pelican case, I have cord that goes through it, and I have cord that goes around and through the handle - the pelican case is tied down to my front or back decklines... So if I roll the boat, the camera is attached. The problem with just putting things inside your cockpit with you is that if the boat flips, you may very well lose it. and I will take the camera out when it's calm on the water or when I get to whereever I am going, because it doesn't take much salt water to fry electronics.


As for deck bags - I've been through a couple of them and I would not trust a camera to them... Whereever the waterproof zip ends,there is usually a little gap that lets in water - if that's salt water, your camera is toast.


As for waterproof electronics - virtually all waterproof electronics eventually end up not being waterproof. My waterproof gps is kept in a drybag - we have two of them, and both of them let in some water one of the first times it went out on the kayak. To their credit, they kept working after getting wet... But now they have their own little drybags. As does almost everything else. My waterproof camera has let in water once (luckily it was fresh water) - little grains of sand get stuck in the doors to the batteries and stuff and can interfere with the seal - so clean those often, and I use vacuum grease on all the gaskets on all my electronics periodically to help maintain the waterproofness.

Again - tether. My cell phone has its own drybag (I really like the drypak cases), which is tethered to deck lines, as does the gps, as does the VHF radio. If my boat rolls, everything stays attached. Nylon cords stretch when wet, polypropylene rope doesn't stretch and is cheaper. Best knot to know is the prussik, because it's a tension knot that you can tighten- also the best knot for cartopping kayaks.