Still the best point and shoot ever made, for my purposes....

Geeez, how I loved my A6XX series cameras..... and still do !

I primarily use my A650 IS, for all of my trophy fish photos, and I take 95% of them, of myself and the fish, by myself, with a tripod, using the "C" custom preset mode, almost exclusively.

I also own an A630, and an A640, but these are mostly for backup, heaven forbid my trusty A650 should ever fail on me.

One other thing I always liked so much about the A6XX series was that they use AA bats. Of course I use rechargeables. But I also carry a set of old school alkalines, with a 12-15 year shelf life, so no matter what, I will NEVER be stuck without power.
The flip screens are a must too, for any self taken shots.

Anyway, I've played with my A6XX series so much, for so long, I think I have squeezed just about every ounce of performance out of them, humanly possible for fish shots.

Here's my most recent example.....
I caught this monster 3.05 lb, 14" Red Ear Sunfish last week.....

Peace,
Fish

PS, Every year or two, I have to ask if Canon has come out with a "real" replacement for my A650 IS yet ? Does anyone know of such a camera ? Remember, it must use AA's, have a flip screen, and have the "C" custom preset mode....

Much thanks guys

The S3 huh ? I assume they don't make these anymore either, huh ? But maybe another "used" option... Will go look at those now

Hey Gareb, I also caught a 3.1 and a 3.2 lb'er last year...... and their is solid evidence of an angler catching a 4.5 lb'er there 3 weeks ago !!! Pretty crazy, huh ?

Peace,
Fish

Edit; Okay... so the S3 was a bridge camera. And yes, it did, in fact, have a custom preset mode, AA bats, and an articulated screen......

But only 6mp's. I don't do many enlargements, but if I'm even going to bother, I do at least 16 x 20's, and sometimes 20 x 30's.....
But for about the same price "used" I think I'd have to grab another A650 IS....
Thanks again though. Good memory

Sure, I love my old, discontinued Canon A6XX series cameras....

But if Canon is going to go and discontinue these cameras, with nothing to replace them, I'd switch to another brand in half a second.....

Are their any other brands which make a camera that;

1) uses AA bats
2) has an articulating screen

3) has a custom mode which allows you to totally dial in all of your settings ahead of time, and save them ? {Canon calls this the "C" or custom mode. Other brands might call this feature somethiung different}

Thanks again,
Fish
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Hey Gareb, interestingly, the place with the giant Red Ears, does not have Florida strain bass, so the top end is not very big. Now, head about 10 miles East of this lake, to another much bigger lake with Florida strain bass, and it has produced a whole bunch of 17+ lb Largemouths

Also, strangley enough, while this place does have Crappie, they rarely get over 1 lb ???

And about the micro light gear.... Yes, the big Red Ears fight great on it. However, I have used the same micro-light gear to catch several Sturgeon in the 100 to 175 lb range ! Now those are some epic battles !

Peace,
Fish
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I hear you Bluto, but here's the thing > the bats in my fish photo camera might only take 20 or 30 shots on a GREAT day of fishing. So how long the bats last on a single trip is not important.

It's all about how long they last sitting in the camera, or camera bag, without being recharged. Sure, I can carry a spare proprietary bat... or 6 of them {if I wanted to spend that much $} but if the bats that are in the camera, have went dead from sitting, chances are good all the back ups will be dead too.

I KNOW my old school alkaline AA backups will not be dead, even if the NiMH bats in my camera are.

Peace,
Fish
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Hey jmcarp, thank you ! That SX 20 is bigger, and more expensive (twice what I paid for my A650IS......

However, it does in fact meet the criteria I listed. Cool.

Thanks again,
Fish
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I haven't used AAs since my Canon A40, a long time ago, and I sure don't miss them. How long are your trips away from an electrical outlet? Six months? I doubt it Sometimes the "new" battery I put into the camera will have been charged a month ago and it does just fine. I really think you're making something important that isn't, and in the process limiting your choice of cameras way too much.

Fish Chris wrote:

It's all about how long they last sitting in the camera, or camera bag, without being recharged. Sure, I can carry a spare proprietary bat... or 6 of them {if I wanted to spend that much $} but if the bats that are in the camera, have went dead from sitting, chances are good all the back ups will be dead too.

Seri, I think you are missing the point.... My fishing trips are not "photography trips".

My fishing trips, at least the ones where I catch a fish big enough to be worthy of photos {especially nowadays... I've kind of raised the bar pretty high, with most of the species I chase} might in fact, be several months in between.... and charging my camera batteries is not something I always think about.

Aside from all of that, AA bats are cheap, and readily available almost anywhere.

Now, for straight up "photography trips" with my DSLR, proprietary bats (with a couple back ups, all fully charged before I leave the house, are fine.

Fish

Thanks again guys

Paul [quote]That being said - that is one huge fish[ quote]

"Huge" being relative to the species of course A 3 lb Sturgeon would be teeny tiny

Peace,
Fish
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Certainly, it's your choice. But it you decided to think about charging your batteries before a trip, then you could consider way more cameras.

Fish Chris wrote:

most of the species I chase} might in fact, be several months in between.... and charging my camera batteries is not something I always think about.

On my fishing trips, I'm more likely to make sure I've charged my trolling motor batteries LOL

Again, photography trips, with my DSLR, always remember.....

Peace,
Fish
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Thank you. Interesting thread.

Now, I would have no problem with my fish photo camera using a proprietary battery "IF" I could carry an adapter, for AA's, along with a few old school alkalines, for the best shelf life.

Peace,
Fish
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