Fifty years ago when Maine’s woods were full of deer and scarce of roads, spending a week in November at a remote hunting camp was an annual tradition for many regional sportsmen. During the summer it was commonplace to tent out for a few days of fishing along a favorite lake or stream, often at a secluded spot only reachable via boat or hiking and backpacking gear. Oddly, with all the hunting, angling, and camping equipment, seldom was a camera amongst the dunnage.

Twenty-five years ago, about the time Maine’s moose season started up again, cameras were still scarce during many outdoor adventures. Some sports were packing the smaller 110 format cameras rather than the bulky 35mm versions but, while better than none, the picture quality was lacking. With the advent about 10 years ago of inexpensive, throwaway cameras, some of which can even be used underwater, photo documentation of special outdoor trips afloat and afield increased significantly.

Over the last five years, advancements in digital cameras and interfacing software computer photo programs have grown by leaps and bounds. Technology has improved, diversified, and simplified to a point where there is a suitable size, model, and price range of digital camera available to every outdoorsman. Beyond enjoying the actual event, the best way to preserve the memories of a special hunting, fishing, or camping trip is with pictures. Even those not on hand can enjoy the event later by viewing photos, and memories are preserved for a lifetime. This is especially important when friends and family who shared the outing are no longer with us.

Why digital?

With so many top-grade film cameras on the market, outdoorsmen might wonder why they should consider buying and using a digital camera. Anyone who has undergone the trials and tribulations of having a 35mm camera and high-speed film hand-checked at airport security or tried to buy special print or slide film at an out-of-the-way location will understand. Digital cameras require no special handling at airport X-ray machines, no film cost, and therefore no film developing cost either. Over the run of a year, this runs into a fair amount of savings for a moderate picture-taker. Also, quality, multi-feature 35mm cameras tend to be larger and bulkier for travel, especially with telephoto or zoom lenses, than equivalent digital models.

Digital images offer a versatility that far overshadows those available with commercially produced prints and slides, and you control all of the options. Out-of-focus, poorly framed or lighted, and just plain bad pictures can be deleted right from the camera at no expense or inconvenience. Since you can view each photo as soon as it’s taken, it’s easy to determine if a better pose or different angle is needed, and do it at once. For game animals, you just keep snapping pictures until the subject runs or flies off, then keep the best and erase the rest.

Some digital cameras come with a compatible printer dock that allows for a direct hookup and 4-by-6-inch prints to be made with no intermediate steps. Most digital owners prefer to transfer photos from their camera to their computer hard drive for full-screen viewing, sorting, and naming, and then storing the keepers onto a CD for posterity. Besides seeing the enlarged photo on the computer monitor as soon as you get home, or sooner if you have a laptop along, selected pictures can be quickly e-mailed to friends and family with no charge and no hassle.

Another prime feature of digital photos is that they can be edited and enhanced right on the computer using special programs especially for that purpose. Scenes can be cropped, colors augmented, contrast lightened or darkened, and dozens of other improvements implemented with the push of a button. Once perfect, the image can be saved in its new form and then printed on quality photo paper in any size desired that your printer can handle. No muss, no fuss, and very little waiting. My six-color photo-quality printer will produce an 8×10 photo in less than a minute.

Basic features

Camera characteristics of prime importance to sportsmen are size, weight, simplicity of use, and durability. Digital cameras that are too bulky, heavy, or complex will be left home or in the truck and never be at hand when needed. A unit that will comfortably fit in a shirt or vest pocket and can be attached to a belt or stowed in a fanny pack is more likely to be carried on all sorts of outings. Larger versions that must hang around the neck in a case or be lugged in a backpack might often be left behind on outings that require a lot of walking.

Hold, aim, and click photos with several models and styles to see which one best fits your hand. Too small is as bad as too big, as there is more likelihood of mishandling or dropping the tiny camera. Small models may also be difficult to hold steady when snapping photos and often have controls too small for large hands and big fingers to use easily. All knobs, buttons, and switches should be easy to use and adjust, and simple to understand since weather, wildlife, and outdoor situations often require quick, steady, and effortless camera operation.

Digital cameras with metal bodies are a bit heavier than plastic but will certainly stand up to more abuse. Metal is hotter to handle in summer and colder in winter, while plastic is less temperature sensitive. Camera bodies constructed of metal alloy tend to be more expensive than high-tech plastic versions. I favor the metal models, but outer appearance and material is mostly a matter of personal preference.

I do recommend a camera that provides both through-the-lens viewing and focusing as well as with a built-in or flip-out LCD screen. Each has specific useful benefits in certain light and weather conditions. I also favor a rechargeable NiMH battery over regular AAs, despite the fact I must carry a charging cord on long trips. Tests have proven that one nickel rechargeable lasts as long as 500 alkaline or 140 lithium AA batteries. That’s a lot of savings and convenience.

Selecting a digital

Pixels are the tiny units that combine to capture images, and the more megapixels a camera offers, the better the resolution of the final photo will be. Cameras with 2-to-3 megapixels will produce 4×6 photos with acceptable clarity, and these currently cost in the $200-$300 range. Digitals offering 4-to-5 megapixels will yield 5×7 and 8×10 prints equal to any film camera, and these units run $300-$500, depending on extras. High-end technology for the layman goes up to 8 megapixels and costs around $1,000, while a handful of professional digital cameras with a multitude of high-end features triples that price.

I’ve already mentioned the importance of size, comfortable grip, and ease of operation as selection concerns, so the next feature of importance to outdoorsmen is zoom magnification. Most small-to-medium-size cameras offer 3X or 4X telephoto, while the larger cameras can go as high as 10X zoom. Be sure you’re talking optical zoom, not digital, since the quality of the optical glass is essential to better photos and gives far better resolution than digital magnification. For example, my Sony 707 has a Carl Zeiss lens, the epitome of photo glass, and every picture is crisp, clear, and true-colored. You will have to sacrifice some size for more magnification.

Select digitals with a strong flash. Each camera will state flash distance in feet and some come with a hot shoe attachment for an external flash unit as well. Few digital cameras come with enough memory for picture storage. The more megapixels the better the quality of the photo and the more storage size necessary per picture. A 128-megabyte memory stick would be minimum, but keep your eyes open for sales and rebates, and a 256MB or 512MB storage card can often be found at a low price. Also of great importance to outdoorsmen who will lug their digital camera in rough surroundings and weather conditions will be a padded, water-resistant case.

Every digital camera I’ve ever owned has had a full auto setting, and seldom do I deviate to the manual overrides. I use the see-through viewer to take pictures, but want an LCD screen to view the results and check settings. Constant fill-in flash, red-eye reduction, and close-up modes have been often-used features as well, and image stabilization is a great benefit. A few models offer night photos without using a flash, and although I’ve never tried it, this might be useful for certain fishing and hunting situations.

Outdoor aficionados not carrying a camera along on their diverse ventures are missing some great personal and wildlife photo opportunities. Digital cameras are so simple to use and convenient to turn into photographs that every sportsman should consider owning one and having it on hand constantly. Every outing in the woods or on the water holds promises of something special, and a digital camera will capture and preserve those special memories forever.

Outdoor feature writer Bill Graves can be reached via e-mail at bgravesoutdoors@ainop.com