On past trips I always carried a small camera and a few zip-locks worked fine to keep it dry. I'm thinking of bringing my new larger DSLR on my next trip and wonder how others keep their large cameras dry....and how accessible the keep them.

I was thinking of a dry box of some sort. Not very accessible but I'd use my smaller point-and-shoot camera for those spontaneous rain soaked moments.

In terms of water proof, shock proof, everything proof nothing beats a Pelican case.  A bit bulky and heavy but as long as your camera is in the case you know it is completely protected.  I can keep the Pelican case right on the floor of the canoe by my feet for easy access and never have to worry about bilge water etc. damaging my camera.

Pelican is the Rolls Royce of Dry Boxes, but you have to consider what conditions your more than likely to find yourself in?
For extended periods of complete submersion, then Pelican is the way to go for sure.
However, if the can will float when you dump the canoe and keep the contents dry, then their might be much cheaper alternatives?

I found this item, for the price it can't be beat.
Even if the seal wasn't a good as you needed, you could make your own or re-work this one with RV silicone seal. Anyone that, can hand build a cedar strip canoe, could re-work a dry box seal. Just saying ;)

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I'd use my smaller point-and-shoot camera for those spontaneous rain soaked moments.

Given the quality of the images you can now get with waterproof point-and-shoots, I just can't see taking my DSLR on wilderness trips. My DSLR is old and I just bought a Nikon,   (You need to Login or Register. The point and shoot has 4 time the resolution of my "good" camera.  The big downside of the Nikon is it has no viewfinder, just the LCD.

Kerry wrote on Jan 19^th, 2015 at 1:41pm:

In terms of water proof, shock proof, everything proof nothing beats a Pelican case.  A bit bulky and heavy but as long as your camera is in the case you know it is completely protected.  I can keep the Pelican case right on the floor of the canoe by my feet for easy access and never have to worry about bilge water etc. damaging my camera.

Ditto for me. You can't beat the custom protection from the Pelican cut-to-fit foam either. Adds an element of shock protection too. I carry my camera, 2nd lens, batteries, memory, and remote all in one Pelican. Fits nice in my Frost River Nessmuk day pack too.

Ranger

azalea wrote on Jan 19^th, 2015 at 8:09pm:

Quote: I'd use my smaller point-and-shoot camera for those spontaneous rain soaked moments. Given the quality of the images you can now get with waterproof point-and-shoots, I just can't see taking my DSLR on wilderness trips. My DSLR is old and I just bought a Nikon,   (You need to Login or Register. The point and shoot has 4 time the resolution of my "good" camera.  The big downside of the Nikon is it has no viewfinder, just the LCD.

Dumped my boat at West lake on a solo.......ruined my Cannon SLR which was supposedly in a "dry bag" which I didn't seal properly and it put a big damper (no pun intended) on the whole trip.

Enter in Panasonic Lumix which I wear right on my hip, always available, waterproof and shockproof. Throw in an extra battery and I'm good to go. Zoom is a bit limited but that just means I need to get close......edit on the computer and its fine for the casual observer. 

Of course if photography is the emphasis it wouldn't replace proper equipment. But what I have found is if the camera is neatly tucked away then the pic is generally not taken.

mastertangler wrote on Jan 20^th, 2015 at 2:11pm:

Of course if photography is the emphasis it wouldn't replace proper equipment. But what I have found is if the camera is neatly tucked away then the pic is generally not taken.

good point. I like to spend leisure time in camp finding things to photograph, that's why I was thinking of bringing my big camera. Perhaps it's not worth the risk if I have a capable general purpose (less expensive) camera along.

When asked what camera do you get the best pictures with DD responded “The one I carry in my shirt pocket”.  That rang home with me so I wanted to have my next camera fit in my shirt pocket but it must be able to survive if I go for a swim.  I purchased a DMC-ZS40   (You need to Login or Register  . It get pictures of things my eyes cant see.  I use it as binoculars with stabilization. Look at the options that thing has (view finder, X30 optical zoom, stabilization, and much more).  I put it in a SeaToSummit 1L DrySack.  I roll the top down and clip it around the camera for extra padding.  It then fits in my shirt pocket. I have gone swimming 2 times and been caught in the rain many times and never got a drop of water on the camera while in the dry sack. I keep my big camera dry by putting it in the closet at home.

That's a real nice camera MP 8-)
My next camera will be a small point and shoot outdoor camera that doesn't require a dry box.

One thing to remember is that like smart phones, the technology is coming as fast as they can get the older models on the market.

Right now they have outdoor cameras with all those features yours has MP, but there limited to about 5X zoom max.

I expect that to change down the line. Imagine your camera with no need to waterproof.

One thing I want on a new camera is the GPS feature. I like the idea of the GPS coordinates being on the pics you post or store.
It's hard to remember  exactly where all the shots are taken. That way you could go to Google Earth, type in GPS and zoom right in. :thumbup

I keep my DSLR inside a ziplock in a soft Lowe case that attaches to the thwart in front of me. I have a silnylon dry bag that I can put the whole the case in on rainy days. Not overwhelming protection, but the camera is easy to access when the unexpected encounter occurs.

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This camera has the GPS and I keep it shut off.  There are 3 GPS modes off, airplane, and always on.  In the full on position the GPS is always running and running the battery down so it will have the correct coordinates for a quick picture. In airplane mode the GPS is just on when the camera is on ready to take pictures and if you grab the camera and turn it on and take a picture it will put the coordinates that the GPS got the last time the camera was on for long enough to get coordinates, maybe yesterday 100 miles away.   

Last year I decided I wanted a camera that would give me more control than a point and shoot but without the weight and bulk of a DSLR and lens.  The best compromise I could come up with was the Panasonic FZ-200.  I wasn’t disappointed.  This is an amazing camera.  It is built like a small, light DSLR but has a fixed lens.  The lens itself is a marvel – a Leica zoom with a constant 2.8 aperture between 24 and 600 mm (equivalent.)  It has an excellent EVF (electronic view finder,) which was a must for me.  It is a compromise.  I don’t care how good the camera is you’ll never get the same quality of photos on the kind of small sensors that make a camera like this (as well as point and shoots) possible.  But unless you’re a pro and plan to print very large this camera does it for me.  It isn’t water proof but I can shoot RAW as well as RAW + JPEG.
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On this year’s trip I plan to get into night sky photography so in addition to my camera I’ll be carrying a tripod and a wireless remote shutter release.  Should be fun.  The tripod that I’ve chosen, by the way, is also a marvel: Sirui T-025x, which weighs in at 1.8 lb and folds down to 11”!
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I picked up my Pelican 1200 case, by the way, for under $40 at Amazon.com.
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I have the Panasonic/Lumix FZ-35 which I believe is a predecessor of the FZ-200. They are very similar. I've used it for the past 3 years on my trips, its a great camera. This year I had a little windfall and decided I wanted a "true" DSLR so I bought a Canon T5i. So far I think the FZ-35 is still my fav, but I haven't become familiar enough with the new Canon to make a valid judgement, but it is bigger and heavier and more expensive. I had always used a little waterproof roll top fanny pack and an extra ziplock as a camera bag, but my Canon won't fit.

I also keep a small point-and-shoot (I have a few different ones I've collected) in my PFD pocket. Only one has a view finder, which I like for bright sunny days, but it now has a small blur on the image.

I'm also looking at the Pelican 1200. Looks pretty good for under $40.

Good luck with the night sky photography. Last year was the first year I was up late enough on a clear night to see the stars. They were incredible.

Jimmar, if you're looking at buying a Pelican case make sure you get the right size.  The 1200 will just fit my FZ-200 so anything bigger is going need a bigger case.  I called Pelican with the dimensions of my camera - I originally wanted to try squeezing into an 1150, one size down - and they really helped me out.

I agree with the posters who use a waterproof point and shoot. I have an Olympus TG1 and have used it for 2 years on several canoe trips.  It has gotten wet a lot but no problems. It is supposed be sealed to 30 ft, but I have not submerged it for pictures yet.  What is nice about the TG series is that you can separately buy a teloscopic lens and a fish eye lens. I have the former and it is OK but a hassle to put on.  The zoom on these cameras go to about 5 or 6 x.  Sarge

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the technology is coming as fast as they can get the older models on the market.

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Right now they have outdoor cameras with all those features yours has MP, but there limited to about 5X zoom max.

This christmas I learned two things. First I took a number of my better pictures and decided to make 8x10 prints of them.  I also decided to put them on a thumb drive so I could display them on me TV.  In both cases, I needed to crop them (but differently for the two mediums).  The lesson I learned which is another difference from film, do not OVER-zoom.  Take pictures bigger than what you might otherwise and crop later.   And for my eye, the technology has advanced to the point where you have plenty of pixels to spare except for anyone planning on creating HUGE prints (even an ultra HD TV only uses 3840 × 2160 pixels).

The second thing I learned was the height/width pixels on my wife's new point and shoot are twice what my old "good" camera has.  So while I may have 10x zoom and she only has 5x, she can take a picture a 5x zoom and crop it to what I took at 10x zoom and her pic which have the same detail as mine.

I'm now considering one of these for either my Lumix bridge camera or my Canon DSLR:

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I tried something like that a few years back for my little point and shoot.  A real pain in the ass.  If it gets wet you have water stains that affect the photo plus I found that the integrity of the lens was compromised.  What's the point of getting a camera with a good quality lens and then putting a piece of cheap plastic in front of it?  My $.02.

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piece of cheap plastic in front of it?

At $55 I wouldn't call it cheap plastic :-?
I had a similar dry-type bag years back. It was no-where that price, but similar in design.
Had the same problems you referenced and I ended just putting in away in the bin of looked good/performed poorly outdoor gear.

I took my point and shoot Samsung this spring/fall and it's not waterproof, so I just kept in a small zip-lock in my shirt pocket.
It never got wet thru heavy rain, but it obviously wouldn't survive a complete submersion.

One think I bought and really liked and will use from now on regardless of camera type is a CHUMS brand neck lanyard made of Paracord.

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It's long enough the camera can be held in different positions but short enough that it doesn't hang down and tangle in things. I kept my camera in my shirt pocket 24/7 which made it easy to get unexpected pics.

azalea wrote on Jan 26^th, 2015 at 5:50pm:

The second thing I learned was the height/width pixels on my wife's new point and shoot are twice what my old "good" camera has.  So while I may have 10x zoom and she only has 5x, she can take a picture a 5x zoom and crop it to what I took at 10x zoom and her pic which have the same detail as mine.

Important to remember the size of the chip that those megapixels are measured on is important. Thus a full frame 20mp captures much more detail and dynamic range than a 20mp point and shoot. Think of it like film size, the chip on a point and shoot is tiny compared to that in a DSLR.
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solotripper wrote on Jan 26^th, 2015 at 9:37pm:

Quote: piece of cheap plastic in front of it? I took my point and shoot Samsung this spring/fall and it's not waterproof, so I just kept in a small zip-lock in my shirt pocket. It never got wet thru heavy rain, but it obviously wouldn't survive a complete submersion. .

Rather than a ziplock try a Dry Bag a 1 or 1&1/2 liter
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I have taken my camera for a plunge 2 times and not gotten a drop on it.  Role the top down a revolution or 2 and fold the top down so it is about the middle of the camera and snap the rolled top around the camera.

I have a Dry-Bag that is a little smaller than my day pack. If I'm in rough water or a heavy all day rain, I'll put the camera in the bag.

99% of the time I keep it in shirt pocket or Napoleon pocket of my Windshirt. I like the zip-lock becasue it protects from sweat/ condensation but my camera is readily accessible.

I've only dumped 1 time and that was in a true solo. That Souris Q-16 tandem is stable especially with a load. I'll trade that stability for speed in a solo anytime, at least for the way I travel and the size of my packs and gear load.

I need to get a digital waterproof camera. I have a Nikon 35 mm that is/was great, but it's heavy and only has a 90 mm zoom. It's now my car camping camera.

With all the new waterproof digitals and the expanding features, I need one and sooner rather than later. Like cars, lot's of choices, hard to decide. :-/ ;D