TOPIC: Cameras

Does anyone have any good recommendations on cameras they are happy with? Im looking for a new one and figured with black friday coming up I would snag up one on sale. If you have a good one and would recommend it, would I appreciate it. Thanks. And Happy Holidays!

Types of cameras and manufacturers opinions are going to be as varied as the inspectors in this industry...

With that being said, I personally look for a camera with super zoom capability, long reach flash, and uses common AA rechargeable batteries.  I have enough proprietary chargers and equipment cluttering my desk, so any chance I can find equipment that uses standard batteries then I am interested in making a purchase.

I am currently using an Olympus model SP-620UZ with 21x optical zoom and see Mars surface digital zoom capabilities
It captures fantastic photos and has amazing battery life using 4 AA sized batteries.  I typically capture between 300-500 or more (yeah I'm that guy) photos per inspection and batteries will last at least 2 days of inspections between charges even when I must use flash.
My back up camera is a Sony DSC-H2 which they don't make anymore. It is a very nice camera but is a battery hog using 2 AA's which I would have to change at least once during an inspection.  Most of the Sony DSC-Hxx cameras now use proprietary batteries, but I still love Sony technology and quality. You can still find a few used or barely used of the H2's and H5's on Amazon and Ebay.

You can typically find decent quality super zoom cameras new between the $200-400 (sometimes less) range. Black Friday deals will be abounding with some great deals. The Olympus SP620UZ is in the lower $200 range or even less if I remember right.

Check out the new Samsung Galaxy Camera. It runs on Android so you can install HIP mobile onto it!

Olympus Stylus Tough.  Waterproof, dustproof.  It's gone down the roof and onto the ground, into a full gutter, into the ocean and through hundreds of crawlspaces.  Only inspection camera I will ever use again.

I'm an old school guy that likes to review inspection notes and photo's before producing the inspection report, and also have found that I am hard on cameras ( dropped from attic access etc). So for myself a cheaper camera is the way to go. I am presently using and am very happy with a Panasonic DMC-SZ1.Being located in Florida this camera has the ability too zoom in to roof to wall connections with little distortion and when I drop it out of an attic can be replaced for about $150