Ditch on Sep 24, 2011September 24th, 2011, 7:39 am EDT
I have been looking for a lower end camera for shooting night fishing (low end due to the chance of a miss step and splash) digital and one that takes good pictures.
Troutnut on Sep 24, 2011September 24th, 2011, 4:08 pm EDT
If you want to take pictures with a flash, pretty much any good digital will do. I would highly recommend one of the dozen or so completely waterproof models out there, so you don't have to worry about a splash at all, and you can even take underwater pictures (but those won't be very good at night). Canon and the Panasonic Lumix models are among the best in this category.
If you want to do night photography without a flash, that's a much, much harder and more expensive game, and no low-end camera is going to work very well. The best setup would be a full-frame DSLR with very good high ISO performance, like Canon's 5D Mk II for $2,000, and a very fast lens like their 50mm f/1.2. Even that probably won't shoot fishing action on a pitch black night, but at dusk or in good moonlight you could probably have some fun.
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist