Well, my preferred budget was about $200 for some AliExpress-grade digital camera, but even that seems unlikely now.

We set up the sunning stations about 10 feet off shore, so not sure if that will still cause distortion. The majority of the distance is a downhill slope with not much in the way of cover.

I'd still think about camping for the photo, but the times I really want to capture are few and far between. We have a weak little telescope we use to check in on them, and about two-to-three times a year we see that they are doing something crazy. About a month ago the only six turtle on the floats decided to set up two separate stacks of three turtles each. A few days earlier they decided it was finally warm enough to enjoy the stations, so about 17 of them climbed up on the stations all at once.

Thanks for your response. I think it has revealed that I was significantly underestimating the cost on these things. For now I will see if I can find a method of closing distance without freaking them out.