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Suggest a Waterproof P&S Camera
anonymouscuban
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Hey all,
I'm in the market for a waterproof P&S camera to compliment my DSLR gear. My wife and I do a lot of travelling. We are pretty active during our trips and I need a waterproof P&S to go places I don't dare take my DSLR.
Honestly, I don't care so much about the picture quality of underwater shots as much as I do of the photos taken above water. This will be my wife's primary camera. She kind of serves as our "2nd shooter" during out trips so it's important that the camera take good photos. My main priority is that the camera have good low light performance and a decent zoom range but nothing ridiculous. A plus would be the ability to shoot in RAW format and also in manual or at least aperture/shutter priority. Neither is a deal breaker though. Oh... and price is really not a consideration. I'm willing to pay for a good camera.
Thanks in advance for you help. Let me know if there is any additional specs you need.
- Alex
I'm in the market for a waterproof P&S camera to compliment my DSLR gear. My wife and I do a lot of travelling. We are pretty active during our trips and I need a waterproof P&S to go places I don't dare take my DSLR.
Honestly, I don't care so much about the picture quality of underwater shots as much as I do of the photos taken above water. This will be my wife's primary camera. She kind of serves as our "2nd shooter" during out trips so it's important that the camera take good photos. My main priority is that the camera have good low light performance and a decent zoom range but nothing ridiculous. A plus would be the ability to shoot in RAW format and also in manual or at least aperture/shutter priority. Neither is a deal breaker though. Oh... and price is really not a consideration. I'm willing to pay for a good camera.
Thanks in advance for you help. Let me know if there is any additional specs you need.
- Alex
"I'm not yelling. I'm Cuban. That's how we talk."
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As a DSLR-loving photographer, you may also be interested in another one of the "indestructible" cameras out there, I forget which one it is but it's got an f/2.0 wide end, which is awesome. Depends on what is important to you, I guess.
=Matt=
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For occasional use I feel that its a workable solution.
http://www.dicapac.com/products/products.asp?idx=74&bcate=1&scate=3&tcate=0
http://www.dicapac.com/gallery/pictures.asp
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Thanks. I give that link a look.
Matt,
We're on the same page. I do want it to be water proof since we do a lot of water activities while on vacation and I always like have a camera with me and I don't want to have to fuss with a WP case. I do agree on the need for a wide angle. I want to be able to use this camera for candid lifestyle shots but also for the quick landscape or creative shot where going wide is needed.
I've considered getting a cheaper camera with insurance so if it gets damaged, no biggie but that won't really help if it gets hosed early on in my trip. I experienced this when we went for a 5 week trip to Asia. I dropped my only DSLR down a flight of stairs on the 2nd day. The lens mount got bent on both the body and a the lens that was mounted. Both were repaired but it took 4 of the 5 weeks. What a heartbreak. I ended up buying a D700 a couple days later so I was covered but I don't want it to happen again. Mind you, this will be a secondary camera but still, would rather buy something I can take in the water without to much risk of it breaking.
Will check this out Zig.
Thanks guys.
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Originally, I'd looked at the Nikon. However a friend of mine bought a Sony and is pretty happy with it. The Canon has nice ergo feel but kinda sucks picture quality wise I need to look at the Sony as the picture quality is pretty good-not sure what the model is.
I've been at one of those, for just about everything from swimming, cycling and motorsports.. Granted, there's not even a viewfinder (which may steer you away).
D800
16/2.8, f1.4G primes, f2.8 trio, 105/200 macro, SB900.
It never gets easier, you just get better.
Sony TX200V.
Nikon AW100.
Canon D20.
Olympus TG 820.
Olympus TG 1 iHS.
The TG1 is the f/2.0.
Not a huge fan of housings for everyday carry. A housing also requires diligence with regard to the seal or you risk flooding the camera. The same holds true for any P&S that goes below it's threshold.
Ian... I found a consolidated list of the latest waterproof/rugged camera with links to reviews on CNET. I think all of the ones you have listed are on there. Reading through the reviews now. So far, the TG1 is in the lead.
Here is the link for those interested
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-6501_7-57428068-95/best-waterproof-rugged-cameras-and-camcorders-compared/
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Thanks for the CNET link. I hadn't seen that before.
I guess I wasn't clear- the Panasonic TS20 that I spoke of is indeed a waterproof, "indestructible" model. For only $139.
However if your budget can stretch further, towards $300-400, then I'd consider that other one I mentioned with the f/2 lens... I went ahead and looked it up for ya...
http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/05/08/Olympus-Tough-TG1-iHS-rugged-waterproof-shockproof-12MP-compact-camera
=Matt=
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Thanks for the follow up Matt. I read through a bunch of reviews yesterday and at this point, I think it's going to be the TG1-iHS. I'll probably pick it in the next couple weeks so I will let you guys know what I think.
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I looked at getting a wp cam about a year ago but ended up getting a used Ixus 65 + proper (Canon wp) housing off ebay.
Whilst I can appreciate the 'fuss' aspect, the case is superbly built (imo) and inspires confidence in use ... and when not needed, mrs pp has a perfectly acceptable handbag cam (which she's used a fair bit since)
pp
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I was able to dry out his camera and it now functions normally. It still takes great photos, but it is no longer waterproof. Do not buy.
http://clearwaterphotography.smugmug.com/
I feel pretty good with my decision to go with another Olympus.
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A waterproof camera can be quite handy. My son's has surprisingly good IQ. Here's a shot of my family climbing a waterfall in Jamaica during a torrential downpour. Definitely not a DSLR activity or weather!
http://clearwaterphotography.smugmug.com/
TS4, which I took down to 40'. Took a bunch of shots and video.
Also TS20, which is rated to around 15'.
IQ is decent, not great.
Only issue above water is the small lens can get finger prints which will distort shots.
Nothing to clean it off with in the water.
We bought the Panasonic TS3 for sports related snapshots with no intentions on any serious photography. I had to send it back to Panasonic three times due to warranty issues. This camera was ostensibly shock resistant and waterproof, but multiple versions have had many problems. I honestly just prefer using a good quality Canon P&S like the S90 or S100 or G12 and a nice Canon waterproof housing. I have gotten used to the slight inconvenience of using the housing and the camera's are better.
I plan on playing around with it tomorrow in the pool. Maybe I'll do a mini review of it.
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OK, got to start out with some comments on their quality control on this camera. I purchased it locally from Bestbuy since they had it in stock which made it very easy to exchange thankfully. It had three major issues during the first use. The sensor was filthy. I could shake the camera and move stuff all over the sensor straight out of the box. Lots of nice large shadowy circles in the sky. Artsy I'm sure, but very annoying. The camera must be charged with an included charger. I would prefer a plug in wall charger that I can remove the battery and stick it into, but I was happy to plug in the camera and have a car charger to charge as I'm driving around. The problem, the charger would not stay in the charging slot on the camera. I would plug it in, walk away, and hear "boink" and the camera would be unplugged. Too much space around the connector and charger and flat wouldn't stay in. Finally, there was a horrible nonstop ticking noise in all of the HD video I shot. Didn't matter if the camera was sitting on a table without anyone touching it or if I was holding it. So, I took the camera back after two days of use and got an exchange. The new camera, so far, has not had any of these issues.
OK, now for the review. All pics are straight out of camera.
Since this camera is designed to get wet, let's play in the water first. In general I've been pretty happy with what the camera can do and not to surprised at what it can. The camera does a great job in bright daylight of course, but if you are on the surface of the water (i.e. paddleboarding) at 10:00am in the morning, expect huge contrast issues between your subject and surrounding water. Setting the magic mode or scene modes to beach/snow seemed to help.
I think this was automatic setting:
Beach setting (I think):
You can see it picked up the clear water of Tahoe and the beautiful colors of the water. My other tough cameras have never been this good for grabbing those greens and blues.
An example of the sensor specs in the sky. Also, don't expect super duper detail in the distance from the little sensor, but I'm still very happy with it.
But, can it survive under the water? Of course it can, and I was very happy with the colors that came out when set for underwater mode.
Got to get down there first of course.
Monsters of the deep. About 10 feet down. Too shallow to go any deeper and it was only sand anyway. I love the colors which looked better in the pics than what I remember seeing through my mask.
I'm pretty happy with it overall in non-aquatic pics too. It can shoot off pictures like no ones' business and did a pretty good job of staying in focus on moving objects. Still shots were decent, but again, compared to even my friends S100, this camera cannot get the dynamic range that I'd like. But, I got it for underwater mainly and playing in the sand. Below are some different situations I tested it in.
Noon Day Sun. Not too bad.
Zooming in without the macro setting in place. I was impressed with the camera's ability to grab shots on auto mode.
Trying an indoor, horrible lighting and white balance situation with the Food Setting on.
Mixed lighting firing about 18 pictures in a row. Sounds like a machine gun
Flash test in bright background and darker foreground. I should have tested the flash more but didn't think about it.
Here's an example of the dynamic range blow out. My friend's S100 got the background mountains in fine, the Olympus blew them out completely. His pics were fine straight out of the camera, but I have nothing to work with.
Although. . .sometimes it did much better. Not sure on the reasoning for this.
Sports mode did all right. I think I missed more trying to lock on without a viewfinder than anything else. Overall, I was sort of happy given the lighting. Nothing was razor sharp, but there wasn't much light to work with as we were in the shade of deep trees with sunbeams leaking through.
It'll be interesting to see how the camera does in the long run. Overall, for a pocket camera that I got for messing around in Hawaii next month I think it'll be fine (if no more manufacturing issues surface). I would have to say the camera performs far better than my other tough model and better than I expected and I recommend it to anyone looking for a pocket camera that can survive tough wet conditions.
As Anonymous has stated, there is no lens cover and only a piece of tough glass to protect the lens. I had to carry a lens cleaning cloth and used it constantly. It is very easy to smudge the "lens". You can order a screw on attachment that allows a lens cover, but it isn't cheap. I like the fact that I can do quick snap shots of action, indoor, etc. that come out well enough for some memory pics or to share with folks on the web.
Oh yeah, one more thing, they put the microphones for the movies right where you normally want to place your thumb. About 1/2 the movies I shot have the sound of my thumb moving around on them. Also, you can hear every sound the camera makes (i.e. lens zooming) in the movies.
I
Cuong
In a nutshell... awesome camera while we had it.
We bought it just before we left for out trip to Costa Rica and Panama back in October. It was an 18 day trip. On day 11, it was stolen out of van-taxi in Panama by another American tourist that we were sharing the cab with. My wife stepped out of the van to let someone else in. She didn't realize she put the camera on the seat to get out and the dude lifted it off the seat while she was up. We didn't realize this until we got out of the van at our destination and she went to grab the camera out of her bag. We put the events together and realize who took it. I searched for the dude for about an hour, since the area we were in was a small town. Couldn't find him unfortunately.
Picture quality was quite decent. Pretty durable build quality. Video was really good as well. Unfortunately, we hadn't had any opportunities to use in the water before it got lifted. About the only thing I wished was that it was a little smaller but only because our previous P&S was a bit smaller. We will be buying another one before our next trip though. Probably the new version that was just released... the TG2.
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I've put it through a pretty battle tested mix of stuff now. It spent 3 weeks in and out of water, jungle, sand, fresh water, waterfalls you name it and many weeks in alpine lakes and desert stuff. Olympus replaced the original camera due to it basically falling apart. The second camera has not done that to me at all. One thing that I found out is that when they say it is only waterproof down to 40 feet they mean it. I'm an avid free diver and sometimes forget the depths I'm going down to. I was messing with some scuba divers and dove down about 60 or more feet to hover in front of them and to take a picture with the camera. The camera flooded.
I immediately hauled it out of the water and opened it all up and placed it on the hot black lava rocks in the sun. The water seemed to have stayed around the lens housing primarily and after a couple of hours was working 100% again. It has not done it since and I've been sure to keep it above that 40 foot mark!
Here's some examples. First few are from about 20 feet down. Turtle was near the surface. And my wife thrown in just to show it can take pics of people all right too. I hope it’s not too many pictures, but they show a good range of what the camera can do. Straight out of camera except for crappy resizing software (I'm working late
Alex, sorry to hear about the unfortunate incident on your trip.:cry
Cuong
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I think the Canon with a housing would be a better choice.
I'm with Ian. From what I can tell my G12 and my S95 both have better dynamic range and overall better image quality. But, the TG-1 is somewhat easily pocketable and easy to drag around while free diving or whatever. I got the TG-1 so I could use it in jungle rains also and not have to worry about a housing. It worked great for that.
Decided to rent a housing and lens port for my Canon 5D3 and 16-35
Go big or go home....
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Andy... how much and where did you rent it?
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