# Waterproof cameras



## nicho (Mar 18, 2009)

I searched through threads on here and web reviews and went with the Nikon AW110. It has worked well and works well in cold weather too. Takes great quality photos and has a lot of options with it. GPS tracks distance between photos and altitude/depth, you can make a log to that shows your traveled route.


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## elkhaven (Sep 11, 2013)

I have had an Olympus, pentax and now a cheap Fuji. The Olympus took great pictures, better than any other point and shoot I've had. I got it in 2005 and the door broke off in 2009 - they warrantied it but, it had a battery draining problem and never really worked after that. The pentax was lost fairly quickly, but it had horrible battery life, pics were good. My newer Fuji (couple years old, $129 from Costco) is just about right. Takes good pictures (not epic, but clear enough that you can zoom and crop a bit without getting grainy) was cheap and has a rock solid door. Battery lasts quite a while. The video's are great, blows away my pentax video cam...It's a Fuji XP20, I think there are newer versions, with GPS, higher MP's et. but I like it and would replace it in kind if necessary. I value expendability currently in my life.

While it may sound strange, I think my new G-5 phone takes better pics than any of the camera's I have...I haven't yet tried it under water (and don't have that much confidence in the WP rating but with a LP case someday I might.


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## yesimapirate (Oct 18, 2010)

Plus one for the Olympus Tough series. Only negative would be the slow recovery/write speed to take another picture when taking low light pictures, but it's not a DSLR so I wouldn't expect super fast response.


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## latenightjoneser (Feb 6, 2004)

Sony XT 30

no lag time, no reduction in quality for 10fps shots (sequence). only bummer is it is all touch screen controls.


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## JIMM (Nov 3, 2009)

*cameras*

If you can get the Kodak playsport xp3, you are in luck.Nothing fancy, but the durability, and reliability are awesome. They have come out with the xp5 which also has good reviews, except its battery is built in and non replaceable. The doors for the battery slots and memory card slots are pretty solid also.


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## Gremlin (Jun 24, 2010)

Please keep the suggestions coming. This definitely is giving us a few more things to consider. I would like to get the best images from a waterproof (sandproof) and rugged camera and won't use many additional features. We don't even own smartphones so that gives you an idea how nerdy we aren't.


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## ezwater (Sep 1, 2009)

*waterproof cases*

I use the Canon SD800is and the Canon G15 in Canon waterproof cases. As I'm mostly a canoeist, I don't need as much compactness. The SD800is is way out of production, but the G15 sports a 5x lens that is f1.8 at wide angle and f2.8 at 140 mm. Pocket waterproofs can't match that.


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## Osseous (Jan 13, 2012)

Panasonic males awesome small digitals- I have a waterproof from 2 or 3 years ago and it's fantastic. If you keep up on the reviews, Panasonic and Canon generally duel it out for top marks. DigitalReview.com is an excellent source for info, reviews and user ratings.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Mountain Buzz mobile app


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## climbdenali (Apr 2, 2006)

Can't speak to the waterproof panasonics, but the Panasonic lumix has been great for us commercially in the royal gorge for many years. They last 3-4 years, in a peli 1120, but I know they get wet fairly frequently. Good frames/sec for action, small, relatively cheap.


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## cataraftgirl (Jun 5, 2009)

I use a Fuji S 8200, digital SLR in a Pelican case most of the time. Recently picked up the Fuji XP 200 to stick in my PFD for kayak touring. Happy with it so far. It's not the smallest of the WP point & shoots, but I prefer a camera that I can get ahold of easily. It seems sturdy so far. Still small enough to fit in a PFD pocket.

In the WP Point & shoot category, there really isn't a "perfect" choice. If you read a bunch of reviews, you'll find that they all have their downfalls. I decided to quit giving myself a headache reading all the reviews and just grab a reasonably priced camera whose brand I liked and give it a go.


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## whiteh2o (May 8, 2006)

Froggy, make mine the Nikon AW series. Year 3 on a AW-100 and still workin out great. Not a ton of $ either.


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## Alaskajim (Apr 5, 2011)

I purchased the Fuji XP60 - love it. I carry it in my day box or in my vest. It takes great pictures and video. The feature I like the best is it's fast response time. If I see a picture worthy event about to take place or taking place - I hit the on button and the camera is photo ready before I find the subject on the screen. Battery life is really good - Same battery on GC trip in March of this year with over 200 pictures. I'm not a camera guy and this one is easy enough for me to use. Good Luck.


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## Andy H. (Oct 13, 2003)

I've got a Fuji Finepix XP50 Series waterproof/shockproof camera for when I'm in the field working. While it meets my fairly minimal needs for field work, I am not impressed with it for the size of the files it generates compared to what I was hoping for when I picked it up at an office supply store near a jobsite I was on last fall. When I zoom enlarge photos on the PC, they are very pixellated compared to similar photo file sizes from my other camera. I feel like I could just use my cellphone for photos about the same quality...

If I were getting a camera for vacation photos, I'd want something better. I think this model was produced for Wal-Mart.

-AH


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## yojimbo (Oct 12, 2003)

I just got one of these:
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5 16.1 MP Tough Digital Camera with 9.3x Intelligent Zoom 
Only 1 trip so far, a pack raft circumabulation of Island in the Sky. Half the time it dangled from a carabiner on my pack strap and the other half was in a shirt pocket on the boat. Screen is bright. Battery lasted 4 days (~300 pix). Definitley want to carry some swabs to clean the door seal when changing batteries.


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## Randaddy (Jun 8, 2007)

Nikon AW100 here and I love it. I've even shot underwater video with it! However, I don't use it much now that my phone takes such high quality pics. I think the point and shoot will be a thing of the past soon....


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## Gremlin (Jun 24, 2010)

We picked up a Nikon AW120 at Target for $299 (plus 5% off with the RedCard!) on our way up to Aspen for a hike. The salesperson agreed that if we couldn't get decent photos at the peak of Fall colors then we should bring it back. Overall, the photos are pretty good and, in some cases, better than I would have expected from the old Canon. The ones that didn't come out as well could be a result of needing to learn more about the camera. 

It seems to be well made and capable of taking some great photos. Thanks for the suggestions!


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## tteton (May 16, 2014)

*Ben resistant...*

I have this friend. His name is Ben. Ben is one of those guys that summits and skis big mountains. He walks around glaciers. Foul weather is like icing on the cake to him. He has had 3 Olympus Stylus Tough cameras. Each lasted a long time considering the guy who's pocket its in. Warranty every time even though no camera would have survived these incidents. I got one cause if it's Ben resistant, its burley! I'm working on my second one in six years. The first one took great pics, handled the punishment and the batteries lasted long and lived a long time(still using battery from #1). It broke when I stepped on it at home while it was charging and I was drunk. Oops! Warranty no problem. The second one I've had two years now. Great pictures. Fun features. Soild waterproofness. Its about to break it's 1000 river mile mark next month. It lives in my pfd on the rio. Its in my pocket everyday at work in the excavator. It gets dusty in my excavator. Its in my jacket pocket everyday in the winter too when I'm skiing. Happy Olympus owner! Nuff said!


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## Randaddy (Jun 8, 2007)

Gremlin said:


> We picked up a Nikon AW120 at Target for $299 (plus 5% off with the RedCard!)


This is the one I have, I think. Not the AW100 I mentioned.



tteton said:


> I have this friend. His name is Ben. Ben is one of those guys that summits and skis big mountains. He walks around glaciers. Foul weather is like icing on the cake to him. He has had 3 Olympus Stylus Tough cameras. Each lasted a long time considering the guy who's pocket its in. Warranty every time even though no camera would have survived these incidents. I got one cause if it's Ben resistant, its burley! I'm working on my second one in six years. The first one took great pics, handled the punishment and the batteries lasted long and lived a long time(still using battery from #1). It broke when I stepped on it at home while it was charging and I was drunk. Oops! Warranty no problem. The second one I've had two years now. Great pictures. Fun features. Soild waterproofness. Its about to break it's 1000 river mile mark next month. It lives in my pfd on the rio. Its in my pocket everyday at work in the excavator. It gets dusty in my excavator. Its in my jacket pocket everyday in the winter too when I'm skiing. Happy Olympus owner! Nuff said!


It sounds like you and your friend have gone through 5 of these. They don't sound that tough.


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## Gremlin (Jun 24, 2010)

I read good things about the Olympus Tough and several people here recommended it. Their warranty seems to be excellent! I was leaning that direction but could not find it available locally. If the Nikon disappoints I will probably order one.


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## elkhaven (Sep 11, 2013)

Randaddy said:


> It sounds like you and your friend have gone through 5 of these. They don't sound that tough.


So two things here... First and foremost, if it's easy to use and takes great pictures you'll be more inclined to bring it along. With my Olympus tough, it went everywhere, I was very conditioned to take it and use it. My second WP camera (a pentax of some sort) was a bitch to use and took so-so pics, it slowly started being forgotten (cause it wasn't getting used) and ultimately was lost somewhere... in the process it changed my entire picture taking habits. Now with my newer Fuji, it's fairly easy and takes great pictures, but I still leave it in my fishing bag, a pocket or whatever too much... for that I blame the pentax for sucking and changing my habits. 

So with that laid out; is it not reasonable that people that use the shit out of their product not break more? I think most things that brake are operator error. We broke our Olympus when my wife put it in her pocket with the battery door open (semi emergency) and it was forgotten for a while; when removed from pocket - no battery door. Can't blame that on not being tough, just OE. Stepping on it when charging as noted above, probably broke the battery door too, not a design flaw just part of being water proof and OE. 

Secondly and related to the first, with WP cameras there is a bit of extra stuff to go wrong and if something fails and the camera is submerged it ends in dead camera... not like a camera that never goes in the water - if the battery door brakes, tape it back on and keep rolling...can't do that when water is involved.

I do understand your issue, somebody broke three of the something but they still love it. Why? Too me if somebody broke three of something and would buy a fourth that's the best advertisement you could get - it's worth the hassle even if it fails and in this case each failure was admittedly OE...

Anyways 2 people going through 5 camera's doesn't necessarily mean that they're not tough, it could just a possibly mean that they were so trusted that they were pushed beyond their (or any other camera's) failure threshold.


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## tteton (May 16, 2014)

*lol*

What he said....


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