Am looking to replace a failed 7 year old Fuji WP camera with another simple point and shoot unit for kayaking that can take regular dunking but not intended as dive camera. Wife is favoring a Sony DSC-TX30. Our local marketplace is small making comparisons limited to internet. Any recommendations for units about $250 and less?
Olympus “Tough” series cameras…
– Last Updated: Apr-18-16 7:12 AM EST –
...are all waterproof and designed for use in harsh environments. The only reason I don't own one is that they don't make one with a viewfinder. Even their DSLRs are weather sealed and I do own a couple of those.
Fujifilm Finepix XP80
Our daughter just got a Fujifilm Finepix XP80 for her honeymoon in Jamaica. It’s reasonably priced and survived scuba diving. Photos were decent. Her previous point and shoot was one of the Olympus Tough series, which worked well until she somehow got sand in it.
I’ve been using an older Panasonic LUMIX DMC TS1 for years with no issues. It’s built like a tank and takes nice clear pictures with its Leica lens.
Gopro
Shoots good stills, as well as video, and tough and waterproof case. However, it’s only super wide angle, so if you want different fields of view, then you have to do the regular camera.
Second de Olympoos
And yup, wishin’ it had a veoofinder too.
FE
Nikon AW 130
It doesn’t do great zoom shots but most Pand S fail at at that anyway.
True colors. Wish the keypad was a little bigger and the lens is recessed which makes it harder to clean of water drops when you want dry land shots. But the recessed lens seems to reduce flare and less likely to break the glass if dropped.
Charging is a bit of a PITA as the battery terminal is open. There is a separate charger not in the box I would recommend. Also it does not swim! While it takes underwater pictures its sinks if dropped
Pentax Optio Fan
I have a WG-1, but it looks like you can get the WG-2 for around $250.
Good outdoor pictures
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eckilson/albums
Decent video
http://vimeo.com/eckilson/videos
Nikon Coolpix
We have an S32 and looks like S33 is what I can find now. Bought ours in the Godawful “Hot pink” color to save a dime; it cost about $75. It often takes better pics than my Canon DSLR, and significantly better than my more expensive Olympus cameras I bought years ago.
Here’s a link and a link to a few pictures:
http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-COOLPIX-Waterproof-Digital-Camera/dp/B00T85PMWY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1460989523&sr=8-3&keywords=waterproof+camera+coolpix
http://www.pbase.com/ozarkpaddler/image/162272728
http://www.pbase.com/ozarkpaddler/image/160211978
http://www.pbase.com/ozarkpaddler/image/160211984
Hard to go wrong with Olympus or Pentax
I have had multiple different versions of the Olympus Tough and Pentax Optio, and it is hard to go wrong with either. And they have improved a lot over the years - the new versions are faster and crisper.
If you are looking for more photos than videos, I’d get a point and shoot like these. If videos is more important than photos, then you could consider a GoPro or similar. They are not as good on photos as the point and shoots, but often handle video better.
Canon
I have had a Canon D10 for many years. I use it for snorkeling. It is waterproof down to 20 ft I think. It takes great underwater pictures and also great land pics.
Oly
Been using an Olympus TG-4 for the past year and have been pretty happy with it.
Nice review and comparison here: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/2014-15-waterproof-camera-roundup
The review is a little old but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of difference in the newer models.
Alan
Olympus
I’d go with a TG-4 too.
Not that I’m a big fan of Ken Rockwell, but check out his comparisons…
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/comparisons/underwater-cameras-2016.htm