What model?
Old school - film…,.
– Last Updated: Mar-01-13 10:46 AM EST –
Still use me 35mm Nikonos V wit film (on occasion)! Built like a tank an' ah' kin go fer months on a battery.
Now fer all dat new-fangled deecheatool daguerreotypes - ah' use an Olympus T-610 which be purty good, but iffin' ah's gonna shoot some decent video an' stills ah' use a Nikon P7100 (which has an actual oopticool viewfinder still) an' a Fantasea waterproof housing. A wee bit bulky but woyks great. Ah' wuzn't gonna spend $1600 on a dive housin' fer me Nikon D7000 or $4000 on a Gates fer me big JVC HD-100 camcorder.
FE
Olympus Stylus 1030SW
I’ve used this camera for roughly 5 years.
https//picasaweb.google.com/TommyC1Taylor
The good is that it is Tommyproof. I am rough on gear and this camera has swum rapids, banged off of decks and rocks, and handled icy to hot weather all with minimal complaint.
I do not coddle, rinse or otherwise fool with the seals. So far no leaks.
I’ve never had any internal fogging issues even when I keep it inside my shirt while skiing. Take it out, shoot, put it back.
Freshly charged, the batteries hold up for three to four days when I’m out tripping. Two will get me through a week. With a freshly charged battery at 12 degrees F I got low battery warnings when I left it outside of my shirt for half an hour. The battery seemed to recover once I warmed it up. But that was a day trip so I can not say how the cold would affect it long term.
Color rendition is pretty good with decent light.
The bad is that the CCD is too small to live up to the 10 megapixel images. My old 3 megapixel Cannon shot comparable images with regards to clarity.
The 4x optical zoom is OK if the light is strong but suffers badly if not.
I also have an Olympus 1030SW and
– Last Updated: Mar-04-13 6:05 PM EST –
it works for what I shoot.
GO WITH WHAT MEETS YOUR NEEDS.
"VK1NF" is right on regarding the float strap. Mine is from Olympus.
I have a friend who had lost 3 'waterproof' cameras and finally realized the truth that, it's only as retrievable as its PFD (foam strap). To which his boyfriend said, "I told you so!" Now to get him to remember, during cooler weather, not to wear his blue jeans for paddling especially when slinking under a low bridge in your kayak, which he usually dumps. Some younguns never learn. :)
saltwater
I used a Sony tx-10 for three days in Florida bay. It worked flawlessly and still does. Not bad image quality. I wore it on my PDF and didn’t wash it off until day 4. I’m getting a contour roam this week. It should be better at just turning it on and getting a picture every 5 seconds. IQ will probably be worse.
Can’t say much about Olympus
My 310 (I think) woke up dead a week before a trip. No good excuse - It had never been really wet or dropped. Maybe a little splash. Under time (& $ ) pressure I ended up with a base Fuji. Works pretty good if you understand that it isn’t really built for low light & will blur if you don’t pay attention. The snow mode worked ok on our Ausable trip a week ago. 20 deg weather didn’t seem to bother the battery.
not for stills
– Last Updated: Mar-05-13 7:56 AM EST –
Small aperture, no zoom, few to no settings. If you were a pro photographer you'd acknowledge this.
There is no magic to setting up a decent waterproof point-and-shoot. It's simple, try it.
things to consider besides waterproofnes
Shockproof?
OPTICAL zoom range? 28 is the usual wide end. DIGITAL zoom is just cropping.
Manual settings/picture style settings?
Battery life
Mp count/sensor size
Most important feature
My experience after five years with a Pentax Optio W10 is that after waterproof the most important feature is a good image stabilization feature - especially when shooting from a canoe on moving water.
I’m still waiting for that Pentax to die so I can replace it with a Panasonic. Maybe I’ll accidentally forget to tether it to my PFD someday and let it drown.
Withdrawing endorsement of AW100
Six months old and it leaked and fried first day of a five day kayak/snorkeling trip last week. Was salt water but was only snorkeling depth.
More things to consider. Fast startup.
Short picture to picture delay. Wide angle lens.
Fast lens. Try for at least 2.8 at the wide end of the zoom. My new Canon G15 has 1.8 to 2.8 over its 28-140 zoom range, better than some SLRs. When paddling, you will struggle with low light conditions, and many waterproofs seem designed only for sunny days.
The number of pixels is less important. In fact,fewer pixels can mean faster shot-to-shot. My 5 year old Canons have “only” 7 megapixels, but that’s plenty for even 8 by 10 prints, and allows cropping for closeups. New waterproof cameras usually have at least 12 megapixels, and that’s plenty! Take more only if they come with other desirable features.
A bright, detailed LCD screen.