Waterproof digital camera recommendation

Olympus 790 sw $249.99 at Best Buy
I picked mine up yesterday. They price matched officemax’s internet price. I got the colored body for the black body price. So far the pictures look pretty good.

My Olympus is a couple of years old
and has been wet several times(not dunked). works great. I keep it in a Pelican box.

Wow!!
You have some great shots there! Were they all taken in Australia?



Pedro Almeida

camera bouy
I make an inexpensive, light-weight bouy from a disposable water bottle. Slit the cap, knot a five foot or so loop of para-cord, stuff the loop in the bottle an push some thru the slit in the cap(knot to the inside of cap), screw on cap. Attach your camera’s lanyard to the loop hanging out the slit cap. You can easily adjust how much line you want between bouy and camera to minimize loose cord laying about. It is so light I find it doesn’t hinder quickly picking up the camera from the bottom of my canoe for fast shots.

maybe overkill
a whole bottle to float a little compact waterproof camera might be overkill/bulky. If the camera is in a waterproof case then most likely it will float by itself coz of the excess air in the case.

I have used a piece of closed cell foam (minicell) and fashioned a much lower volume little CFD (Camera Floatation Device :slight_smile:

Go Pro - Digital Hero 3

– Last Updated: Feb-14-08 10:53 AM EST –

Check it out at www.goprocamera.com

$140

3 mega pixels, runs on AAA batteries, SD card memory, takes stills, 3 still "burst", and video with sound, No zoom or view screen, auto focus.

O.K. it is not a professional camera but it has some great features for paddlers

1) waterproof to 100' - I took mine snorkeling to about 20' with no signs of leakage, and splashes - who cares

2) mounts on a wrist strap - folds flat while paddling and then pops up for use - always secure, always ready

3) runs on 2 x AAA - I have two sets of rechargeables and almost never have to insert the second set during a day of paddling - got a charger that works in the car or house and charges 4 batteries in 15 minutes (Energizer baby!)

4) a 2 gigabyte SD card will hold like, 2000 pics or 53 minutes of video - bring as many cards as you like and no storage problem - they are practically giving away 2 gig SD cards nowadays.

5) very light weight - strap it on your wrist and forget it's there - until you want to snap a picture

6) locks into a waterproof box - with the neoprene and velcro wrist strap attached - IT FLOATS!

Good luck with the search

SeaLife ReefMaster Mini, EcoShot, etc…
use AA batteries.

WPi and W20 are discontinued – W30!

Pentax Optio
I have the W20 and think it is a great paddling camera. I have never had a problem with it not being waterproof, and I am on my third. (georgia_kayaker is right – they don’t float)



It has a nice wide screen, but no viewfinder. If you are taking pictures from the boat, the screen is easier anyway. Rechargeable batteries are fine except for really cold days. Picture quality is OK on bright sunny days, but is marginal otherwise. It doesn’t take good shots in low light - bad weather or indoors.



I have taken tons of shots with mine – no complaints.



http://community.webshots.com/user/eckilson

Dry Bag?
AquaPac (and others, I’m sure) makes a dry bag for cameras that supposedly allows you to take pictures directly through the clear bag. I have absolutely NO experience with this or similar products but only mention it because I’ve seen them as I web surf looking for bargains on gear (can we ever have enough gear?). It supposedly will let you use the digital camera you already have and keep it waterproof rather than going out and buying a waterproof camera. A lower cost option but … ? Does anyone have any experience with these?

GoPro Hero 3
Here’s the latest little video I shot with my GoPro Hero 3 up in Deception Pass, WA. I used my helmet mount and two deck mounts. In some of the shots, you can see the deck-mounted camera and what it looks like. I dig these little buggers!

http://www.vsocial.com/video/?d=195891

Yo, RangerTommy
Thanx for the vid link.



Are you using just a suction cup base there?



No need for a tether?



Just refreshed myself by checking the gopro website and that mount looks good, I might have to get one - and a second Hero of course.



Does it really stay on in rough conditions?

Hey Mush…

– Last Updated: Feb-14-08 4:33 PM EST –

...the mounts are bomber. They are not tethered because once the sticky surface is mounted to the deck, it's not coming off until you decide it's going to. Check out the accessory kit, as it's got everything you need. Have fun!

image quality very average
there are some Hero 3 owners in my sea kayak club but the images from those cameras are of very poor resolution and sharpness of the lens is ghetto.

If that is your first camera ever, probably will be OK for a while but don’t expect to have too much from such inexpensive camera. There have been also a few that have cracked the housing without impacting them… hmmm

clear dry bags don’t work
before purchasing the Olympus SW720 I toyed around with an Aquapac clear dry bag that is supposed to be for taking pictures.

Well, way too often there were droplets of water visible on the images (half of them unusable) and since most cameras have a rectractable lens when turned on the lens will poke out of the camera body and hit the dry bad. Most times the camera will then malfunction since the lens could not extend as intended and shut down. Did not work out for me…

Canon SD series with W/P case
I like having a little point and shoot digital for parties, skiing, hiking, etc. The Canons are tried, true, and tested.



I also like having a little point and shoot to take on the water, under the water, etc. The Canon case has never let me down.



The case is pricey ($150+) but well worth the performance and flexibility. IMHO.

O.K. it is not a professional camera but

Pentax Optio WPI
This little guy has gone all over the planet with us and we are very pleased with it. As others noted you can’t see the screen in bright sunlight so we just shoot more pictures and adjust the light exposure later. The photo shop program Pentax calls “ACDSee” is so simple even I can use it. We keep our camera in a Pelican 1010 case with a layer of foam on the lid and the camera fits really snug and still fits in a good size PFD pocket. Good advice from others about tethering once out on the water since a rogue wave could cause you to drop the camera and down it would go to the bottom. We have had very good battery life with the Pentax battery but carry a spare charged up too. Our previous camera (Minolta) ate AA batteries like they were candy!! One tip with most point and shoot digitals is to set the camera on the action mode (usually a running guy icon) which sorts out the motion of the kayak when we are on water.

Waterproof Camera
I have a Pentax, which is okay…would love to find a waterproof w/a viewfinder, I can’t see anything on my screen in any type of sunlight, so end up doing a lot of guessing as to what’s really in my picture! Any suggestions???

Optio vs. Aquapac
I bought an Aquapac for my Fuji Finepix and it was a real pain in the butt. Taking the strap off the camera & using the camera through the bag just wasn’t worth the cost & sometimes I’d have condensation or drops on the outside of the bag. Also, no one else would use it so I never showed up in any picture with that setup. I used my Costco Rewards bucks to help pay for a waterproof Optio and have been happy with it- it’s small enough to fit in a PFD pocket & easy to use with all of the presets. I put one of those yellow-coated foam floaty things they sell for keys on it so I can hand it (or toss it) to someone else without fear of it taking a dive so now I show up in a few shots. We did test it in shallow water to make sure the float had adequate bouyancy. My biggest complaint about the Optio is that on a sunny day, the screen is difficult to see so there is some guessing as to what you are taking a picture of.