Waterproof Camera for Pics and Vid ?

[dennisail]

I want to document my sailing trip from Adelaide to Tasmania and back to Brisbane in November. Some pics and vids would be good. The camera will get wet no doubt. Will I be compromising pic and vid quality if I try to get all these features in one camera?

Any suggestions on a camera?

[DannySt]

try to have a look at the gopro

[Ozbullwinkle]

Originally Posted by DannySt

try to have a look at the gopro

I fully agree with Danny on the Gopro - they are great units as you can see from the sample footage on their website.

[Adelie]

I have a Pentax, my wife has an Olympus.
We are both happy with our cameras.

Pentax has more zoom (5x), a very good menu system and uses SD cards.

Olympus is specially built to be shock resistant and has a metalcover that automatically covers the lens when off. Zoom is the standard 3x, but cards are the XD type which are less available.

The pentax LIVES in my cargo pocket when I am not at work and takes knocks regularly and is still working fine after 2+yr though focus at infinity is a little spotty.
I use an 'Always On' camera cover and have a neck lanyard rather than a wrist strap for it with a cinch so I can go snorkling without constantly having it in hand.

Both Pentax and Olympus have been producing waterproof digitals for more than 5yr, several years longer than the other major brands. For this reason and general happiness with the cameras we have I would reccommend either brand over all but the specialty makers like Sealife that build for diving as opposed to snorkeling.

For the better zoom and the more common memory card I would reccommend Pentax slightly higher than Olympus. As far a shock resistance, electronics are almost disposable items these days so I personally don't count on more than 3-4yr from a camera.

[barnakiel]

I used Gopro and it gace very poor picture quality.

I would rather try one of the mass market models - Canon, Pentax, Olympus, etc.

If you go to dpreview.com, they have reviewed the main competitors.

barnie

[barnakiel]

'Waterproof' Camera Group Test (Q2 2009) Review: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review

here

But I know most of them have newer incarnations.

b.

[RodeTrip]

Depending on what kind of camera you currently have they may make an underwater case for it.

I have a Canon Digital Elph - a point and shoot variety camera and have found the underwater case to be very good. It runs a little expensive ( approximately the same price as the camera) but does a great job of protecting the camera from water and sand. You need to use the flash diffuser though for flash pictures, otherwise the lower right corner of the pictures is very dark.

Amazon.com: Canon WP-DC32 Waterproof Case for SD960IS Digital Elph Camera: Camera & Photo

This is the case I have.

[Misiu]

I assume you want to take pictures in very wet conditions. I wouldn't trust any "waterproof" cameras if it doesn't have underwater rating. SeaLife (or similar) is a good simple option. Underwater housings made by Canon, Nikon, Pentax etc for their small digital cameras are relatively inexpensive but flood often. Much better, and more expensive, option is underwater housing made by Ikelite, Aquatech, Sea & Sea etc. They are made usually for underwater photography. The good part is that you can also use it for diving...

However... I always use regular camera covered with jacket or towel (if spray is present) and in most cases it is sufficient. If the weather is really bad I am usually too busy to take pics

Hope you post some pictures after your trip

[Mikromidas]

I have the following cameras:

Pentax K7 - Weatherproof, picture quality is great and it has hd video, but unfortunately only manual focus for video.

Olympus uTough 8000 - Extremely rugged, but picture quality is poor and video is not hd.

Sanyo Xacti VPC-CA100 - waterproof video/photo camera. Good quality full hd video. Haven't really tested photo quality yet, but it is probably better than the Olympus. It's cheap and I think you can't really go wrong on this one.

[dofthesea]

Either the Canon or the Olympus. Both are water proof and take video and pics. I think the Olympus is a better camera because it is a bit smaller. And is easier to fit into your pocket.
Canon
Amazon.com: Canon PowerShot D10 12.1 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD: Camera & Photo
Olympus
Amazon.com: Olympus Stylus 790SW 7.1MP Waterproof Digital Camera with Dual Image Stabilized 3x Optical Zoom (Black): Camera & Photo

You won't be sorry about the Olympus.

Aloha

[Redcoat]

This a good buy.
Amazon.com: Liquid Image 302 Explorer Series 5MP Underwater Digital Camera Mask 2GB Card Bundle: Camera & Photo

[BlueSeas]

I used a previous version of the Olympus and stood in 4 foot breakers taking pictures of my son while he was surfing. Worked very well even after getting dunked several times and the camera going 3 feet under the waves.

That said, it was not long (a few months later) it began to malfunction and eventually quit. Not sure if it was water intrusion of simply the salt getting in and grinding on things.

Bought a FujiFilm Finepix 12 megpix camera and the waterproof dive case and got some great pics while diving in Bahamas. It worked great and took good pictures. It was recommended by a high end camera shop at home. Very good battery life as well...

[Steve_C]

I recently did quite a bit of research and ended up with a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX5

Amazon.com: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX5 10.2MP CMOS Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Zoom with SteadyShot Image Stabilization and 3.0 Inch Touch Screen LCD (Black): Camera & Photo

i am very happy with it, especially the HD video I recently shot. its only rated to 10 feet deep, buts its so easy to use and carry. I got great shots even under water. I especially like the huge touch screen.

[barnakiel]

I do not know about their underwater cameras, but we have had a Canon for 8 years now and even the old battery is still good. So I think Canon quality control is fine. Other good equipment that lasted years onboard was Panasonic.

b.

[dennisail]

I went with the lumix FT2