waterproof camera

[papaschtroumpf]

My dad wants a waterproof camera for Xmas. I don't know much about them, I know he is looking at those:

PANASONIC LUMIX TS4
PANASONIC LUMIX TS3
CANON D20
NIKON AW100

Any thoughts or advice? Are there any good deals coming up on those or something similar?

[luv2liv]

i have this sony tx5
works great so far since maybe 2 years already
http://store.sony.com/p/DSC-TX5/B/en/p/DSCTX5/B
photos and vids look amazing under water. very rugged as i have dropped it several times, accidentally as well as intentionally.

[novasatori]

how water proof

[papaschtroumpf]

Not very as I understand it. My dad is the "official photographer" of a hiking group, and wants to make sure the camera will not get ruined from dirt, rain or being dropped in a puddle..

[slashbinslashbash]

Panasonic has been a real player in the "Tough" camera game for longer than Nikon or Canon. The TS line is fantastic. I would get the TS3 if he could get a really good deal, TS4 if the price difference isn't much. The TS20 is cheaper and should be fine for rain/puddles/etc. I think the TS20 is rated to 10 or 15 feet, while the TS3/4 are rated to 30 or 40 feet of water.

[mooncancook]

If I'm to get one I'll get the Olympus TG1. f2.0 lens might make a difference underwater because there is less light, plus the lens is in the center of camera instead of the corner like most other rugged camera.

[luv2liv]

i had a rugged Olympus cam before.
quality of photos, in and out of water, was terrible. on top of that, it uses a proprietary memory card format. not sure if anything has changed in 3 years since.

added: and then water leaked in and the Olympus camera died instantly in the ocean while snorkeling.
took my Sony snorkeling and surfing in Maui and it is still working fine.

[papaschtroumpf]

Proprietary card format would be a deal killer.

[slashbinslashbash]

Olympus cams should all use SD cards now. I think they used to use XD cards which were only really used by Fuji and Olympus IIRC.

I've got a TG-310 and it uses SD cards. Not the best photo quality, but it was only like $110 which was by far the cheapest waterproof camera around at the time. The underwater photos and video are decent, but out of the water it is clearly inferior to a slightly older Canon ELPH in terms of image quality.

The new design of the TG1 looks like it should be an improvement.

[Munky]

I've had good experience with Panasonic, my TS1 is still going strong after all these years, including several water dunkings. I avoid Sony like the plague, due to their touch screen obsession and atrocious noise reduction. If I had to buy a rugged camera now, I'd probably go with the Nikon. It's got the best image quality based on the sample images I've seen, and doesn't seem to give up any features compared to other cameras. Canon should really rethink their design philosophy and they might have my attention.

[ravenvox]

I'm in the same situation i still hesitate between Panasonic and Kodak...Check out this site for some waterproof cameras reviews http://thebestwaterproofcamerareviews.com/
it may help you making your choice. Let us know Papa shtroumphe (French???)

[gplracer]

gopro