Waterproof phones with good camera? Smaller form factor and stock Android?

[gregulator]

I have a 2013 MotoX and love everything about it, other than the camera. It is mostly fine, but every indoor action shot is blurry. Outdoors in good light is pretty great actually despite horrible reviews. I LOVE the twist to open the camera too.

What are my options to have almost the same experience but a better camera? I had a Note 2 before and didn't love the size so 6P, and new MotoX are out. I am also intrigued by phones saying they are waterproof since I spend a lot of time at the beach. Being able to bring the phone into the ocean to take a few pictures would be amazing too (just waist deep and maybe being hit by a few waves, not extensive time underwater). I see some videos of the S6 Active underwater, but everything I read says be wary of doing this (and Sony recently said their phones aren't actually waterproof). I don't want a huge bulky case either. And yes, I know I can get a gopro for this, but the best camera is the one that you have with you right!?

I will probably buy from Swappa and I don't want to spend more than $400. I see my options as (I am on ATT):

-Galaxy S6 Active
-Splurge for a Z5 (regular or compact)
-Nexus 5x and find a waterproof case?
-2015 Moto G

I don't love TouchWiz, but if the S6 meets my other needs then fine.

Thoughts?

 

[gorcorps]

If you can get a hold of the sony, they've got some of the best camera sensors out there and a lot of people like them. You can't get it from the carrier, so you'll be paying full price up front.

I had a galaxy s4 active and I liked it enough. Since it's a carrier specific phone, your updates will come even slower than the regular S6 if that's important. I'm not sure if Sony is any better at this though, so it could be a wash. Personally I'd be between the S6 active and Z5.

 

[paperwastage]

Being able to bring the phone into the ocean to take a few pictures would be amazing too (just waist deep and maybe being hit by a few waves, not extensive time underwater).

these phones are not rated against saltwater (even splashes). salt is extremely corrosive


even the Panasonic rugged toughbook line... can't deal with salt

http://www.ruggedpcreview.com/mt/archives/2008/09/during_a_week_o.html

Panasonic explained how they had been approached with requests for such testing, performed the salt water and salt fog tests, and were surprised to see the extent of the damage. They then systematically changed design and materials to ward off or minimize the effects of salt. This benefitted all subsequent Toughbooks, and also showed Panasonic how to develop special solutions for customers who use their products in environments where they are exposed to salt fog and water.

 

[tvdang7]

xperia Z phones

 

[Ackmed]

Doing a little research on the Xperia Z5, no carrier sells them it seems. Which is fine because I have unlimited through Verizon and buy all phones outright to keep it. This phone is interesting to me, because of the waterproofing and ability to play PS4 on the go.

Looking online it seems some versions don't work with Verizon?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-XPERIA...hash=item2ee75d7cba:m:mNsiyrUFF5V87lo4NW4VaKQ

Our items are International and work with GSM networks only.
(Do not work with CDMA carriers like Verizon, Sprint, Boost...)

 

[paperwastage]

Doing a little research on the Xperia Z5, no carrier sells them it seems. Which is fine because I have unlimited through Verizon and buy all phones outright to keep it. This phone is interesting to me, because of the waterproofing and ability to play PS4 on the go.

Looking online it seems some versions don't work with Verizon?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-XPERIA...hash=item2ee75d7cba:m:mNsiyrUFF5V87lo4NW4VaKQ

on verizon, you can only get data using the Z5 on band 4 . No voice/CDMA/VoLTE. You might not get data in areas (where verizon only has band 13 LTE)

Since the Z5 doesn't support band 13, verizon doesn't have to allow you to use it on their network. I wouldn't recommend going the Z5 route

(you can force them to accept Z3 because Z3 supports band 13 and band 13 have open-access-rules)

http://www.howardforums.com/showthr...13-non-VZW-Phones-Other-than-Nexus-amp-iPhone




look at the z3v instead (sold by verizon, has full verizon support/CDMA/VoLTE/LTE, and obviously full verizon bloatware)

 

[Ackmed]

Ugh, thanks. Sonsabitches making things difficult that dont need to be.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I would also highly recommend a phone with at least 3GB RAM. My S5 is waterproof buy damn, having only 2GB of RAM on Lollipop makes it un-usable multiple times a day when Facebook, FB Messenger, Chrome, and Maps are running at the same time.

 

[paperwastage]

I would also highly recommend a phone with at least 3GB RAM. My S5 is waterproof buy damn, having only 2GB of RAM on Lollipop makes it un-usable multiple times a day when Facebook, FB Messenger, Chrome, and Maps are running at the same time.

i would blame touchwiz in your case.. though some (2GB) nexus users struggle with memory leaks sometimes

 

[GAO]

I think I heard the rumor that galaxy s7 will be waterproof. Ditto for iPhone 7. If you can wait...

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

i would blame touchwiz in your case.. though some (2GB) nexus users struggle with memory leaks sometimes

TW doesn't seem to be a big factor. It's only 60-80MB, while Lollipop SystemUI occurs TWICE at ~125MB and ~75MB.

Here's my memory usage with no programs open:

Here it is with FB, FB Messenger, Maps, and Chrome freshly opened:

Memory will dip really low and lag will start if I start to really use the above programs.

 

[gorcorps]

I think I heard the rumor that galaxy s7 will be waterproof. Ditto for iPhone 7. If you can wait...

OP said he doesn't want to spend over $400. Waiting for bleeding edge technology is definitely not the way to do that.

 

[gregulator]

Definitely not going to buy bleeding edge, just a used phone on swappa. Looking into the Sony line, they look OK but their redaction on being waterproof is worrisome, and people say the camera is slow to focus and shoot. I played with an S6 active in a store and it seems like a good shooter. I think this will be the winner, but I hate to give up stock Android and some moto features. Oh well, thus is mobile right, always a compromise!

 

[MarkizSchnitzel]

Are you guys wanting smaller phones really numerous, or just loud?

Circumstantial evidence tells me it's the latter, but maybe I'm wrong?
If so after all, good luck. There is no money in that niche, maybe.

Also, out of curiosity, what exactly IS the benefit of a smaller phone? Why is one handed usage so important?
The way I see it, small screen will only ruin your eyes, make it impossible to enjoy media, and make browsing or reading ebook pretty much impossible, or really inefficient.

 

[shabby]

Why is one handed usage so important?

P0rnhub duh.

 

[gregulator]

For the small screen thing, one hand operation is nice, and I don't consume much media on the phone. I don't watch movies or play games or read books on the device. I mostly use it for calls/text/email some browsing and more and more as a camera because I always have it. The ideal device would be tiny and unobtrusive when stored, and expandable to any size when used, but we aren't close to that yet. So for my needs, I try to have a device on the smaller end of the spectrum.

So I grabbed an S6 Active on swappa for $300, seems like an ok deal for right now. Any reason to get rubber plugs for the ports (headphone and USB)? Most issues I see are from people that have funky things going on with the USB port after being in water (lots of advice to blow out or douse with DI water after submersion).

 

[Oyeve]

I may be putting my verizon z3v up for sale soon. Have way too many phones atm.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Oh well, thus is mobile right, always a compromise!

Amen brother.

 

[gregulator]

OOOF, and compromise it is! Got the phone yesterday so I only have one day of usage, but man, the initial impression of this thing is that it has terrible usability vs the Moto X 2013. I miss everything about the Moto other than the camera. The camera on the S6 seems fantastic so far, and I am excited to be able to use it around water. But everything else sucks. I miss the form factor (so much nicer to hold, never thought I would care about that), Moto display, stock android, twist to unlock camera etc. I would not say that I notice a speed increase either (no games so I don't know about that). If anything it might be worse. Battery is TBD as well, but it seems like it may not be any better.

Will I keep this phone? Probably, but ONLY for the camera.

 

[pm]

For use at the beach, you could use one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Waterproof-JOTO-Motorola-diagonal/dp/B00LBK7OSY

Basically a watertight bag. Touchscreens work - but not underwater. Or at least not under salt water.

I bought three to Hawaii a few months ago for my wife, daughter and myself and we all used them and they all work great. None of us had any leaks or any problems. I took one snorkeling and the videos came out very good. I even dove down to a reef about 20ft. down and took a video the whole way and the video was fine and the bag was fine. It's supposed to be good to 100ft. The bag doesn't distort the image at all and things looked good. You can actually take calls with it while it's in the bag and it sounds ok - not great but totally usuable. You can use the touchscreen though the plastic of the bag while out of the water - or even just holding the phone out of the water - but it doesn't work at all while it's underwater. For $9, it's great for what it does.