Best waterproof/underwater digital camera?

cland72

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Search feature didn't turn up much recently, so here I am making a new thread.

I'm looking for a digital point and shoot waterproof camera for a trip over Labor Day weekend (next weekend). I've been browsing Amazon's offerings and reviews, but for every 4+ star rating, about 10% of the reviews are 1 star and detail some pretty deal-breaking problems with the cameras in question.

What have you guys used that works really well? This will be used for river kayaking so I'd like it to be waterproof and durable.

Price range is $300 max.

Thanks!
 

will

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I have an Olympus TG-2. It has a depth of 15 meters, drop of 6 feet and it can freeze. It also has GPS. There are also 2 aux lenses available, a fisheye and a telephoto. Lots of features like macro, built in flash and more.

The one thing - The battery is small and you should get a couple of extra batteries. ( I don't think you could change in the rapids, but, if the water is calm - it should not be a problem. IF the camera has a battery save feature, turn it on. The main draw is the screen. Also - if it has GPS, that stays active even when the camera is turned off, ( you can change a setting to turn off the GPS feature )

I think that Nikon has a good camera as well. A friend of mine has a Fuji camera he likes.

I bought mine refurbished - so it was under $300.

I read some of the negative reviews on this one. I have had mine about 2 years now.

I don't charge the battery in the camera - I have a stand alone battery charger - I also don't transfer the pictures directly from the camera, My laptop has an SD port, prior to this laptop, a separate SD adapter.

One thing - there is only one rubber seal for each port. I use mine at the beach - lots of sand. You have to be very careful not to get and dirt or sand on the seal. I have a small lowpro camera bag - in it extra batteries and a paper towel and - a few Q Tips to clean out the seal if necessary.

Olympus recommends sending the camera once a year to have the seals replaced. I think the cost is around $30.

I did get a Float for the camera and I have a long lanyard that I tie to my bathing suit.
 
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bestellen

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Most waterproof underwater digital cameras aren't that good of a camera. They are solid performers and built to seal out water, but the image quality is not that great compared to regular cameras. I think if you want the best images, you would have to spend some money.

I would recommend buying a good point-and-shoot camera, and then buy the underwater casing for that camera. The case can sometimes be just as expensive as the camera itself! So basically you might have to spend $200 on a camera, and then spend and additional $200 on the waterproof case.

You might want to look at the Canon PowerShot A720IS. I believe it sells for less about $200 at the big box retailers, and there is also an underwater case available. I've included the links below.
 
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5S8Zh5

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I used a disposable underwater camera off Townsville snorkeling the great barrier reef. Pics came out great. Kodak iirc. Either Fujifilm or Kodak should work. It had a large rubber band wrist lanyard that worked. Wind, shoot, wind. Turn in the whole thing for hard copies.
 

cland72

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Wow, I had forgotten about this thread. Bestellen, your response is pretty timely, because I just purchased a Panasonic DMC-TS25D about three weeks ago. I decided that I would go with an inexpensive option since this isn't a camera I'll use often. Thanks for the response!
 

will

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Most waterproof underwater digital cameras aren't that good of a camera. They are solid performers and built to seal out water, but the image quality is not that great compared to regular cameras..

I have an Olympus TG-2 underwater camera. This is as good as any Point and Shoot digital camera, but it is is still a Point and Shoot camera. Other brands that make good underwater cameras are Nikon, Fuji, Canon and I am sure there are others as well.

Unless you are going for 'professional' photography - these cameras work well .
 
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