Hey guys, I'd like to get a waterproof P&S for hiking.

Ideally something tough that can take a beating. I'm gonna take it on hikes, into waterfalls, kayking, potentially shooting underwater no more than a few feet deep, and want it to be safe in case of a small drop, if it gets crushed, or gets submerged.

If it shoots jpeg only, that's fine, but raw would be a big plus. Oh, SD cards would be best. xD would be doable, but no sony gumstick cards.

How many MP it has is completely irrelevant. I currently shoot with a 4mp 1D and a 6mp Fuji F31fd P&S and that's already plenty.

Clean high ISO capabilities (for a P&S of course) and a wide angle lens are a definite plus.

Got any recommendations?

Canon PowerShot D10, 10m depth.
Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP, 3m depth.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1, 3m depth.
Olympus Stylus Tough 8000, 3m depth.
Olympus Stylus 550WP, 3m depth.
Pentax w60

i'm in the water quite a bit and if the canons is the only one rated to 10 meters, i'd recommend that one. it's bulky but canon make easy to use p&s cameras. a few friends have the Olympus models and while they worked then the seals and locks went that secure. would i buy it, na i'd want a more compact one like the pentax.

seen one of these in action and it's very good.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/582888-REG/GoPro_GWH5170_Wide_HERO_Digital_Camera.html#accessories

I have had the Pentax W30 Olympus WP (my son has that now) and they were both dismal for anything except that they are waterproof. The AF is bad, the ISO is bad, the lag is terrible and they seem....peculiar: the Pentax, kept on ceasing suring water use even though it remained sealed, and would only come back to life a couple of hours after it got out of the water. The Olympus started taking foggy pictures and never went back -even though the lens is clean.
Also, I found that even though they are waterproof,they are not "sandproof". Both the Olympus and the Pentax compartment doors had big enough indentations to trap sand that I had to pry with a toothpick everytime.

I would suggest a solid PS with an underwater housing: G10, LX3, SD880is, Fuji EXR100....

Hate to be negative, but thought you'd want to hear this.

Thanks for the suggestions and first-hand experience. I was looking into the W60 and like the compact size of it.

There's a waterproof housing for my Fuji F31, but I'd like to avoid the bulkier solutions if at all possible of using an external housing. From what people are saying, the Fuji housing is pretty compact. It would definitely be nice to use a better body than those that are designed waterproof...

Ariel, the best body I have ever used was an OLYMPUS 5050 in its dedicated WP housing; chk this site too for any further info:
http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showforum=11

I think the 8080 also was highly regarded by underwater photographers too. I'm using a G9 which is a bit bulkier than I think you're looking for when in it's housing but out of the housing it's quite compact. If you can find the housing for that Fuji I'd go for it until you need something better or look at the many Canon A series or SD series P & S cameras that have housings available (from Canon). A few of the SD bodies are popular with divers plus they are small even in a housing.

Hi Ariel.

IF I were not going to get a camera with a WP CASE (because I want something SMALL) that I can carry in a pocket and not worry about occasional dunks and splashes.....

I would consider/buy....

Olympus Stylus Tough 8000, 10m depth.

http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1448

It is listed as 33 feet (10 meters, not 3 shown above in first post response).


But...in addition..I would ALSO get that GoPro camera too.

Just for fun. Put it on a shot every 2 seconds and you go in and out of the waterfalls or down the rapids or over the edge in a swan dive down to the pool...

EDIT: I have changed my mind on recommending the Oly Tough 8000 after reading the DPreview of it and other cams. My choice now would be the Canon D10.

I had the Oly 1030 SW, looks like the predecessor to the new 8000.

It was an average (at best) P&S, and the underwater thing was nice...but more of a novelty than being truly useful. In shallow water in bright sun, I had some decent pictures and video.

I compared it to my G7 at the time, the G7 won hands down. Yes, it's bigger, bulkier and not waterproof...but it is a much better camera. I bought the waterhousing for it for my next undersea adventure.

I recently picked up a Canon SD880 as a pocket camera, I can easily recommend it also. The SD880 is decently wide, totally pocketable, and the controls are familiar enough that you don't need the manual (much). oh yeah, nice pics!

Olympus does make a microsd to xd adapter - so at least that helps with the funky card types.

I haven't handled the Canon D10 - interested to hear how it does.

Good luck!
Scott

I had a Pentax W60 and similar experience what dasrocket had said about Pentax W series. I bought it for a vacation and its performance was very disappointing. I could not use it when I needed it in the water, but it came back to life later and everything seemed fine. One other thing, the water drops would stay on lens, resulting in blurred/foggy images. The image quality is pretty bad, of course if you use DSLRs, which P&S is not? The only thing I like it is its compact size. If I need one next time, I may try Canon's D10. But it looks so bulky, and from reviews, it's lacking in several areas.

Get the Canon. They've been sitting idly by watching Oly and Pentax with their WP cameras for years. Finally they have one and I'm willing to be it knocks the socks off of the competition.

I've used the olympus and pentax and they have their place.

Yes for those of us used to a good digital SLR their image quality BLOWS, it's not even up to other P&S's of similar and cheaper price.

However, you can drop it 6' on the rocks, into a stream, leave it out in the desert dust all day, kick it around in the dirt, and at the end of the day you can just wash it off under the sink, pat it dry and it's good to go again tomorrow. I used one (stylus 720sw) for field work in the desert, kayaking, etc. all the time and it's lasted 2 years, before that I couldn't find a camera that would take 3 months of it. So what you give up is image quality. They also will have a very small zoom range because most of them if not all (haven't used the new canon) have no moving lens parts that extend outside the camera.

The only other option is to find a waterproof hard case for the camera and only remove it to take pictures when the environment allows. Which is a huge pain.

Todd308 wrote:
I've used the olympus and pentax and they have their place.

Yes for those of us used to a good digital SLR their image quality BLOWS, it's not even up to other P&S's of similar and cheaper price.

However, you can drop it 6' on the rocks, into a stream, leave it out in the desert dust all day, kick it around in the dirt, and at the end of the day you can just wash it off under the sink, pat it dry and it's good to go again tomorrow. I used one (stylus 720sw) for field work in the desert, kayaking, etc. all the time and it's lasted 2 years, before that I couldn't find a camera that would take 3 months of it. So what you give up is image quality. They also will have a very small zoom range because most of them if not all (haven't used the new canon) have no moving lens parts that extend outside the camera.

The only other option is to find a waterproof hard case for the camera and only remove it to take pictures when the environment allows. Which is a huge pain.

I found the above post very helpful and interesting to read. Thanks for posting it.

I have the pentax w60 and it works great if you turn down the contrast and sharpness. Batch process them when you are done. The internal contrast and sharpening greatly increase the noise and ruins many an image. The only reason it does not sound good for the op is that it is not shockproof.

If water drops are on the lens from splashing, just dunk it back in the water and they will be gone. Also make sure you rinse it off in fresh water after swimming or using it in the ocean to keep the glass in front of the lens clean and clear.

I've been researching underwater/waterproof cameras. Have not decided on one for sure, but leaning toward the Pentax Optio W80 which should be available next month.

I suggest looking at the reviews and sample images at Steve's Digicams and Imaging Resource:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html
http://www.imaging-resource.com/DIGCAM01.HTM
Seems to me that the image quality can be very good indeed with these cameras.

John

I'm interested in this too. I was leaning toward the Oly tough 8000, but even their own test shots were absolute rubbish and many Oly users don't seem impressed, also say the battery life is poor. Very ordinary processing engine IMO. Maybe the Pentax W80 is a lot better, but none of them shoot RAW. I'm considering a G10 in a waterproof housing as the best but dearer approach.

Well as luck would have it dpreview has just put upan underwater cam test

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0907/09070103waterproofgroup.asp

and the Oly's as stated are pathetic. Looks like D10 and W60 are best, and maybe W80 is better again than the W60. Still none of them really impress.

The D10 is a great family waterproof p&s. It has just survived our family holiday to Dolphin Cove & Aquatica and is still like new. What I liked about it is there is no moving external parts, so we just pushed rec and let our 2 year old play with it in the water with it! Be warned though it is not a slim p&s, it is built like a brick s***house!

I like the Pentax Optio series. Clearly, not in the dslr class when it comes to image quality, especially above the water, but below the water it performs really well and can do underwater video, which my 5dmkII can't.

Here are two images with the olympus optio w10. One under and one above water.

For me, I can't wait until the pentax w80 comes out. The canon d10 would be the one if it were smaller. I've heard that the olympus tough 8000 is the most rugged but the iq sucks. The panasonic ts1 may do it if the w80 isn't that great but the ts1 just seems flimsy. But if the w80 is terrible may be back to the d10 submarine.

As was mentioned above, Dpreview has just done a comprehensive review of this class of cameras.

Hmm..I just finished reading that DPreview article and it changed my thoughts about the Oly Tough 8000.

The Canon D10 images looked much better to me.

One of the key points for me is the ability to take it to a depth I would snorkle. So the Canon is rated to 33ft (10m) and that is deeper than I would go. Most of the others were 14 feet max. That is about as deep as I would go but "max depth."

I am glad they took the time to do that extensive review.