Waterproof Camera decisions
Discussion
I'm going to the caribbean in march and have lots of water based activities planned. I'm looking to pickup a waterproof compact but find myself torn between the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT3 and the Nikon AW100.
Both are about the same price, do similar things. I've got oher Panasonic compacts which are great, but I've also got a D80 which is also great.
It needs to be small enough to slip into pockets, take video and pics underwater so both fit the bill.
I think i'm leaning towards the Panasonic but has anyone here used either and want to help me decide?
Open to other suggestions for other makes/models.
Thanks!
Both are about the same price, do similar things. I've got oher Panasonic compacts which are great, but I've also got a D80 which is also great.
It needs to be small enough to slip into pockets, take video and pics underwater so both fit the bill.
I think i'm leaning towards the Panasonic but has anyone here used either and want to help me decide?
Open to other suggestions for other makes/models.
Thanks!
I have the Fuji XP which will do snorkel depth and down I think to 3 meters, It is cheap very easy to use and gives good results. Example image below.
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/257930572008688...
My Mother in law has the panasonic and it is very difficult to use underwater as the buttons are small and you have to soak it in clean water after you have used it.
Hope this helps
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/257930572008688...
My Mother in law has the panasonic and it is very difficult to use underwater as the buttons are small and you have to soak it in clean water after you have used it.
Hope this helps
pblake said:
I have the Fuji XP which will do snorkel depth and down I think to 3 meters, It is cheap very easy to use and gives good results. Example image below.
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/257930572008688...
My Mother in law has the panasonic and it is very difficult to use underwater as the buttons are small and you have to soak it in clean water after you have used it.
Hope this helps
Thanks, that does help. The small buttons would make it awkward and the fuji is half the price.http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/257930572008688...
My Mother in law has the panasonic and it is very difficult to use underwater as the buttons are small and you have to soak it in clean water after you have used it.
Hope this helps
Assuming it's the XP30 you have?
Good shots BTW.
Thanks for all the advice and sample pics. They're pretty damn good for compact cameras.
I did think of a GoPro but I might leave that until I can snowboard again.
I'm still leaning towards the panasonic but I've been told that the other half would like one as well but wants something cheaper. I might get the pana and she can get one of the others mentioned.
Thanks!
I did think of a GoPro but I might leave that until I can snowboard again.
I'm still leaning towards the panasonic but I've been told that the other half would like one as well but wants something cheaper. I might get the pana and she can get one of the others mentioned.
Thanks!
Are you diving or snorkeling?
And (importantly) do you have an existing point-and-shoot that does decent photos (e.g. Canon Powershot series)?
If snorkeling and you've already got a decent camera, it'll be cheaper to get a waterproof case. I've got a (very cheap - £20 IIRC) Dicapac case which doesn't look like much but does the job. Downsides are (a) it can be difficult to operate the zoom; and (b) once every ~10 shots the black surround for the lens-pocket gets in the way of the image, sort of like a one-corner super-vignette.
If not, then fair 'nuff...get yourself something good.
(Unless things have moved on in the last two years, the waterproof compacts are rather expensive for quite average optics...but the pro cases for D-SLRs are megabucks, so there's not much middle-ground)
And (importantly) do you have an existing point-and-shoot that does decent photos (e.g. Canon Powershot series)?
If snorkeling and you've already got a decent camera, it'll be cheaper to get a waterproof case. I've got a (very cheap - £20 IIRC) Dicapac case which doesn't look like much but does the job. Downsides are (a) it can be difficult to operate the zoom; and (b) once every ~10 shots the black surround for the lens-pocket gets in the way of the image, sort of like a one-corner super-vignette.
If not, then fair 'nuff...get yourself something good.
(Unless things have moved on in the last two years, the waterproof compacts are rather expensive for quite average optics...but the pro cases for D-SLRs are megabucks, so there's not much middle-ground)
Haven't seen any results in a while. Not diving with Italians these days is he?)havoc said:
Are you diving or snorkeling?
And (importantly) do you have an existing point-and-shoot that does decent photos (e.g. Canon Powershot series)?
If snorkeling and you've already got a decent camera, it'll be cheaper to get a waterproof case. I've got a (very cheap - £20 IIRC) Dicapac case which doesn't look like much but does the job. Downsides are (a) it can be difficult to operate the zoom; and (b) once every ~10 shots the black surround for the lens-pocket gets in the way of the image, sort of like a one-corner super-vignette.
If not, then fair 'nuff...get yourself something good.
(Unless things have moved on in the last two years, the waterproof compacts are rather expensive for quite average optics...but the pro cases for D-SLRs are megabucks, so there's not much middle-ground)
Snorkelling, so no great depth needed but i need to submerge the camera for quite a while. That was one of the first options I looked at, getting a waterproof case. As you say, the ones for the dSLRs are very expensive and i'd thought the cheaper ones might not be great. I'd rather not risk breaking a £200 camera on a cheap case.And (importantly) do you have an existing point-and-shoot that does decent photos (e.g. Canon Powershot series)?
If snorkeling and you've already got a decent camera, it'll be cheaper to get a waterproof case. I've got a (very cheap - £20 IIRC) Dicapac case which doesn't look like much but does the job. Downsides are (a) it can be difficult to operate the zoom; and (b) once every ~10 shots the black surround for the lens-pocket gets in the way of the image, sort of like a one-corner super-vignette.
If not, then fair 'nuff...get yourself something good.
(Unless things have moved on in the last two years, the waterproof compacts are rather expensive for quite average optics...but the pro cases for D-SLRs are megabucks, so there's not much middle-ground)
Have you got an example shots when using your case?
And no, i don't think there will be room for any other guests. It's only a small cabin we've booked on the cruise
I bought an older version of the Panasonic when down in Oz. It took nice enough pics and worked OK in my mates pool. But when I really wanted it, at the Barrier Reef, it failed on me. The real give away was the water sloshing around in the LCD screen! They have redesigned them, but the doors and seals still look too flimsy to me.
When I got back on the dive boat, a few other people had said they had had failures with these type of cameras, one getting through 3 Olympus's in a year. You maybe lucky, but if you want real protection, get a proper plastic case. I took a GoPro a year later, but unfortunately had bad weather. The lens is also fixed and a bit too wide.
When I got back on the dive boat, a few other people had said they had had failures with these type of cameras, one getting through 3 Olympus's in a year. You maybe lucky, but if you want real protection, get a proper plastic case. I took a GoPro a year later, but unfortunately had bad weather. The lens is also fixed and a bit too wide.
On my third Pentax. Very pleased with them all.
The laat one I bought was the W90 and it is very impressive.
Great underwater, good video (for my needs), more than adequate on land etc etc.
Got my eye on the WG-1, with 10m depth it's more than enough for snorkling etc.
http://www.pentax.co.uk/en/digital-compact/optio-W...
The W90 came out top in a Gadget Show tested to destruction feature. They even chucked it out a helicopter from 50 odd feet up.
........ and before anyone asks, I like buying new kit. I still have the first two and they work perfectly well.
The laat one I bought was the W90 and it is very impressive.
Great underwater, good video (for my needs), more than adequate on land etc etc.
Got my eye on the WG-1, with 10m depth it's more than enough for snorkling etc.
http://www.pentax.co.uk/en/digital-compact/optio-W...
The W90 came out top in a Gadget Show tested to destruction feature. They even chucked it out a helicopter from 50 odd feet up.
........ and before anyone asks, I like buying new kit. I still have the first two and they work perfectly well.
I've been using a Panny FT1 for a few years.
Bought it initially for use out in Orlando (water parks), where it did a fantastic job - underwater shots were generally excellent. It does a pretty good job on video as well - 720p AVCHD.
From what I've seen the FT2 and FT3 didn't do anything to improve image quality (in fact the FT2 seems worse than the FT1).
Bought it initially for use out in Orlando (water parks), where it did a fantastic job - underwater shots were generally excellent. It does a pretty good job on video as well - 720p AVCHD.
From what I've seen the FT2 and FT3 didn't do anything to improve image quality (in fact the FT2 seems worse than the FT1).
Well, I just got back from the Caribbean and wanted to report on my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT3 underwater camera.
We took two with us, Smug me took the new FT3 costing about 280, My other half decided to go for a cheap 50 kodak easyshare. Guess which one worked......
That's right, on day one, I jumped off the boat for a snorkel (having made sure the camera was all locked up and set for water), by the time I was on the shore the screen had packed in and the stupid thing would not power off. It then started to work 3 days later but would either fail to power off or power on. No need for the GPS setting an I know that it sat at the bottom of the camera bag for the remainder of the trip. Meanwhle the cheaper one continued to work well in and out of the water.
Will vent fury at customer services in the morning.
We took two with us, Smug me took the new FT3 costing about 280, My other half decided to go for a cheap 50 kodak easyshare. Guess which one worked......
That's right, on day one, I jumped off the boat for a snorkel (having made sure the camera was all locked up and set for water), by the time I was on the shore the screen had packed in and the stupid thing would not power off. It then started to work 3 days later but would either fail to power off or power on. No need for the GPS setting an I know that it sat at the bottom of the camera bag for the remainder of the trip. Meanwhle the cheaper one continued to work well in and out of the water.
Will vent fury at customer services in the morning.
Malx said:
Well, I just got back from the Caribbean and wanted to report on my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT3 underwater camera.
We took two with us, Smug me took the new FT3 costing about 280, My other half decided to go for a cheap 50 kodak easyshare. Guess which one worked......
That's right, on day one, I jumped off the boat for a snorkel (having made sure the camera was all locked up and set for water), by the time I was on the shore the screen had packed in and the stupid thing would not power off. It then started to work 3 days later but would either fail to power off or power on. No need for the GPS setting an I know that it sat at the bottom of the camera bag for the remainder of the trip. Meanwhle the cheaper one continued to work well in and out of the water.
Will vent fury at customer services in the morning.
How high did you jump from?We took two with us, Smug me took the new FT3 costing about 280, My other half decided to go for a cheap 50 kodak easyshare. Guess which one worked......
That's right, on day one, I jumped off the boat for a snorkel (having made sure the camera was all locked up and set for water), by the time I was on the shore the screen had packed in and the stupid thing would not power off. It then started to work 3 days later but would either fail to power off or power on. No need for the GPS setting an I know that it sat at the bottom of the camera bag for the remainder of the trip. Meanwhle the cheaper one continued to work well in and out of the water.
Will vent fury at customer services in the morning.
GoPro is pretty good in my opinion. You can get a wrist attachment and take set the camera to photograph once a second if you want, or use an LCD clip on display. Its waterproof and can be used on a MTB, snowboard, car... too.
Only issue is if you go deeper (eg Scuba) the colours wash out.
Only issue is if you go deeper (eg Scuba) the colours wash out.
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