'Rugged' camera with Aperture Priority mode?
Discussion
I'm looking for a dual-use camera...
Main use will be for my son - to replace my old Powershot IS560 that I gave him (that's now eating batteries like sweets). At the moment he just needs a point-and-shoot, but on the assumption that the camera will last a few years, it'd be nice if it had features for him to grow into...
Secondary use will be as an underwater / compact 2nd camera for me, when on holiday or just out-and-about somewhere I don't want to lug a D-SLR around...and I like my manual controls. Of course, this presumes a decent sized sensor to give me shallow DOF in the first place...
Best bet seems to be the Olympus TG-5 (can't find any other underwater cameras that have manual controls, and even if I say "I'll get a waterproof case" and ditch the waterproofing requirement, shock-proofing will still be very important when my son's got it). Except that's £350+, which is WELL outside the budget we've got for his Christmas present, even allowing for me wanting a share in it...
So...what else is there on the next rung down that you could recommend? Is there a TG-4 still around and going cheap somewhere?
(PS - want new not 2nd hand as it's mainly going to be a present for my lad...)
Main use will be for my son - to replace my old Powershot IS560 that I gave him (that's now eating batteries like sweets). At the moment he just needs a point-and-shoot, but on the assumption that the camera will last a few years, it'd be nice if it had features for him to grow into...
Secondary use will be as an underwater / compact 2nd camera for me, when on holiday or just out-and-about somewhere I don't want to lug a D-SLR around...and I like my manual controls. Of course, this presumes a decent sized sensor to give me shallow DOF in the first place...
Best bet seems to be the Olympus TG-5 (can't find any other underwater cameras that have manual controls, and even if I say "I'll get a waterproof case" and ditch the waterproofing requirement, shock-proofing will still be very important when my son's got it). Except that's £350+, which is WELL outside the budget we've got for his Christmas present, even allowing for me wanting a share in it...
So...what else is there on the next rung down that you could recommend? Is there a TG-4 still around and going cheap somewhere?
(PS - want new not 2nd hand as it's mainly going to be a present for my lad...)
Edited by havoc on Wednesday 24th October 14:06
I've got the TG-2 and I'm pretty certain the aperture priority mode is some technical wizardry that doesn't actually involve changing the aperture, I've only used it a few times and can't get it to work as a normal aperture priority would work. I only have the choice of f2, 2.8 and 8.
I don't know if the TG-5 is the same or they've updated this since the TG-2 came out, but if it's something that's important for you I'd do some more digging before spending any money on one!
Just taken 2 photos of my as an example of the depth of field change really not very great (shrunk the photos down quite a bit which explains most of the poor quality!)
f2
f8
I don't know if the TG-5 is the same or they've updated this since the TG-2 came out, but if it's something that's important for you I'd do some more digging before spending any money on one!
Just taken 2 photos of my as an example of the depth of field change really not very great (shrunk the photos down quite a bit which explains most of the poor quality!)
f2
f8
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