Waterproof Camera

[bam]

Looking for recommendations on a decent waterproof camera in the $100 to $150 range. I'm not looking for anything great, just a solid camera that will hold up to some water. My last phone and couple cameras weren't up to the task...

 

[albatross]

I got an Olympus 560 for Christmas and I've been very happy with it. Small and light so its easy to carry. Waterproof and takes nice photos. Falls right in your price range.

Link

 

[Rolf]

http://www.paflyfish.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=12999&forum=3

 

[gfen]

I'm usually loathe to buy anywhere BUT Adorama and B&H (KEH burned me once, and I've never forgiven them for it), but that's a sweet price on a Pentax, and I've sworn my wallet to them years ago.

 

[volcanomil]

Do not over-look Fuji. I bought a WP Fuji - not sure of the model # right now - FinePix something/something - it takes really good/average pictures. I bought it at a BJ Club store for about $170 over a year ago - I see them on Ebay and other spots cheaper nowadays.

 

[sight_nymph_17109]

I have a Olympus SW850. Takes good stills, videos and works underwater as well. I'm not sure what the current selling price is. Maybe amazon would give you a price range. My only complaint is that the zoom is 3x. Tried to get video of a bald eagle taking a fish but it looked like a gnat do to lack of zoom. There may be some other models out there with a stronger lens set up.

I was researching the Kodak Playsport. Records pics and video in HD. The list price was $149 on the Kodak website.

 

[Heritage-Angler]

Pentax - there is no substitute. Compare them, feature for feature, and at that $100 price, it's a no-brainer. Try this with an Olympus or Fuji waterproof camera - it ain't happenin'.
This is a size 14 fly, picture taken with only my Ott light for lighting. Pentax has the best macro, 5X optical zoom, 5.7X digital zoom, 28.5X combined zoom, and also HD video, to boot.

 

[gfen]

To say nothing of the most important, and underlooked, feature on cameras: The coating.

Pentax SMC (Super Multi-Coat) is better than _any_ Japanese makers' coatings, period. They are on par, or only mildly behind, Zeiss T* coating (the defacto industry leader).

Glass reflects light. Lenses have many different elements, so if you've got 7 elements then that's 14 different surfaces all reflecting light and at least 12 of them are facing each other, meaning even MORE reflection.

More reflection, more washout and more flare. Less detail, less colour saturation, and less quality.

Pentax gets no respect anymore because in the '70s they opted to focus their "professional" appeal to medium format cameras, rather than 35mm stuff. The LX was the end of the line for them, and while Canon and Nikon poured effort and money into building support for professionals, Pentax let it languish and didn't bother with the guys who dealt with little cameras.

We see how well that worked out, eh?

Anyways, Pentax has always been the also-ran to most people, but they have a long and storied history of camera making, and are certainly not the also-rans in optical design and manufacture.

That said, nice pheasant tail.. Mine always look like ***.

 

[Festus]

Dang it H-A, everytime you post a fly picture, I have to hit the tying bench again.:-x

 

[sight_nymph_17109]

OK, you're camera has better zoom than mine. Is that Pentax 'waterproof' though? I'll have to check one out.

Good looking fly. Can I order a dozen?

 

[ryguyfi]

volcanomil wrote:
Do not over-look Fuji. I bought a WP Fuji - not sure of the model # right now - FinePix something/something - it takes really good/average pictures. I bought it at a BJ Club store for about $170 over a year ago - I see them on Ebay and other spots cheaper nowadays.

I got one for christmas this past year. I really like it (scratched the screen today, not too happy). It takes great pictures, and no worries about getting it wet. I think I paid around 150 for it. Haven't taken any underwater shots yet, but will let you know how that works out.

 

[Heritage-Angler]

gfen wrote:


That said, nice pheasant tail.. Mine always look like ***.

Well, you are using pheasant TAIL. ;-)
Actually, that fly has no pheasant tail in it - it's turkey tail for the abdomen and wingcase, and hungarian partridge for the legs/tails.

As far as that Pentax WS80 from Abe's - yes it's waterproof. Pentax was one of the first to offer waterproof point and shoot cameras, if not the first. The originals were pretty pricey, but $100 is a great price! Abe's is also an authorized Pentax dealer, so there's no worries about the factory warranty. There's a lot of grey market deals out there, but unless you purchase from an authorized Pentax dealer, their warranty doesn't apply.

Mute took some neat underwater footage with his WP60 - check it out here.

Here's a side view of that sulphur nymph - notice the flat profile. Pentax's image editing software that comes with their waterproof cameras is also top notch!

 

[wgmiller]

I looked at some pictures today that were taken by a Panasonic Lumix. Pretty impressive pictures both in and out of the water... Very clear fish shots underwater and every picture had great color!

http://www.jr.com/panasonic/pe/PAN_DMCTS1S/

 

[bam]

thanks for all the opinions. That Pentax looks pretty sweet and I'll likely order one soon!