Best Point & Shoot waterproof/tough camera?

[Gino]

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking to purchase a point & shoot waterproof/tough camera for my sister, and I would like to hear your recommendations. Here are things to consider:

* My sister knows next to nothing about photography, so the camera needs to take good JPEG photos, and video, in auto mode.
* The camera needs to have easy to use wifi connectivity, so my sister can easily download photos to her iPad/iPhone, and share the photos on Facebook.

Right now I'm leaning toward the new Olympus camera, but I'd like to know if there is a better camera available.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1042476-REG/olympus_v104140ru000_stylus_tough_tg_3_digital.html

Thanks

 

[Logan]

i dont think it has wifi but i am happy with my fuji xp60, i have a 18x24 print of a manatee that you cant really find any fault with. as with most underwater photos the colour balance and contrast is pretty weak straight out the camera, and lightroom tweaking can save some pretty questionable ones.

after a little snorkeling experience i would suggest getting something with the highest fps possible, mine has a 10fps burst mode, its very hard to frame a shot, unless you are using scuba, the waves are always moving you around and the fish are moving and its much better to get a burst of shots and pick one where the framing is decent. hit rate on single shots is very very low because of constant motion of everything.

first shot edited for print, second shot just tweaked a little, pretty much soc.

 

[NancyP]

Excellent photos of an ugly beast. Manatee?
My brother likes his Olympus TG2. It is simple, durable, and snorkel-able. Underwater photos are excellent. Regular photos are excellent, too. It is a great waterproof camera for the non-photographer.
DPReview has a review of 2014 model waterproof cameras up.

 

[Logan]

yes, manatee. they are incredibly gentle and adorable, kind of like elephants. they have no natural defenses and there's not many left, if you get a chance to swim with them i highly recommend it.

my underwater camera has a sweep-panorama feature that works really well - one of the few simple features of point and shoots that i feel would be nice to have on a dslr.

 

[LookingThroughMyLens81]

I'd go with the Nikon Coolpix AW120. That looks the best IMO.

 

[rs]

GoPro?

 

[alexturton]

I bought the olympus tg850 for my honeymoon. Fantastic waterproof. Good iq. Super macro is great. 21mm super wide angle. Video really good. Compact.

Plus flippy screen for under water selfies and awkward angle shots.

 

[verysimplejason]

GoPro. Well built, compact, lots of accessories,/potential.

 

[eml58]

New GoPro, I do a lot of underwater Photography, currently with the 5DMK III & Sony a7r, both Housed set ups, but rarely go underwater these days without the GoPro as well, for Sharks the GoPro is almost essential as on a 2 metre extension it's almost the only way now to get close Images of Sharks, Sharks have fortunately for them, learnt to keep their distance from Humans, may be too late.

The new GoPro not only takes excellent video, it's small, you can use it in almost any environment, and takes a pretty good still Image as well.

When my son was learning underwater photography I set him up with a Canon G11 in a "FIX" Housing (Canon also make a Housing for the "G" range), this isn't the cheapest way but you do end up with a much better Camera that can be Housed reasonably priced.

http://www.backscatter.com/sku/fe-fixg12-sa.lasso

My experience with the Olympus/Sony type Cameras that don't require a Housing is that they don't last well, inevitably the "O" rings degrade, people forget to shut the battery compartment properly etc, and you have a drowned camera that's not going to be resuscitated, sea water id deadly on electronics, this from personal experience, I've drowned 2 x 5DMK II's over the years, not pleasant.

 

[NancyP]

I would PREFER to keep at least 2 meters away from the sharks, thank you.

 

[Omni Images]

Canon have just bought out a small water proof point and shoot, Power shot D20.. able to take a 2 drop water proof down to 10m It's also able to take cold to -10c - 12mp 28mm lens, 3" screen
http://www.d-d-photographics.com.au/products/Canon-PowerShot-D20-12.1-MP-CMOS-Waterproof-Digital-Camera-%252b-8gb-SD-Card.html#.U9nij-OSx8E

But I have just seen a sweet camera by Nikon the 1AW1 .. has interchangable lenses, 1" cmos 14mp sensor, shock proof freeze proof goes down to 49feet .. 15fps auto focus, 60 focus locked ... sounds pretty sweet.
http://www.d-d-photographics.com.au/products/Nikon-1-AW1-Waterproof-Digital-Camera-with-AW-11%252d27.5mm-and-10mm-%28Black%29.html#.U9njieOSx8E

 

[RustyTheGeek]

I've kept an eye on the rugged market for years because it's interesting and there is a lot of potential but unfortunately it's remains virtually untapped with all the cameras being fairly the same in function and form.

For that reason, I've purchased three Canon rugged P&S cameras for my needs over the years... the D10 in 2008, the D20 in 2011 and the D30 in 2014 (for a friend actually, not me). They have all been winners for me. They all still work and they all share the same battery.

All of the Canon rugged cameras work about the same and produce about the best pictures (on avg) on the market for that type of camera. They have been reliable, consistent and the menus are similar to other Canon products.

With that said... I am intrigued by the Pentax K-3 DSLR Rugged and the Nikon 1 AW1. Both are much more expensive and are essentially buying into a whole new system, esp the Pentax. For that reason, I haven't jumped on them but do look like they would be cool.

For better quality, I just returned from 10+ days on the dusty/dry/wet/rainy trail hiking in New Mexico using a Canon SL1 + Tamron 18-270 camera. It's not ruggedized but it worked great and I simply took careful care of it. Of course, I wasn't at the beach and I wasn't in the water. So it's not a perfect solution by any means. It's just what I did because I could.

 

[tron]

I got a TG-3 and quite enjoyed it. It was used mostly at the surface though and anyway not deeper than 1 meter.