Tough and rugged camera recommendation

[wkrp]

I am sick and tired of babying my canon powershot and am looking at buying one of those water, shock and freezeproof cameras . Any experiences and which brand would be recommended

[misfish]

Fuji XP

 

I love mine.

 

It,s a few years old now and work great. Im sure there are newer ones now.

[Rodbender]

I got my wife a XP 70 she love's it so do I (She don't have to touch my camera)

[Old Ironmaker]

Fugi seems to be popular. My 8 year old Fugi Pix S1500 is as solid as a rock. It has hit the turf a few times. As good as any SLR I've owned, Practica to,Nikon and a few in between. Use either point and shoot or full manual with F stops, exposure times etc. Great value.

[DRIFTER_016]

I have been using Olympus Stylus P&S cameras for fishing for close to 15 years now.

They perform very well, take decent pics and are tough.

My latest is probably 6 or 7 years old and still functions perfectly.

All the photos in my Working @ the lake thread were taken with it.

 

My avatar pic was taken with my Canon EOS and efs 10-22mm wide angle lens.

The DSLR does not come out very often but like your Powershot has to be looked after since it's not fluid friendly.

[ckewley]

I bought a Nikon Cool Pix a little while ago & think its a awesome piece of machinery. Truth told I was looking for the Fuji XP but couldn't find one in the time slot needed. The Nikon has a ton of features & are all great just not sure I'd use them all, IE it's waterproof to 30m & I'm not a diver. I think there was a huge thread in the Extra Resources area that Bill M started or at least contributed allot of info to that is a great start.

[fishnsled]

I've got a Panasonic Lumix DMC TS5 and had it for a few years now. No complaints at all. Seems to do everything I need in a point and shoot. I use this camera year round in all kinds of conditions and it just keeps on working. I'd be looking at some of the photography websites for reviews on today's better camera. At a quick glace they are rating the Olympus Tough TG-4 as one of the better ones.

 

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-waterproof-camera/

 

http://www.techradar.com/us/news/photography-video-capture/cameras/best-waterproof-compact-camera-1260610

 

http://www.backscatter.com/learn/article/article.php?ID=57

 

 

 

My camera

• Waterproof to 13m
• Shockproof to 2.0m
• Freezeproof to -10 degrees C
• Dustproof
• Pressure Resistant to 100 kgf
• Plus Anti-fog glass

[adolson]

I had a Fuji and HATED it. I sold it. Terrible pics, slow, underwater pics and footage has way too much colorshifting going on and looks overall bad.

 

I now have a Nikon Coolpix and I HATE that, too. Pics are hit or miss, but it's super slow between shots. Video is good, though. I don't really use it much anymore... Scared to get it wet, as I've read many complaints about Nikon honoring the warranty - should the waterproofing fail, they claim it's not supposed to be used in water. What the hell?

 

Not really the same idea, but I got an SJCAM SJ4000 and it's basically like a less expensive GoPro, compatible with the mount system. Pics are just OK, but the video is nice. Not sure exactly how rugged it is in the waterproof housing, but I trust it more than I would the Nikon.

 

IF I were to buy another point-n-shoot waterproof, I'd spend more and get the Canon. I suspect it will suffer some of the same issues as the other two, but I have loved my Canons over the years. Edit: I might look at the Olympus too. I considered it last time, but the Nikon was available locally.

Edited September 3, 2015 by Dana

[gordy28]

 

I've got a Panasonic Lumix DMC TS5 and had it for a few years now. No complaints at all. Seems to do everything I need in a point and shoot. I use this camera year round in all kinds of conditions and it just keeps on working. I'd be looking at some of the photography websites for reviews on today's better camera. At a quick glace they are rating the Olympus Tough TG-4 as one of the better ones.

 

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-waterproof-camera/

 

http://www.techradar.com/us/news/photography-video-capture/cameras/best-waterproof-compact-camera-1260610

 

http://www.backscatter.com/learn/article/article.php?ID=57

 

 

 

My camera

• Waterproof to 13m
• Shockproof to 2.0m
• Freezeproof to -10 degrees C
• Dustproof
• Pressure Resistant to 100 kgf
• Plus Anti-fog glass

 

I have the same Panasonic Camera and have really enjoyed it

Also great if you have kids - mine love playing with it in the lake, pool etc

Gordy

[spincast]

I had 2 Fuji's - same as Brian's. Liked the pic quality, waterproof, shock proof, and lots of different modes including pano - but both died within 12 months. Second one was the replacement for the first one's extended warranty. Now working on a Ricoh WG-4. So far so good, more settings than I will ever explore, but doesn't have pano mode, and only a 4x zoom. . It does have a unique feature for super up close that I haven't used yet. This site is pretty good for comparison when I was looking

http://www.cnet.com/news/best-waterproof-rugged-cameras-and-camcorders-compared/

[SirCranksalot]

I have a Canon powershot and have not felt a need to baby it. I do keep it in a Pelican case when in a boat, though. I have had it for 4-5 yearrs now.

[singingdog]

Olympus Tough. Not only does it take a beating - mine has been everywhere from the desert to -30 ski trips - but it has one of the best sensors of any waterproof point-and-shoot. It is tough enough that I usually just clip it to my pack or PFD, where it is often underwater, smashed against rocks, or laying on the ground.

[alphaalpha]

I have had my olympus stylus tough 10mp for about 5 years now. smashed on some hard rocks and concrete and still takes great pictures in and out of the water. It was around double the price of the fuji when i was looking but i got it free from airmiles at the time

[solopaddler]

Last week fishing with Aaron Shirley I was super impressed with his Olympus Tough TG2. He told me he researched cameras for 2 full years before settling on this one and he's been pretty happy with it.

 

If I was in the market for that type of camera right now that's the one I'd buy.

[wkrp]

Thanks for all your help. It looks like olympus wins hands down. Now to find the best deal.

[Dabluz]

I had an Olympus (still have it but don't use it) and I was disappointed in the picture quality. Ok....it was a Stylus 600 so not very expensive but I now have a small Canon which is about 1/2 the size and the picture quality is great.

[misfish]

Theres a camera in the classifieds.

[Wagoneer]

I've had my trusty Panasonic Lumix water/freeze/shock proof camera for the last 5 years now and it's been fantastic. I'm not easy on the thing. It gets tossed around, has been submerged many times (even went diving with it in bermuda) with no issues. Pictures aren't fantastic, probably as good as any iphone 6 or equivalent of today's smartphones, tends to wash out and over expose during really bright days if you aren't careful what you're focusing on (mostly because I have the auto focus on the center of the photo - it has other options that takes the average for the entire photo which probably works better for exposure rates) but other other than that it's been fantastic. Also has GPS tagging, and a really quick start-up time for when you don't have a lot of time to take a photo of something. And after 5 years I can still take it on a week camping trip and not have to charge it.

 

I think it's going to be retired to my back-up tacklebox camera though. More often than not I just use my iphone to take photos and really only need the camera on rough days or when it's raining out and I don't feel like risking bringing my iphone on my boat. This is only because recently I left my iphone in my car because it was pouring out while setting up the boat and decided to try out Pond Mills in London. I ended up catching my PB large mouth bass on a hoola hopper out of the stupid little lake and I have no proof of it accept for my buddy who was with me as we both left our phones on shore. Lesson learned - will always have my trusty Lumix in the tackle box from now on. Don't think little ponds can't produce some massive fish!