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Do you think it's worth it to purchase a waterproof camera?


cransplash

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We are contemplating buying this Canon D10 waterproof camera- seems to get really solid reviews and I've seen the pictures from people's blog when they use it underwater- so clear and pretty.

 

We're not avid snorkelers, and most likely won't use it all the time. From what I've read, it's a great camera both for land and sea. We do already have a great Canon point and shoot, and a Nikon D60 SLR. Having another point & shoot camera wouldn't be a bad thing as it's much easier traveling with a portable one and it seems like DH and I are constantly wanting to use the camera and take pictures simultaneously.

 

We don't foresee another water trip for a few more years (maybe in 2015 when we go to Honduras or Costa Rica), but I guess we could use it for land pictures?

 

Thus- do you think we should purchase this D10? Or, just save our money?

 

Canon D10: http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-D10-Waterproof-Stabilized/dp/B001SER460/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327449184&sr=8-1

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We are contemplating buying this Canon D10 waterproof camera- seems to get really solid reviews and I've seen the pictures from people's blog when they use it underwater- so clear and pretty.

 

We're not avid snorkelers, and most likely won't use it all the time. From what I've read, it's a great camera both for land and sea. We do already have a great Canon point and shoot, and a Nikon D60 SLR. Having another point & shoot camera wouldn't be a bad thing as it's much easier traveling with a portable one and it seems like DH and I are constantly wanting to use the camera and take pictures simultaneously.

 

We don't foresee another water trip for a few more years (maybe in 2015 when we go to Honduras or Costa Rica), but I guess we could use it for land pictures?

 

Thus- do you think we should purchase this D10? Or, just save our money?

 

Canon D10: http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-D10-Waterproof-Stabilized/dp/B001SER460/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327449184&sr=8-1

I have no complaints about the Canon D10, underwater and above water.. but if you are not planning a water trip for a few years, I would wait as you never know what they might come out with next... I didn't purchase mine until a few weeks before my cruise and intended to use it for snorkeling as I have other cameras but ended up using it for everything and am very pleased.... however, I did wait till I was ready to do some underwater adventures...

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I have no complaints about the Canon D10, underwater and above water.. but if you are not planning a water trip for a few years, I would wait as you never know what they might come out with next... I didn't purchase mine until a few weeks before my cruise and intended to use it for snorkeling as I have other cameras but ended up using it for everything and am very pleased.... however, I did wait till I was ready to do some underwater adventures...

 

I was thinking about this too, but then I thought we could use it if it was raining outside, take it on water excursions (without worrying about it getting wet), to the beach (hopefully it will not get "clogged" with sand)... we do travel a lot so I'm hoping it'll be more versatile than my original thinking of an "underwater camera" only?

 

I have been reading online reviews and people say it can damage (water leaks, etc) so I'm looking for a place that offers a service protection plan. Amazon has the best pricing but I'd have to pay for a separate protection plan but I know nothing about it and how much it covers...

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I agree with host star. I bought an Olympus waterproof camera as I was cruising around tha Pacific and wanted it for Tahiti. Used it in Hawaii and other places as a 'normal' camera. Only bought it about 2 weeks before I left. If I had not being going to Tahiti I would not have bought it.

I would wait as new models do come out.

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Buy it. That way if you do need it you'll already have it. You never know whats going to come up. Plus Dream as if you'll live forever & Live as if you'll die tomorrow. :)) I just bought my Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3 waterproof camera, also with excellent reviews. It should be arriving through amazon any day now., LOL

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raining outside, take it on water excursions (without worrying about it getting wet), to the beach ...

 

Absolutely buy it now. You can totally use it as above, plus I use mine (I have a Pentax W90) in the snow. Its winter in Chicago and love getting pics and video of our Golden acting like a goof in the snow. Don't need to worry about it getting wet, plus it is good to like 14 degress so it won't freeze up. :)

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Just my opinion.

 

Underwater cameras are kind of a waste. Pictures of fish, coral and ?? seem immensely cool at the time, but in a year or two or 10 you have no idea where the specific spot was and you really don't care.

 

You also spend more time and focus (pun intended) on taking the perfect pic that you do enjoying your surroundings and soaking it up (:p).

 

Look back at your super important pics of a trip to the zoo. At the time is was soooo important to get the elephant washing itself, but 10 years later you can find a much better pic on the web of an elephant on the web and you don't have to lug the extra equipment around.

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I have been thinking about that canon camera for several months. We are going to Tahiti in May. Of course I could have used it in Oct in Maui or in Dec in the Caribbean. I am kicking myself that it was down to $199 on Amazon for a few days in Dec. Every time I see someone with that camera I get jealous. Now on the other hand its a bit clunkier than the usual Powershot camera, when i take pictures in the water there is always some type of movement happening. I did buy a waterproof type bag to try with my regular Canon but pix were not clear. Let me know what you decide.

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Look back at your super important pics of a trip to the zoo. At the time is was soooo important to get the elephant washing itself, but 10 years later you can find a much better pic on the web of an elephant on the web and you don't have to lug the extra equipment around.

 

By that logic why get a camera at all? Just Google the locations you travelled to and download other peoples' pictures!

 

Waterproof cameras do tend to be more versatile that for use strictly in the water, but they're also not the greatest cameras. If you're looking to save money then I'd say go for one of those Dicapacs, people seem pretty pleased with them. Save it for your Costa Rica trip, maybe they'll have improved the cameras by then!

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By that logic why get a camera at all? Just Google the locations you travelled to and download other peoples' pictures!

 

Waterproof cameras do tend to be more versatile that for use strictly in the water, but they're also not the greatest cameras. If you're looking to save money then I'd say go for one of those Dicapacs, people seem pretty pleased with them. Save it for your Costa Rica trip, maybe they'll have improved the cameras by then!

 

Not trying to be argumentative but my point was the underwater pictures of fish, the tail of that stingray that wouldn’t stay still, the “cool” rocks & coral, etc are not going to be important in the future BUT pics of people are always priceless and since pics of people (for the most part) underwater are not that good don't worry about an underwater camera.

 

The reference to the zoo was, the pics of the animals are meaningless the pictures of PEOPLE are priceless! Get pics of people on the boat ride out, maybe as they jump in the water, and sipping a cocktail on the way home…..just enjoy the underwater experience without stressing about taking pics.

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I would recommend an Intova: Just bought and used the CP14 (around $300) but they also have cheaper CP12, and the 9 mp CP9 you can order online for around $70-80. It is a regular pocket-size camera that comes with an underwater housing. You can put it in the housing to take into the water (cp9 is good to 130') or use it as a normal camera out of the housing.

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We bought a Kodak Playsport on sale for about $120 and we love it. I take it to the beach around home and took it snorkeling last summer on my cruise. We probably won't be able to cruise more than once a year, but I find that it is handy to have at the beach at home and we also took it to the waterpark with us last summer too. Takes decent video and pictures. I did learn, however, that if you have had the camera in water and then go to take video, you need to give the camera a few seconds to drain the water off the microphone area =) A couple of my videos from Dunn's River Falls are a bit garbled for the first 20 seconds of the video.

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Not trying to be argumentative but my point was the underwater pictures of fish, the tail of that stingray that wouldn’t stay still, the “cool” rocks & coral, etc are not going to be important in the future BUT pics of people are always priceless and since pics of people (for the most part) underwater are not that good don't worry about an underwater camera.

 

The reference to the zoo was, the pics of the animals are meaningless the pictures of PEOPLE are priceless! Get pics of people on the boat ride out, maybe as they jump in the water, and sipping a cocktail on the way home…..just enjoy the underwater experience without stressing about taking pics.

 

I think it all depends on the person. Some of my computer backgrounds and some of the best pictures around my house are underwater pictures. Sea horses, squid, etc. If you have a good underwater camera that takes good (not green) pictures it is fun and amazing. Also, the other side of it is, I took my underwater camera zip lining to take video (it was raining so no other camera would work). The videos we have are fun and other people actually like seeing them. Also, being able to take the camera in the water gives us the option of taking it on shore (even if not snorkeling) and not worrying about leaving it in our bag at the beach, etc. Boating, fishing and anywhere else it may get wet are all good reasons to have a waterproof camera. I guess it all depends on the person.

 

I loved my Canon D10, until I fell and broke it in Hawaii (landed on it and ground a rock into the lens - bad news). We couldn't find a new one so I got the new Pentax. I don't think the Pentax takes as good of pictures as the Canon D10, but I love the quality of the videos. I don't like that the Canon D10 doesn't take HD video. If a new Canon comes out this year, I will likely take a look at it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have the Canon D10 and LOVE it. I carry it around more than I do my dslr camera. I didn't even bother to take the dslr camera on our last cruise because this little camera did it all for us.

 

Don't look at it as you won't use it much because you won't be cruising (or water sports) often because it's an everyday use camera. Land pictures, around the house, by/in the pool, at night, holidays. It can definitely have it's uses for things other than just snorkeling and such.

 

Here's a link to my smugmug page of some pictures we took in Cozumel in September (there are tons of other pictures from the Spirit cruise there too in different folders you can check out): http://kimbakersphotography.smugmug.com/Other/Chankanaab-Cozumel-Mexico/19147812_D5w3PP#!i=1491563924&k=PMtsWsq

 

Also, here's a link to some fireworks pictures I used the camera for (I think it does awesome night pictures as well): http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=25079768&postcount=10

 

Then of course it does video as well (there was some video on my smugmug page that you can check out that I did while snorkeling). I'm not a "huge" fan of the video, but it did ok. I hear the new D20 coming out is going to have hd video. :D

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I have had a D10 for a couple of years and have used snorkeling as well as a principal camera. It takes a lot of knocks and of course can be used to skiing or in other winter activities. However the knock on the camera is that because of its bulk it doesn't slide into a pocket as easily as some point and shoot models. If you do decide to purchase one then I would advise that you purchase a floating wrist strap for it as it really doesn't float as well as they would have you believe.

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Just curious - have seen them by Kodak, claiming to be good down to 15 feet. Are they awful, or tolerable, or only for the times when you might get a real camera wet, or what? I have a wonderful camera for serious photography, so if I got one ($11 at Target) I wouldn't use the thing very much, but just wondered if it might come in handy.

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Just curious - have seen them by Kodak, claiming to be good down to 15 feet. Are they awful, or tolerable, or only for the times when you might get a real camera wet, or what? I have a wonderful camera for serious photography, so if I got one ($11 at Target) I wouldn't use the thing very much, but just wondered if it might come in handy.

 

I tried one for snorkeling and found it to be absolutely useless...not one picture turned out.

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Technology moves fast D10 is ancient, here is a take of the latest models :D

 

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q311waterproofcompactgrouptest/

It is interesting to note that the link does not include a review of the D20 (the review is 6 months out of date) but there is very little difference between the D10 and the D20 except about a $150 difference in price. IMO the only real knock on the D10 is the fact that it is a bit to bulky to be considered to be a compact camera...other than that it preforms wonderfully.

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We are contemplating buying this Canon D10 waterproof camera- seems to get really solid reviews and I've seen the pictures from people's blog when they use it underwater- so clear and pretty.

 

Canon D10: http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-D10-Waterproof-Stabilized/dp/B001SER460/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327449184&sr=8-1

 

They just announced the Canon D20 underwater camera. Due out in May, but they usually show up a bit early.

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Just curious - have seen them by Kodak, claiming to be good down to 15 feet. Are they awful, or tolerable, or only for the times when you might get a real camera wet, or what? I have a wonderful camera for serious photography, so if I got one ($11 at Target) I wouldn't use the thing very much, but just wondered if it might come in handy.

 

They are terrible. I keep trying them over and over but am always disappointed. That's why we are now looking at a dedicated camera for water sports. And the cost to buy the disposables and then develop them, by the time you've gone on one or two trips you've paid nearly as much for those pictures as buying a camera.

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Attached are a few photos I took last month with a Walgreen's underwater disposable camera. I'll admit, they're not great (the turtles came out the best, the water with the stingrays was really murky because of everyone shuffling), but I only have a chance to snorkel every few years, so I can't really justify spending the money on an underwater camera. I'd love to buy one some day, but until then I will use the disposables and a little bit of photo enhancing and just appreciate that I get to go to these amazing places occasionally.

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