Underwater / Rugged Camera

[gooberpea17]

To all the photo folks out there. I am looking for an underwater / rugged camera to take on my upcoming cruise and need your advice.

 

I want to use continue to use it for future adventurous endeavours (snowboarding, biking, motorcycle, etc.) and wanted to invest in a quality camera that can hang.

 

I don't have hundreds and hundreds of dollars to spend so I don't need a zero noise, wall size portrait snapping, GPS tagging, dive depth quality product. But I do want something that I can snap underwater (5ft?) pictures/video with and don't have to worry about dropping it and shattering memories.

 

I have looked into several models of varying price ranges. Nikon AW100. Pentax WG-2. Olympus TG-1 ($$). Among a couple other ones. But with most hanging in the $250 to $300 range, why not go for the GoPro Hero 2 which seems to be the "adventure camera" that can do anything?

 

Even though there are some other threads like this, I wanted come up to date opinions if possible.

 

And.......Go!

[flounder315]

I bought my Olympus Style Tough before our trip to Hawaii in 2010. Used it often since then and do not have 1 complaint. Love this camera

 

above water

below water at night

this was snorkeling on July in Cozumel.

[MagnoliaFly]

I have no idea what an underwater housing would cost for the GoPro. Are you wanting to do photography or video or both? Which is more important?

[tweak89]

My vote goes to the Pentax Option line, WG-1 and WG-2 are the most current models. I can attest to their ability to stand up to almost all the conditions in which they are designed to survive. I started with the W90 and now have a WG-1. I have dropped, kicked, sat on, submerged in water, sand and mud and never had an issue with either one. While I also have fancier cameras, this is always our number one choice for traveling.

 

The Hero line of cameras is aimed more at adventure sport types. It's not really a pocketable travel camera. I do a ridiculous amount of research before buying any electronics and Pentax always came out on top. They were, after all, one of the pioneers of underwater camera tech for the consumer segment.

 

Underwater footage shot by me at Discovery Cove in Orlando:

 

[gooberpea17]

I have no idea what an underwater housing would cost for the GoPro. Are you wanting to do photography or video or both? Which is more important?

 

GoPro Hero's come with an underwater housing. I want a balance of both video and photo which is a vague blanket statement. It seems GoPro is more aimed at video though.

[2Okies]

Another vote for the Olympus Stylus Tough. It's a rugged camera, and takes great pictures on land or in the sea. It's small enough to stash in a purse or pocket, which makes it handy. The LCD screen is also pretty good sized, which helps when you are underwater.

[kevrab]

We just got back from our cruise and I shot video and stills with a Pentax WG2 that I had just bought off of Amazon for $299. Everything on the video I shot was with it.

 

 

My wife bought an Olympus TG20 Tough camera and it took very nice images also.

 

The Pentax has a very easy menu and different modes of shooting to search for.

[Dirkgun]

I really love my Canon D10 ( I just checked amazon $260 range) it is really versatile and takes great pictures and video. We also just bought my wife the Fuji XP50 for around $179 and she really likes it for both pics and video. Good luck

[Herfnerd]

I have an Olympus Tough and love it. Nikon, Pentax and Canon make good "tough" cameras as well.

 

GoPro is a good camera but with some limitations - fixed focus lens, no viewfinder and only the small 3-line status display. If you are a hardcore adventure type, it might be worthwhile but you have to look at how its going to be used.....

[maplevale]

I just bought an Olympus Tough on clearance for $99. Literally haven't even put a memory card in it yet!

 

(I use a Cannon DSLR for out of wet situations)

[SadieN]

With any of these underwater cameras adhere to the depth limit. DH's scuba diving friend went too deep with our first Olympus, rated at 10 ft. DH thought it was the 30ft model.:mad:

[Herfnerd]

With any of these underwater cameras adhere to the depth limit. DH's scuba diving friend went too deep with our first Olympus, rated at 10 ft. DH thought it was the 30ft model.:mad:

 

Yikes!

[patrick82]

I just picked up a Nikon AW100 for $250 on Amazon. I prefer Amazon because of its easy return policy. Will be taking it on our cruise next week primarily for snorkeling. The deciding factor to buy was that the Olympus TG-1 is out of stock and the AW100 has an underwater photo setting as well as panoramic stitching capabilities.

 

Will have more info in a couple of weeks.

[Herfnerd]

[quote=patrick82;35040219 The deciding factor to buy was that the Olympus TG-1 is out of stock and the AW100 has an underwater photo setting as well as panoramic stitching capabilities.

 

 

Actually, all U/W cameras have an U/W setting to filter the blue hues :D