[tag]Waterproof cameras[/tag] are not just for underwater photography. Think of them as members of a highly specialised elite unit of the military who are able to carry out war in any situation despite their obvious lack of armament.
You can carry them with you while snorkeling, mountain hiking, jungle trekking, put them in your pockets while walking in the rain and so on without having to worry they might stop functioning.
Here are three weatherproof affordable cameras you can choose should you decide to take the plunge and acquire additional assets in your list of photographic tools.
They are the Pentax Optio W80, Olympus Stylus TOUGH-8000 and Canon PowerShot D10.
Pentax Optio W80 vs Olympus Stylus TOUGH-8000 vs Canon PowerShot D10
| Pentax Optio W80 | Olympus Stylus TOUGH-8000 | Canon PowerShot D10 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sensor | 12.1 megapixels | 12 megapixels | 12.1 megapixels |
| Image sizes | 12M (4:3 4000x3000, 3:2 4000x2672, 16:9 4000x2256), 7M (3072x2304), 5M (2592x1944), 3M (2048x1536), 1024 (1024x768), VGA (640x480) | 12MP (3,968 x 2,976) 5MP (2,560 x 1,920) 3MP (2,048 x 1,536) 2MP (1,600 x 1,200) 1MP (1,280 x 960) VGA (640 x 480) 16:9 (1,920 x 1,080) | 4000 x 3000, 3264 x 2448, 2592 x 1944, 1600 x 1200, 640 x 480, 320 x 140 |
| Waterproof | Up to 5 metres (about 16 feet) for up to two hours | Up to 10 metres | Up to 10 metres |
| Coldproof | - 10 degrees celsius | - 10 degrees celsius | - 10 degrees celsius |
| Shockproof | Up to 1 metre | Up to 2 metres | 1.22 metre |
| Dustproof | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Movie | Yes, HD video at 30fps; 1280 x 720, 640 x 480, 320 x 240 | 640x480 30fps, 320x240 30fps | 640 x 480 30fps, 320 x 240 30fps |
| Shake reduction | Triple protection: Low ISO sharpness, high-sensitivity mode, movie shake reduction modes | Dual image stabilisation | Yes, lens shift |
| Macro | Up to 1 cm | Up to 2 cm | Up to 1 cm |
| Optical zoom | 5x (28mm - 140mm) | 3.6x (28mm - 102mm) | 3x (35 - 103mm) |
| Digital zoom | 6.25x | 5x | 4x |
| Focus mode | Standard, spot, auto tracking, infinity landscape, super macro, macro, manual, pan-focus | Intelligent Auto, Program Auto, Sensor-Shift Image Stabilization, Beauty Mode | Auto, Scene, Movie |
| Scene modes | Auto Picture, Program, Night Scene, Movie, Underwater, Underwater Movie, Landscape, Flower, Portrait, Digital Wide, Surf & Snow, Digital SR, Kids, Pet, Half Length Portrait, Sport, Fireworks, Candlelight, Night Scene Portrait, Text, Food, Digital Panorama, Frame Composite, Report, Green | Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Night Portrait, Sport, Indoor, Candle, Self Portrait, Sunset, Fireworks, Cuisine, Documents, Beach and Snow, Pre-capture Movie, Underwater Snapshot, Underwater Wide, Underwater Macro, Movie | Program, Portrait, Night Snapshot, Kids and Pets, Indoor, Sunset, Fireworks, Long Shutter, Beach, Underwater, Aquarium, Foliage, Snow, Digital Macro, Colour Accent, Colour Swap, Stitch Assist, ISO 3200 |
| Sensitivity | ISO 64 - 6400 | ISO 64 - 1600 | ISO 80 - 3200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/1000-1/4 sec; 4 seconds in night scene mode | 1/2000-1/4; up to 4 sec night scene mode | 15-1/1500 sec |
| Drives mode | One shot, self timer (10s, 2s), continuous shooting (up to 2.9fps at 5M, and 5.9fps at ISO3200/6400 at 5M) | 5fps, 11fps (3MP), 0.99fps (12MP) Self timer 12 sec | 1.1fps, self timer (2 or 10 sec) |
| LCD monitor | 230,000 dots | 230,000 dots | 230,000 dots |
| Price | US$299 | US$399 | US$329 |
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Pentax Optio W80 is Low price, But i like Olympus Stylus TOUGH-8000.
The color accent feature for the Canon is great! Do the other brands have a similar feature?
Ai, I think am going to buy the Pentax
Bab, I guess the color accent is exclusive to the Canon model. For the other cameras, it looks like some post processing is needed to achieve the accent
My compare is nice for underwatrer, my w80 d10 and 8000 design body is pretty.
,..] macro-photography-blog.com is one useful source of tips on this issue,..]
,..] macro-photography-blog.com is another nice source of tips on this issue,..]