Cheap and cheerful water proof camera

TheNissanMan

TheNissanMan

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Help needed again, I've given up on the idea of insuring and lugging around all my camera gear for a holiday in Egypt shortly so am looking at cheap and cheerful alternatives.

The go pro will be the cam for diving as can go down to decent depths and of course video but for general holiday snaps and snorkelling was thinking along the lines of the Olympus tg850 as it seems to get pretty good reviews, has any one used one or recommend an alternative that they've been happy with.
 
I have a Canon D20 which has served me well whilst snorkelling. But I bought it instead of a rival model at least partly because I know my way around Canons better than other cameras. I don't have any other waterproof cameras to compare it with. (And I doubt there will be many people who have real-world experience of several of this type of camera - it's the kind of thing that most people buy only once.)

In your shoes I'd be reading comparative reviews online and trying to make my own mind up. Something like this one perhaps:
http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/olympus_tg_850_review/rivals/
 
I had a Panasonic Lumix waterproof for a number of years and it was OK but last year I got an Olympus TG3 and it is great, bit more expensive than the 850 but worth the difference IMHO. That said I know a few people with 850's or older Olympus waterproofs and I feel that the Olympus rugged cameras are certainly better than the Lumix and probably as good as these things get.
 
Thanks I think I just need to bite the bullet and buy one and have a play, seems a bit daft buying a waterproof camera as this will be my first holiday in over a decade but seems a better option thank lugging the dslr around in the expected temps and worrying about insuring etc.
 
When my Olympus "waterproof" compact revealed its true colours, I bought a Canon D10 which is still waterproof well after its warranty has expired and takes better pictures than the Oly did. Of course, it's a couple of years younger so technology has moved on which explains the better pictures. The Canon also handles better, especially underwater where you really need ease of use for snorkelling.
 
Thanks nod, was going on the reviews which placed the image quality of the Olympus above that of the canon but from your feedback what issues did you have with the Olympus?
 
Brach, I have the go pro for video and diving but its biggest downfall is not having a screen to see what your taking and no zoom, the go pro will defo be going as will be recording the dives but want a bit more flexibility than it offers for other bits and bobs :)
 
The Pentax waterproof range is pretty good too. DPreview did a useful roundup of waterproof compacts last summer - you might be able to pick up some of the recommended models cheap now!
 
Thanks Dean, was looking up to £200 although ideally cheaper. I did consider the Fuji but the oly appears to get better reviews on paper but was hoping to get real life info from peeps on here although appreciate most peeps won't be shooting with a waterproof p&s lol.

Will look at the Pentax range now :)
 
only have one sample shot i took with the fuji xp70 as i had the Fuji XE-1 at the time so it just sat in my camera bag unused.

i know theres an xp70 on fleabay on buy now for £112
cant comment on the others as only played with the fuji but its hard to be subjective about it when i had the other fuji at the time which is no comparison

11056909355_f96a34e851_b.jpg
 
I have the Fuji xp200, it's alright, I wouldn't use it outside of water though, I thought about upgrading it to the canon d30 but that has no wifi and I enjoy the wifi on Fuji. If i was gonna buy one today, I would probably go with an Olympus or Fuji xp80
 
TheNissanMan said:
Thanks nod, was going on the reviews which placed the image quality of the Olympus above that of the canon but from your feedback what issues did you have with the Olympus?
Click to expand...

It ceased to be waterproof a couple of weeks out of warranty and Olympus's customer disservice department didn't want to know. Above water shots were (compared to the Canon's) flat and lifeless and underwater shots were far too blue, even using the underwater settings. FWIW, I've had a few underwater cameras in the past (including a couple with several doors) so am well used to being extra careful with foreign bodies in the seals and there was no sign of any wetness inside the doors, just inside the lens and a total lack of response from it.
Should say that I also now have a Nikon 1 AW with interchangeable lenses - no leakage in that either. Not as easy to use as the Canon but far more flexible in so many ways! (FT-1 adaptor and F mount lenses for example) NOT a cheap option though...
 
dont think theres any easy solution to this, anything around the £200 or below is all going to pretty much of a muchness and the other end is going into highly expensive for essentially what could be very little use other than holidays.
youve got the
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT5 which has added feature of manual control which may benefit when shooting underwater priced around £260 but may be able to find one cheaper., but looking at the top 10 listed on various websites theres very little between any of them other than the nikon 1 AW mentioned which is more like £600!!
 
Think I'm going to bite the bullet, simply electronics have the tg850 for £165 which is worth a punt with I think, I've put a post on dig revs thread to see if he can match it, I'll get one ordered by the end of the weekend and post thoughts and images up when u get back :)
 
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