Recommendations for small waterproof, shockproof

[Tim Allums]

Howdy-

Been looking for a few days (searching the web). Have seen some of the Pentax W60, Olympus Stylus SWs, etc...

I am very open to suggestions. I know that I may be asking for too much for the budget and will have to make some compromises...

Budget
$250 or less, but will go up to $300 for an outstanding deal.

Size

Not much larger than a Motorola Razr cellphone, if possible.

Features

megapixels- 6+ (?)

optical zoom- the more the better ( I think)

“image quality” on a scale of 1-10: 9

Not sure if I care about manual controls

General Usage

I will generally use the camera for family gathering photos, sport shots at the lake.

Only very rarely (if ever) would I need to make big prints.

I will be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos, and night-time outdoor photos.

I will be shooting lots of sports and/or action photos.

Miscellaneous

No preference on brands.

I would really like image stabilization, shockproof, water resistant (weatherproof preferable), freezeproof preferable…

Would like good video capabilities, but no video wouldn’t be a deal killer…

Thanks!

Tim Allums <><

[jekostas]

You're going to have to compromise on something, here.

You are not going to get good action or low-light shots out of a compact camera, much less a waterproof camera, so you really need to re-think that necessity.

In terms of compact, waterproof cameras, the reviews I've seen of the W60 tend to be a little better than the Olympus cameras, but the Olympus 1030 is the only one that's shockproof.

Perhaps a better question is what exactly are you doing with the camera that you need water/shock/freeze proofing?

[David Metsky]

The only cameras out there are the models by Pentax and Olympus. Neither have stellar image quality compared to their non-hardened brethren, but they will take good shots in good light and they'll survive.

Olympus has the 1050SW and the 850SW, Pentax has the W60. All of these cameras are equally poor at low light - you'll need to use the flash anytime you're not out in the sun. Of the two brands I've heard and read better things about the Olympus cameras, but I haven't used either of them.

[Tim Allums]

Thanks for the replies. The waterproof/shockproof part comes from my desire to stow the camera in the glovebox of my jetski when I'm out at the lake... the freezeproof part comes from when I'm out snow-skiing...

[David Metsky]

You don't need freezeproof for snow skiing. I've brought all my cameras into the snow at -20 and never had any problems aside from batteries wearing out in the cold. Cameras are fine in the cold, they have problems when you repeatedly move from really cold to warm and moist.

[cdifoto]

Thanks for the replies. The waterproof/shockproof part comes from my desire to stow the camera in the glovebox of my jetski when I'm out at the lake... the freezeproof part comes from when I'm out snow-skiing...
Just get one with a metal casing. My F40 has that much, works fine, and it's never been babied - I've even dropped it a few times, taking a chunk out of the corner (it bounced off a brick column then landed on concrete).

Try to avoid licking the camera when you're skiiing though.

The only reason I would buy one of those hardcore durable cameras would be if I was using it at a construction site and the possibility of it being run over by a bulldozer track was rather high. Of course, I might even be more inclined to just buy the cheapest ghettoest camera I could find if that were to happen, and just replace it.

[Tim Allums]

I was wondering why I couldn't get away with keeping the camera in an insulated pocket when I'm out snow-skiing, since the camera itself wouldn't get that cold, but the Pentax website seemed to imply that freezeproof would be necessary in the W60 advertising... so I'm glad to hear of your experience with your cameras in the cold... I don't think I will ever be in -20 temps with the camera...

Now as far as shockproof... how necessary is that, provided I don't drop it, and I keep it in a small holster when it's in the jetski glovebox (similar to a cell phone holster that you wear on your belt)?

[cdifoto]

Now as far as shockproof... how necessary is that, provided I don't drop it, and I keep it in a small holster when it's in the jetski glovebox (similar to a cell phone holster that you wear on your belt)?
I edited my post, Tim. ;)

[Tim Allums]

Okay, that's good to know... so it really sounds like I can scratch shockproof and freezeproof off the necessary features list...

With that being said, plus the fact that I don't really think I will be diving with it, what would the recommendation be for the best weather-resistant (not necessarily waterproof) camera be that has the other (remaining) characteristics that are important to me?

[cdifoto]

Fuji's F series (yeah I'm a little biased because I own one but the reviews seem to indicate the same) are some of the best options for low light and slim. They're not necessarily super slim like a cell phone but they're front jeans pocketable. That's where I keep mine most of the time. They don't have massive zoom but they have enough to go from a group shot to a portrait.

For shooting sports/action, there really aren't many (any?) great options in the pocketable P&S world. That's pretty much the SLR realm.

For your other requirements, just about any current camera will be fine in daylight.

[David Metsky]

You want to keep the camera cold if you're going to use it in the cold. You just need to keep a spare set of batteries in a warm pocket next to your skin. I aways keep the camera in an outside pocket.

If the camera is warm and you pull it out to take photos in the very cold it will fog up due to condensation when you put it back in your pocket. That's a real camera killer. Cameras are fine in the cold, the batteries just don't last as long. A second set, kept warm, is key, and you can swap the cold ones to warm them up. You can also use Lithium AA batteries in the cold if your camera takes them.