waterproof digital camera for less than 150 euro

jon1981

hi can anyone recommend a cheap waterproof camera ? looking for something kinda small, i dont want to buy a casing for my slr as its just too bulky.

cheers

paudie

Olympus do an everything proof one called the 750 I think.

Nisio

The cheapest new waterproof camera I've seen was the "traveler" brand one in lidl (or was it Aldi?)

The two main brands for waterproof compact cameras (up until this month when the world and its mother brought out a waterproof camera) are Olympus (SW and now the tough range) and Pentax (Optio WP range). Olympus ones are shockproof and waterproof Pentax ones are waterproof. I have a pentax wp10 and it's held up fine surfing kayaking etc.

If I had to buy again I'd probably go for the Olympus, image quality is reported to be better and the build is more robust.

For your budget of 150 maybe look at picking up one of those second hand or a couple of models back (they both brought out updates to the cameras nearly every year it seems)

jon1981

Nisio wrote: »

The cheapest new waterproof camera I've seen was the "traveler" brand one in lidl (or was it Aldi?)

The two main brands for waterproof compact cameras (up until this month when the world and its mother brought out a waterproof camera) are Olympus (SW and now the tough range) and Pentax (Optio WP range). Olympus ones are shockproof and waterproof Pentax ones are waterproof. I have a pentax wp10 and it's held up fine surfing kayaking etc.

If I had to buy again I'd probably go for the Olympus, image quality is reported to be better and the build is more robust.

For your budget of 150 maybe look at picking up one of those second hand or a couple of models back (they both brought out updates to the cameras nearly every year it seems)

thanks for the advice, i just bought this online
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/read_opinions.asp?prodkey=oly_stylus850sw

bocha

ooh good choice - i want one. love to see some underwater pics you get from it. how much did you pay?

jon1981

bocha wrote: »

ooh good choice - i want one. love to see some underwater pics you get from it. how much did you pay?

there were some reconditioned ones going on ebay for £130, i got a new one for £149 on some other site...i couldnt find the camera anywhere in ireland. i just want something robust i can use in water (drunkely drop into a pint) and to have on a night out, i dont want to lose my good camera.

Nisio

It's childish I know....




...but it some craic to have a friend grab your (waterproof) camera out of your hand and drop it into someone elses pint on a 2 second timer

bocha

jon1981 wrote: »

there were some reconditioned ones going on ebay for £130, i got a new one for £149 on some other site...i couldnt find the camera anywhere in ireland. i just want something robust i can use in water (drunkely drop into a pint) and to have on a night out, i dont want to lose my good camera.

let us know how you get on with it - i definitely want an underwater compact but am in no rush

jon1981

bocha wrote: »

let us know how you get on with it - i definitely want an underwater compact but am in no rush

will do...it will be fully tested in thailand in about 2 weeks

jon1981

Nisio wrote: »

It's childish I know....




...but it some craic to have a friend grab your (waterproof) camera out of your hand and drop it into someone elses pint on a 2 second timer

nice prank...may steal that one :pac:

bocha

jon1981 wrote: »

will do...it will be fully tested in thailand in about 2 weeks

wow - great way to break her in!

sNarah

If any else wants to do some experimenting underwater, most manufacturers sell waterproof bodies for the cameras. I have one for my cybershot, t is deadly and completely waterproof! I wont go trying it on my srl, the idea of that getting wet :eek:

Plus the casing usually is fairly cheap, especially for compacts, and a great way to start learning about it!

I love it!

(Nontheless, this might result in a combination of 2 expensive hobbies, photographing & diving, as a "victim" myself, I can say,t is a hard knock life )

jon1981

sNarah wrote: »

If any else wants to do some experimenting underwater, most manufacturers sell waterproof bodies for the cameras. I have one for my cybershot, t is deadly and completely waterproof! I wont go trying it on my srl, the idea of that getting wet :eek:

Plus the casing usually is fairly cheap, especially for compacts, and a great way to start learning about it!

I love it!

(Nontheless, this might result in a combination of 2 expensive hobbies, photographing & diving, as a "victim" myself, I can say,t is a hard knock life )

yeah was thinking of getting the housing for mine...buts its over 200 euro and its bulky as hell. i wanted to kill two birds, get something waterproof i can throw in the pocket and for night time shananigans! something i can afford to eh lose

paudie

If you do want a housing for an SLR you're looking at E1000+ at least.

But they're very reliable, as long as you take care of them.

jon1981

paudie wrote: »

If you do want a housing for an SLR you're looking at E1000+ at least.

But they're very reliable, as long as you take care of them.

wow! ok then well i definitely wont be getting one of them! i must have read it wrong:o

sNarah

paudie wrote: »

If you do want a housing for an SLR you're looking at E1000+ at least.

But they're very reliable, as long as you take care of them.

Oh god, at least! Nigel Moyter (Irish underwater photographer) says he's spend about 3000 yo yo's just for the body, add flash, add lights, add other stuff... T isnt cheap! But, then again, the results will be fantastic...

*starts daydreaming now about winning the lotto....*

kayakboy

I've had a Pentax Optio w20 for the last two years and I find it great, it's very robust and has taken lots great shots over the years. I would highly recommend it especially for outdoor sports. It is waterproof only to 3m - not great for real underwater shots but as a all-weather go anywhere sports camera it's a winner. I've also used one of the olympus waterproof cameras mentioned above while it also takes good shots its harder to use on a wet wintery irish day and is much more expensive.
The latest version is the w60 its on ebay at about £180stg also saw a w30 @ £90+postage from hong kong.
Most of the sports shots on my flickr are with the w20 http://www.flickr.com/photos/kayakboy/

coylemj

Canon have just announced a waterproof compact camera, the D10, not sure if it's within your budget....

www.dpreview.com/news/0902/09021805canond10.asp

coylemj

Finally tracked down the Canon (USA) press release, they're forecasting SRP of USD 330 for the D10 so it will be outside your (Eur 150) budget...

http://www.usa.canon.com/templatedata/pressrelease/20090217_powershot.html