Transparent Agenda » waterproof

Another day another camera

admin — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:15:18 +0000

Seems like every other week someone comes out with a new waterproof camera. This week Pentax unveils the WS80. I don’t think their last introduction the W80 is even shipping yet. Available in black with orange accents or white with purple accents, the PENTAX Optio WS80 will ship in September 2009 for $249.95 USD.

I am still holding out for my perfect point and shoot. I would need to have all the following features.

• Waterproof down to 30 feet. 60 would be excellent.

• At least 8 Megapixel with nice low light quality.

• HD Video 720p should be just fine

• Time Lapse similar to the Canon G9

• Slow Motion similar to the Casio EX_FC100

• Panorama Assistant

• Pocketable

This would make the perfect take everywhere camera. Rain or shine.

WaterProof Digital cameras

admin — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:47:41 +0000

Need a waterproof digital camera for your next trip to tropical paradise? Maybe you are just clumsy or tend to get caught out in the rain. Check out the Digital Photography Review waterproof camera test. They just updated their test to include all the latest cameras. Their review confirms my suspicions.
I think I will wait for the next rev of the Panasonic DMC-TS1S. I hope it includes time lapse and slow motion.

More waterproof digital cameras

admin — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:29:32 +0000

When looking for a take everywhere camera I really want to take it everywhere. Who wants to leave your expensive digital camera under a towel poolside while on vacation? Not me! Why miss out on fun underwater shots or stop shooting when the weather turns bad. It has taken quite a long time for camera manufacturers to see the value in making their cameras waterproof. Way back in the film days I had a Minolta WeatherMatic that shot 110 film. It was great for snorkeling.

Pentax came out with the Optio a few years ago and have continued to update it over the years in a half-hearted manner. I still think the first model was the best. I haven’t played with the new Optio W60 yet but it doesn’t have enough compelling specs to make it a must have just yet. If they would just bumped up the frame rate of the video capture and beefed up the waterproof specs I might be sold.

Now on to the newly introduced cameras.

First up is the Canon PowerShot D10
Not sure about the looks, particularly the protruding strap or carabiner attachments but I like the under water specs, up to 10 meters. Much better than all other point and shoots from major manufactures. The Pentax W60 does 4 meters but most do only 3. I wish the D10 would capture HD video, but sadly that is also missing. I understand that manufactures don’t want to cannibalize other product lines but I wish they would realize that most people don’t want to carry a video camera and a regular camera.

Read all about it and see more pictures at dpreview or CanonUSA

Last up for today is the FinePix Z33WP brought to you by Fujifilm.
Billed as the worlds smallest waterproof camera the FinePix Z33WP looks very nice. It is the first camera I have seen that has buttons that actually look like they are waterproof. Fujifilm has always made great cameras but they didn’t quite hit the mark on this one. Double the waterproof specs and they have a viable camera. Sure most people will never go diving with it but it would be nice to know if I dropped into the deep end of the pool at the club it wouldn’t be ruined. I am also not thrilled with the color selection either. I like the black but that is not a great color when you drop it in the lake and need to find it again. I guess green it is for me. Still not on my must buy list. Maybe Nikon will jump into the pool next.

New Pentax Optio W60

admin — Thu, 22 May 2008 22:54:27 +0000

Its about time. Looks like I will have to wait until July to replace my aging Optio WP. Hopefully it will be worth the wait. The new Optio W60 features 10 megapixels and a 5X zoom lens with 28mm wide-angle capability. The enhanced design of the Optio W60 allows the camera to operate up to 13 feet underwater for two hours and at extreme temperatures well below freezing. 5X optical lens covers focal lengths from 5mm to 25mm (approximately 28mm to 140mm in 35mm format)

Other important features and modes of the PENTAX Optio W60 include a High-Quality Movie mode with HD resolution up to 1280 x 720 pixels (comparable to a 720p HDTV) as well as Auto Picture mode, fast Face Recognition, Smile Capture, Blink Detection, an Underwater Movie mode, High Sensitivity Digital SR mode that automatically adjusts the sensitivity up to ISO 6400, and an LCD monitor with a 170 degree wide-angle view and Anti-Reflection coating to reduce glare.

Available in July 2008 for US $329.95 in a choice of two colors: Ocean Blue and Silver. More information is available here: www.h20camera.com.