Waterproof Digital Cameras

[drewboater]

Anyone had any luck with the waterproof digital cameras?

I have the Olympus 720SW. I haven't had much luck with it. Most of the photos come out blurry. It takes really long to take a photo, unless you have it in a really low res setting. The camera has such a delay on taking the photo that I usually miss the moment. Does anyone else have this camera with similar problems?

How about the Pentax waterproof model?

[straightfromAVL]

I have the Olympus Stylus 770SW and it works like a charm. I took some great action shots and video at Gore and I have no complaints whatsoever. In addition to being waterproof, its also shockproof, crushproof, and freezeproof, so I plan on using it on the slopes this winter as well. I promise i'm not an Olympus rep, i'm just a huge fan of that camera.

[jeffsssmith]

I also have the Stylus 770SW and I love it. If you don't let the camera focus before shooting, the shots will be out of focus. I usually pre-focus when shooting action shots and it works fine. Remember that this is a point and shoot camera not a proffessional SLR and it has some limitations. Read the manual thoroughly and you can get good results. I keep mine in a pocket in my drytop and shoot from eddies and even in rapids to some degree. See my photos from the Black Canyon posted on the buzz. I took about 150 photos on one trip, most from the boat.

[Emmielou]

Another votefor the Olympus Stylus 770SW. I had to buy a new strap for it because the factory one has a velcro closure and I've heard horror stories of straps giving way, but now I can just clip it to my pfd. It's great if it gets sandy or muddy you can just rinse it off. It's survived drops from several feet onto rock, and even submersion in beer!...although the pictures didn't turn out that great. And it's got an altimeter which is neat to play with

[funkins]

I've got the Pentax Optio W10, 6MP. I can't say enough good about it. It's about the same size as most non-waterproof digital camera. I keep it in my PFD pocket, even while playboating, and haven't had any problems...

[yourrealdad]

I have the 720 and unfortunately i got it at the end of the season so I haven't really messed with it. However there are two continuous shot modes that should help with you missing "the moment". I just monkeyed around with it and it seemed to work all right.

[rhm]

i bought the pentax w30 last spring. great camera. takes great photos. 7megapixels. waterproof to 10 feet deep. i think theat the w10 and w20 are only waterproof to 5 feet. my favorite feature is the movie feature. it lets you do a time lapse movie. the camera takes a picture once every minute for up to six hours. a six hour exposure gives you a one minute movie. i've had it in the water several times, and no problems yet. it doesn't have a viewfinder. you have to use the screen, but pentax made the screen brighter than earlier models. it is pretty easy to see in bright daylight.

[westfall]

I have the Pentax Optio W20 - 7Mpixel. I've used it on the water and on land and it is great. Good down to 5 feet or so. The menus are very easy to use and are done in a way that is obvous enough that you don't have to spend a lot of time with the manual - I just opened the box and started playing.

Good battery life too. I was able to get about a week out of it in Mexico last winter, shooting a lot every day, before the battery died.

Only problem I've had is that I often forget to shake the water off the lense and it will have a blurry spot in the middle of a picture. This isn't the cameras problem, any camera in and out of the water will probably suffer this and I need to train myself to shake it off after I pull it out of my PFD pocket.

[Granpa]

Olympus Stylus 770SW is the one I have. Its awesome. 30ft deep, can hold up to like 220lbs, freeze proof down to I think 18 degees, 7 mega pixels and it comes in 3 different colors woohoo.

[Granpa]

Actually just read your post. for faster shots set it to the 5 shots at a time setting. It is pretty cool that way and for the fuzzy shot thing set it to the stabilizer mode thingy.