I am looking to upgrade my digital camera this off season. I have been using a Canon Power Shot S300 for a few years. I bought the waterproof / shock proof case to go with it. The camera still works, but the batteries are tired and I would like to step up from the 2.1 mega pixels it offers. I have looked around a bit, and found a couple choices. The Olympus Stylus 720sw is the first one that I was introduced to. Andy has this camera and I was impressed with it out on Cutty. The second one I found is the Pentax W30. No personal experience with this, but read some good stuf on the Jersey site.

These are my only real requirements:
- waterproof
- long / good battery life
- under $350 or so

What are you guys using?

WELL Toby I can tell you for a fact that the Olympus sp510uz is NOT waterproof even though it's advertised as such....My photographer says no matter what you put it inside a waterproof housing...mines out for repair at the factory and it didn't get dunked just high humidity.

I have the Stylus 720, and just keep it in the front pocket of my waders,..it has been fine. now I'm not fishing the amount you guys are, but I get soaked, and just recently, I dropped it off the dock into 2+ ft of saltwater, and it stayed there for a good 7-8 mins, fished it out, crossed my fingers, and powered it up, no problem at all. So far so good, I guess.

Olympus 770 SW. Crazy Alberto has it also and saw some of the pics he had on his camera. The pictures were absolutely amazing. Need to get some tips from Crazy Al.

I have the optio w30, the pics it takes are fine, but my .02 is that the canon powershot takes far better pics. If I were you I would go for a higher megapixel powershot and keep on using your waterproof case.

toby,

i was wrestling with this purchase decision myself.

i don't take THAT many pictures while fishing, as much as i'd like to.

so i go to wal-mart and get some disposable 35 mm film water proof cameras for daytime and disposable non-waterproof cameras with flash in a zip-loc bag for night time. i'll spend a little less money and won't worry about batteries being charged up or the camera getting killed by saltwater.

I will throw a vote in for the Pentax Optio line...I have the W10 (which is 6megapixels)...I stick it in the pocket of my drytop without issues.

Another vote for the Pentax Optio. I'm satisfied with the W20. I had a Cannon Powershot before and it does take better pics, but the Optio is smaller, lighter and "water proof". It does the job. I haven't had the stones to put in under water yet though.

A friend of mine has the W10 as well and he sticks it under water in the salt to take pics at boatside. He even let my 9 year old kids use it in his swimming pool this summer to a depth of 5 ft unsupervised :).

olympus waterproof...I own one... got it for a fair deal... thing has been dunked all summer in the salt... not a single problem. Just make sure to rinse it with fresh water.

Pentax W30, works great for me, here is a picture of the shark below my boat.

Olympus 770. Takes great pics and is waterproof, shockproof and lightweight.

I picked one up before heading to French Poly. Earlier this month. It took some fine pics both above the water and below. It is easy to use, small, and did not break the bank.

I used the pentax w30 for snorkeling on my honeymoon in th carribean and it excels at somthings and is weak in other areas. Overall, I think it's a great camera especially for the price. Some of the weak points of the camera are photography in low light (need to really tweak settings and create a program for low-light under program mode), LCD gets washed out under bright lights and when viewed at certain angles, auto-focus is a little slow (but very manageable). Underwater photography was great for a $230 camera. lcd was a little difficult to see at times through the mask, but I was pleased with the quality. It's compact and durable. Takes nice photos on land for a point and shoot. Tons of different options in the menu to tweak things and you need to. It's not a camera that you leave on the "auto" setting and great pictures all the time. You need to put some time into and tweak the settings and save them as programs for different conditions. I bought this camera for strictly a beach/snorkeling camera for my trip and now plan on using it as a fishing camera. I did however have water get through the seal and ruin the camera, however it was replaced free of charge. This was after hours of submerged use. I think I got some of the really fine powdery sand in the seal when I was changing cards on the beach.

So far as a fishing camera it rocks. Worry free and simple to use.

The only time I had an issue with this camera was trying to take photos in low light conditions, night shots.

This is the camera I use. Except it's not waterproof. I just leave it in my Power Rangers plug bag.

I just bought the Olympus Stylus 790. Nice camera for $250. Waterproof, shockproof and freeze proof. Easy to use and takes great pictures. Circuit City had the best price....and I did my research.
The camera has a lot of settings for different conditions. Haven't used it much yet, but so far so good. Satisfied to this point anyways.

Some pretty good responses here, thanks. Any comments on the batter life of the different models mentioned? That is a big issue I have with my current camera. I have 4 batteries so that I will always have a spair when one craps out.

Tlap,


The batteries on thee optio w30 generally last about 2 hours. It's one of those flat rectangular batteries. It would be better if it took a standard battery so if it died when you were out it was easily replaceable.

Some pretty good responses here, thanks. Any comments on the batter life of the different models mentioned? That is a big issue I have with my current camera. I have 4 batteries so that I will always have a spair when one craps out.

Lithium Ion batteries don't age real well so if they're old that may be an issue.

I think most cameras when new will offer pretty good battery life, but as the battery ages the time you get out of a charge can dramatically decrease.

Video requires a lot more processing power and can really drain a battery. If you're firing off lots of successive shots it can have the same effect.

I have the Olympus 720 keep it in my pocket of my pants when wet wading both salt and fresh and in the pocket of my waders when I where then never had a problem with it. Fell out of my shirt pocket and hit the floor hard enough to pop out the battery but it back in and the camera was fine. I like mine and it takes pretty good pictures. ThomT

Olympus Stylus 770SW.
Great camera.
Had it with me on a surfcasting trip to Mexico in August.Kept it in the zippered pocket of my shorts all week.In and out of the wash repeatedly.Just a quick rinse in the sink every eve.

some pics from there............

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7d607b3127cceba7da6559ff500000026108ActW7Ny4Ytr

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7d607b3127cceba7e82ac7efa00000026108ActW7Ny4Ytr

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7d607b3127cceba7d3ae01e3e00000026108ActW7Ny4Ytr

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7d607b3127cceba7d5968df2f00000026108ActW7Ny4Ytr

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7d722b3127ccebaf6968999df00000026108ActW7Ny4Ytr

the battery life was impressive.shot about 150 pics and some vids before re-charge.and with the memory card up-grade,was capable of shooting 1000+ pics

I have an olympus stylus 720 sw. Havent really put it to the test yet. It has been on the boat a few times (got wet), and out in the surf twice. Small ,nice screen,it can get wet,seems like it is going to be a good camara.

I have an olympus stylus 720 sw. Havent really put it to the test yet. It has been on the boat a few times (got wet), and out in the surf twice. Small ,nice screen,it can get wet,seems like it is going to be a good camara.

I've got the same one, the 720 SW (shockproof, waterproof) Have had it out on the boat, in the kayak, on the river. Have got it spray wet and rain wet, but haven't dunked it or tried to take underwater pictures. I've been happy with it so far. It is a bit more complicated than the Powershots. More settings, but it does take good pictures.

I have the Olympus 720 SW in a secure velcro holster (with lanyard), attached to my surf belt. It takes a soaking with no problems at all.

Lookslike some very positive responses for the Olympus. Thanks to everyone that has posted!

Olympus 770SW Great, small, light, waterproof, crushproof and freeze proof.

Now if I read the directions ...................... :-) :-)