Pentax W60

[numbskull]

After frying my Canon Elph (incidental water intrusion through the shutter button during normal use), I bought one of these W60's. Waterproof, 10 megapixels, small, light, takes nice pictures. So far so good. Now for the negatives.

First, it uses an invisible infrared focus beam, so at night you can't see anything in the viewfinder unless you put your light on it (the Canon had a visible red beam and subjects close enough would show up faintly).

Second it lacks a lens cover. Good for sand (which would jam the Canon), but bad for smudges

Third and most problematic, is the self timer function. The Canon could be programmed for as long a delay as you wanted. The W60 has a 2 sec or 10 sec delay. Try balancing the camera, scooting over to pick up a two-handed fish still attached to your plug at night and in the rocks in 10 seconds.
On top of that, the focus/exposure sets as soon as you press the button on a self timed picture. Since you are not in the picture yet, you are out of focus. Sometimes it focuses on the rock you set it on instead. There is a PanFocus option that avoids this, though scrolling through the camera options without your reading glasses while a big bass you want to release is suffocating on a hot night is annoying. Also, during the day, something strange happens so about 1/2 the auto-timed pictures come out whited out. I think my presence near the camera blocks light so the exposure is set wrong when I back away. This has been happening in my boat where reflected light is probably strong. I usually don't discover this until I've thrown the fish back in.

Finally, the fine print in the instructions suggests you are supposed to send the camera back annually for seal replacement at your own expense (50$+shipping somebody said) if it is used in a wet environment. It is not clear if it voids the warranty if you don't (I'm not sure they can). I'm not doing that, so sooner or later we'll see.

I'm not trying to get down on this camera, with someone behind it it is great. However, if you intend to use it to take pictures of fish you plan to release while fishing at night alone, I'd check around and see what else is out there.