Looks like you have several choices... I'll throw another one at you. The Sony DSC-TX10. It looks just like a regular camera and costs about the the same ~$300. I have had great luck with the TX5 and just received the TX10 and it seems to be an improvement on an already great product. http://www.Amazon.com/Sony-Cyber-Shot-DSC-TX10-Waterproof-Panorama/dp/B004H8FNGM/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1329572966&sr=1-1
Olympus makes the best and has many models to choose from,,,we have had ours for about 5 yrs...and most do underwater video,,,shock proof for about 6 ft,,water proof to 30 ft,,freez proof,dust proof,,,and a good price
We have Canon d10 and love it!. Since I do not share, we had to buy a second one for the wife for snorkeling. We got them at Canoga camera. They are salt water rated and 12 megapixels. Whatever you buy when you get it out of salt water soak it in fresh water to get the salt out of the buttons. Makes them last longer.
Reading the responses, I'm sure this post did exactly waht you were hoping for.. narrowing down the options to consider... got you down to right around 20! Good luck! Jamie
We are going old school, picked up a underwater disposable camera at Walmart. If it gets lost or picked up by mistake we wont be too upset uother than the loss of the pics. You know, the kind you drop off and get real pictures! I am sure that there will be a few of use that remember those days before digital!
We have the Kodak Play Sport, it takes video and still photos, but it's only waterproof for 3 meters, which is fine if you're just in the pool or snorkeling. There's no flash, which is really the only negative thing about the camera. It records in several resolutions, a lower quality WVGA, HD720p, HD720p 60 frame/sec, and HD1080p, and the photo resolutions is 5MP. I can attach a photo sample: The video quality is really great from such a small camera (about the size of a cell phone), and looks good when played back on our 47" flat screen in the living room. Bargain, too, priced at like $99 nowadays, maybe even cheaper. If you'd like to see a sample video, PM me!
We have the Olympus TG-810 for our personal camera. (I have the TG-610 for my work camera) It is our 2nd Olympus waterproof camera. Learned a hard lesson last March while sitting in the hot tub on the Norwegian Epic cruiseship that these cameras are only waterproof as long as you have all the compartments closed correctly. (I think Olympus recognzed this because the first camera had 3 separate comparments, but the 2nd one we bought, now everything; battery, memory card, and power input is all in one compartment) One recommendation no mattter what camera you go with is a floating strap for it. It is a must. $20 at best buy. Whats cool about Olympus is that you can send the camera in to Olympus ever year, free of charge, to get the main seal replaced.
Biggest problem I had was getting suntan lotion on the camera from the water in the pool. lol My camera follows me everywhere.
I know right!! I've got alot of research to do now! I'll probably just get one on Amazon since I can research them all on one site. My hubby is a professional photographer so he will have his camera & will get some awesome pics but sometimes I just like to have fun taking my own silly shots. Usually I just use my phone since it has an awesome cam on it but know Id prob end up losing it or ruining it (dropping in pool lol) & dont really want to carry it around w me on vacay so just wanna have a cam that takes decent pics & wont have to worry if it gets wet, splashed on, or dropped in pool once my drunken clumsy self takes over. LOL. Thank you all for all the great suggestions & tips!! I really appreciate it! Now off to Amazon to shop! :aetsch004:
