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[doja]

As stated in title I'm looking to buy a water resistant or prof camera with decent to good photos to bring with me when fishing, hilking or just snapping photos in the rain(under water shooting not really needed, more rain/wet proof). Not too bulky

It appears that quality can be reduced with this feature so I was wondering if it is better to keep these types of cameras separate( one wet,one dry) or will they work well as an all around camera. This will be my only camera for a bit.

I wanted to know what you people have found as I'm sure a few of you have cameras similer to what I'm looking for.

have been looking at the pentax w60, and thoughts?

Price range hopefully under $800

Thanks in advance, and merry Christmas,

Doja

[WEEFISH]

I have had 2 Olympus camera's and they are great for the $$$. My current model is 1 yr old was $300.00. Stylus 790. It is water proof to 5 ft (neat option) . Heavy duty crush proof and can be dropped to 5 ft. It is great on videos too.

They might make a model that is rain or water resistant that has better features (more $$) I went for the inexpensive model for the river. It is great for all my picture needs!

 I hope this helps...good reasonable waterproof camera!

[dss]

The W60 takes great photos for a compact point and shoot that is waterproof amongst other things.

The Olympus waterproof series are much more rugged , can go deeper in water and be beat up in general more but the quality of the photos is below what the W60 takes.

I would personally go with the W60 (I own one) unless you really feel you will be beating the camera up.

[doja]

dss, do you find the w60 takes pictures of the same quality as  a good quality dry point and shoot? and do you know how much the replacement rings are as I heard they can be expensive?

[Chrome Mykiss]

http://www.fishingwithrod.com/fishing_photos/2007-1.html

All of those photos were taken with a Pentax W30 or WPi. As far as quality goes, unless you are comparing these cameras to an SLR, there's no difference in the quality of the photos. I agree with dss, although the Pentax W60 may not be as durable as the Olympus 1030SW, but it takes better quality photos. If there's anyone who beats up their camera it's me, somtimes they are continuously wet for 2 days, left in the water after releasing fish, etc. I have never had a seal fail or even show signs of wear on any of my waterproof cameras, so I doubt you'll have to worry about that. Before Christmas I saw the Pentax W60 as low as $279 from local retailers.

[dss]

dss, do you find the w60 takes pictures of the same quality as  a good quality dry point and shoot? and do you know how much the replacement rings are as I heard they can be expensive?

I'm sure some of the higher end ones with nicer lenses take better photos but the W60 is no slouch. It has quite a few shooting modes to play with as well as macro functions and plenty other stuff. I'm not sure if you would really need to replace any rings , I assume your talking about the rubber gaskets that are used to help keep the water out? The camera itself is pretty sealed and the only rubber seal you can access without removing screws is where the SD , Battery and usb connection are. It's a small 1" x 1cm pad that wouldn't cost much if you needed to fix it.

Couple shots I've taken with the W60. It can take better but those are just some I have online.

[Eagleye]

I'd say the pentax w60 will offer you the most bang for your buck and will provide a good all around camera with its decent 5X wide angle zoom, compact design and waterproofness.  I own the W30 and have managed some really nice photos with it especially in Macro mode.  I do find that a large majority of the pictures benefit greatly from touchups in Photoshop but I must admit I have not taken the time to test out all of the photographic settings of the camera.  I  just recently purchased a DSLR (Rebel XS) because I felt limited by the optical zoom range (3X) and image quality at higher iso and large prints.  I am still going to keep my handy W30 for shooting in unfavorable weather conditions, underwater shots and when I don't feel like lugging it around.  Basically I think the W60 would make a great all around starter camera which you may want to step up later down the road, but will still be useful in certain circumstances.  I would definately recommend getting a second battery and the see through silicon jacket available from Pentax.  The jacket will help keep out sand, silt that could compromise the seal and if the battery life is like the W30 you will definately want a second one ( I regret not listening to the salesperson because I thought he just wanted to sell stuff than I needed).  I also purchased the lowepro rezo 40 which fits very nicely with room for SD card, Battery, cable (not sure if it fits W60) and can be attached to a belt loop etc.  It is a well made case that fits nicely and offers shock, dirt protection.  I also purchased a Mack 5 year warranty for mine (does not cover sand, silt compromising seal).  *added*  If you are willing to spend significantly more money for more features and higher quality pictures you may want to look at cameras such as Fuji F30/F31D for good high ISO performance and Olympus SP-560 for 18X zoom and image stabilization or something similar.  Both of those cameras manufacturers make a waterpoof case (camera + case is still below your $800 budget).  Check Amazon.com or buy locally as prices are still the same as when our dollar was higher. Here are some pics I took with the W30:

Underwater pics





Landscapes











Digital Zoom

[Mike D.]

Now do any of these camera's have a good "sport mode" for catching fish on the jump? my camera I have now is not quick enough but my buddy has an Nikon and has some super crazy pictures of jumping sturgeon! like complete still jump shots look amazing!

[Eagleye]

The camera with the fastest fps (pictures (frames) taken per second) is the Casio EX-F1 it can shoot 60fps with a 12X zoom lens.  Second in line is the new Casio EX-FH20 @ 40fps.  The casio also offers super slow motion video with its 300, 600 and 1200 fps recording speeds! But for top quality pictures of fish jumping look for a DSLR with a high fps count like Nikon D300, Canon 50D @ 6fps or something else.  I'm hoping that with the 3fps Canon Rebel XS I just purchased will be good enough to get a few but I'm don't know.  You also want a camera that supports fast shutter speeds and has good high iso output for non grainy pics and fast auto focus.  A high quality fast lens for DSLR will help you accomplish this but the cost is high >$1000.  I purchased a Canon 70-300mm f 4-5.6 lens with image stabilization , I'm not sure if the f value is low enough for fish jumping pics but I will soon find out.

[Sam Salmon]

That's the coolest shot ever of a Chum Salmon-totally evil!

[Eagleye]

Thanks Sam, I touched that one up in Photoshop to make it more clear, here is the original

[doja]

Decided to go with the w60 and must say it's a pretty sweet little camera,one that is sure to capture some good pics of 09 steelhead

Thanks to all for your advice, and happy holiday's 

Doja

[BwiBwi]

Where would you recommand to get the w60?  I tried Staples and BestBuy neither one has it.

[dss]

I got mine from Lens & Shutter. More camera oriented stores should have it.

[doja]

Kerrisdale has blue one's I belive and 4 in stock as of boxing day. future shop has best price, and you can buy on-line as well if you don't mind just waiting a bit