I'm looking to buy an underwater point and shoot. The Canon D10 seems to do well in reviews and I was wondering if anybody had experience with it or has a similar camera they might recommend.
Posted by David Bostedo on January 12, 2010 at 7:35 PM
Dave - I cobbled this together from some other posts I've made on other forums...
I have an Olympus 770 SW. It's waterproof down to 10 m, and can withstand 200 pounds of force. I've dropped mine on the ground a few times without a worry. They have a couple of newer models, but they keep changing the exact depth and weight specs. I've been very happy with mine for snorkeling/wave riding/boating shots. It's got the usual drawbacks of a P&S - slowish operation, noisy high ISO, tiny flash - but I've found it's every bit as good as the cheaper underwater film cameras I've used with ISO 800 film.
There's more competition in this range now than when I bought mine. Since image quality is probably very comparable for most, I'd choose more based on features and how you think you'll use it. That being said, Panasonic and Canon usually gets better ratings in P&S than Olympus or Pentax. Check out the feature comparion on DPReview. (Ignore the "environmentally sealed" category - these are all waterproof and sealed, but for some reason some don't show up that way.) It would also pay to check what level of waterproofing they have - some are 3m, 5m, or 10m depending. I think the new Pany is the only one to take HD video, but they probably all take video of some sort.
One thing that would make the D10 less desirable for me is the bulgy shape. It's twice as thick as a normal P&S, and I like to use my snorkeling cam as a pocket cam at times too. The D10 would be more awkward for that.
Discussion
1 repliesI have an Olympus 770 SW. It's waterproof down to 10 m, and can withstand 200 pounds of force. I've dropped mine on the ground a few times without a worry. They have a couple of newer models, but they keep changing the exact depth and weight specs. I've been very happy with mine for snorkeling/wave riding/boating shots. It's got the usual drawbacks of a P&S - slowish operation, noisy high ISO, tiny flash - but I've found it's every bit as good as the cheaper underwater film cameras I've used with ISO 800 film.
There's more competition in this range now than when I bought mine. Since image quality is probably very comparable for most, I'd choose more based on features and how you think you'll use it. That being said, Panasonic and Canon usually gets better ratings in P&S than Olympus or Pentax. Check out the feature comparion on DPReview. (Ignore the "environmentally sealed" category - these are all waterproof and sealed, but for some reason some don't show up that way.) It would also pay to check what level of waterproofing they have - some are 3m, 5m, or 10m depending. I think the new Pany is the only one to take HD video, but they probably all take video of some sort.
One thing that would make the D10 less desirable for me is the bulgy shape. It's twice as thick as a normal P&S, and I like to use my snorkeling cam as a pocket cam at times too. The D10 would be more awkward for that.
I think for me, right now, I'd get the Panasonic. It tied with the D10 in DP Review's underwater group test.