Q&A: I am going to get a waterproof camera, which one is best?

I am looking at a Canon PowerShot D10 12.1 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD or a Olympus Stylus Tough-8000 12 MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Wide Angle Optical Dual Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Black). Which one should I get? Thank you!

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

01/17/2010 – A Rebel Without a Clue


Image by The Bone idle Canadian
So now I went out and bought a new camera. I’ve used many point-and-shoot cameras throughout my life, but never anything that could be considered "higher-end." I’ve only loved photography for the past few being, as I only got into it after moving to the Sunshine Coast. (Some might argue that Powell River is a part of the Sunshine Coast, but I disagree.)

With the thought that I’d be taking at least one photo a day for an entire year (and possibly even the being to follow) I chose that I should step up and buy a camera with more possibilities. So around the start of January, I really started looking into the cameras on the promote, looking for one that fit my price point.

I must have thought: "This is it! I found the camera I want!" at least 5 times before settling on this one. Most of those changes were because I’d read a bunch of reviews, and started finding that the flaws the cameras had outnumbered the excellent things about it. It wasn’t in anticipation of talking to a few people who have taken a lot more photos than I have that I really started to consider a DSLR.

I’ve dabbled with manual focus and gap/exposure/shutter settings before, but only ever on a point-and-shoot, or at least a mid-range camera. (The kind that verge on SLRness, albeit without interchangeable lenses or filters.) That being the case, I wasn’t sure I could justify dropping upwards of 0 on a camera, even if I would be by it each day.

Well like I said before, I spoke to a few people (namely a friend of mine who goes by the name of Sthitaprajna — www.flickr.com/photos/zeeble) some of which were photographers professionally, some of which were into it relaxed. All of them chose that it was worth it to get a DSLR if I was ever going to delight in photography for real. I kept that rolling around the back of my head as the days went by during the first two weeks of my Project 365 for this year.

I started really getting back into creative photos, but I was met with far more resistance than I remembered. The main reason was that the camera that really got me into snapping photos in the first house (a run-of-the-mill Kodak EasyShare Z740) had an awesome sensor. There was hardly ever any noise in any of my shots, unless they were really low set alight.

This time, the only cameras I had available to me were either the cheap point-and-shoot my Mom got me Christmas 2008 (for something like at Canadian Tire, of all seats), my dad’s Olympus SP510-UZ (It’s a noise MACHINE) and my Mom’s waterproof Olympus camera. None of these were all that fantastic as far as I was (and still am) concerned, but their owners (except in the case of my point-and-shoot GE camera) like them, so it’s not a huge issue.

I’ve heard it been said many times that fantastic photography doesn’t require a fantastic camera–and it’s right! I’ve taken many pictures I’d consider fantastic and/or outstanding, but the quantity of effort to take them with such a crudly camera is quite wearing, and can make me not even want to bother trying. Also, a lot of the time, to take the photos I wanted I had to borrow my Dad’s Olympus NoiseMASTER-510UZ.

So after struggling with a lack of manual focus (or any manual settings other than "black and white" -_-) on my GE camera, I chose to bite the bullet, and save up for a DSLR. But first I really, really, REALLY researched them. I looked at all the entry-level (and a few mid-range) models, looked at the benefits of Canon, Nikon, Pentax or Sony (No Olympus gorrammit!), and read quite a bit on the subject of digital photography with an SLR versus a point-and-shoot, and on manual settings and the "Exposure Triangle."

I eventually chose on Canon for three main reasons. A) Each single person I had spoken to used a Canon. B) Nearly each friend I’ve got on Flickr has Canon cameras, if they’re DSLRs. C) I like the look of their cameras more. A silly detail possibly, but I still prefer the look of Canon DSLRs to Nikons. [Bonus reason D) "Digital Rebel" is an AWESOME name!]

Anyway, I feel I’ve gotten kind of off track, and this is getting to be quite the writeup for a photo entry on Flickr (although each one is mirrored on my blog, I don’t want to start making longer entries on my blog and forcing people to view one over the other.) It all comes down to this: I got for myself a Canon Digital Rebel XS (EOS 1000D if you’re living in Europe) and it takes fantastic photos. Or I take fantastic photos with it. Either way, I like it, and hopefully you can look forwards to seeing some of my awesome new photographic exploits here soon.

(Also, the "without a clue" in the title is a two-part allusion. Firstly to an awesome song by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, secondly to my overall lack of experience in the manual photography field. Learning this should be fun!)

Canon PowerShot HOT PINK Mini Glove Bag Carrying Sleeve For Slim Digital Camera and Camera Accessories: models Canon PowerShot SD1200IS, Canon PowerShot SX200IS, Canon PowerShot D10, SD890IS, SD780IS,

• Sleeve Designed For Slim Size Digital Cameras That Stretches to Form-Fit Your Camera!!!
• Durable strong neoprene cushions Protects Your Camera From Bumps, Shock And Scratches!!!
• Neoprene exterior is water, Scratch and Tear strong !!!
• Dual Zipper Opening, as well as a extra pocket for memory cards!!!
• Vangoddy TM(Trademarked) WristBand states Live*Laugh*Like on the front with Vangoddytm

Prevents your camera case from getting scratches while inside your brief case or tote bag. Made from soft Neoprene material!!! Perfect case to protect your camera since it stretches to form-fit your camera!!! Digital Camera Screen Guard is Perfect to protect your cameras screen from scratches and dirty prints!!! Vangoddy TM(Trademarked) WristBand states Live*Laugh*Like on the front with Vangoddytm inside!!! ***Digital Camera NOT Included***

Price: $ 9.50

www.squidoo.com I won a fantastic underwater camera in a Namecheap Twitter competition. This is the video of me opening the box (I was very excited). Check out my other videos on different aspects of the camera and visit my Squidoo lens www.squidoo.com for a full review waterproof digital camera underwater digital camera canon d10 canon powershot d10
Video Rating: 4 / 5