Waterproof Action/compact camera

gad-westy

gad-westy

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I posted this on Pistonheads but it seems very quiet on the photography section there these days so handing this over to the TP experts. I currently have an old (2010 ish maybe) waterproof Pentax compact camera. It's totally out of date now in terms of image quality and video etc but has been great fun on holidays in the swimming pool. Totally indestructible too until I let my daughter use it for 5 minutes and now it is toast! In her defence, I'm not sure that I secured the battery compartment properly before I handed it over.

Anyway, I'd like to replace it. Essentially I want a waterproof camera that will give us okay quality stills and videos (really doesn't have to be great and I'm sure anything modern will be more than adequate). I'm quite keen for it be more like an action camera so that I might be able to use it for some other fun stuff with appropriate mounts but that's a secondary thing.

USB charging would be handy.

I don't want to spend new go-pro money as it really is just for fun silly holiday stuff but I was wondering about an older go pro but very open to suggestions as to which one or something else all together. Waterproof is essential and I'd rather not faff around with housings etc. Probably sub £100 ideally.
 
Not sure how much they go for but an Olympus Tough used might fit the bill - I think my wife has had one for some time which comes on holiday when water is involved. It might be too much especially if someone on TIkTok has started a craze for them. Just a thought.
 
Under £100 you are looking at gopro copies from ebay realistically. Some are better than others it's a minefield.
Can't be over emphasised enough how important good stabilisation and battery life are.
Action 3 from DJI is your best option Amazon currently have them under £300.
 
I've still got a hero 4 black, really great quality, no IS but video is excelent. Stills are very good but limited to wide angle, no worries about quality though.
 
swanseamale47 said:
I've still got a hero 4 black, really great quality, no IS but video is excelent. Stills are very good but limited to wide angle, no worries about quality though.
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That was my first foray into them and wouldn't recommend them due to short battery life, no stabilisation and tendency to quietly crash without you realising.
You have to pull battery out to restart and if it is also in a waterproof case this is a complete pain.
 
From time to time, 7dayshop have action cams in stock and they're good enough for normal use and waterproof (in their housings [included]) for snorkelling. I've had a few "waterproof" cameras and the cheapies are the ones that have lasted the longest!
 
4wd said:
That was my first foray into them and wouldn't recommend them due to short battery life, no stabilisation and tendency to quietly crash without you realising.
You have to pull battery out to restart and if it is also in a waterproof case this is a complete pain.
Click to expand...
I never had any problems with mine, batteries last about 80 minutes-ish I shoot on 1080p though. good enough for youtube for what I do.
 
My lads have been using the Nikon Coolpix S3x cameras, the quality isn't great but they are able to withstand being used by small boys. I think Fuji have some more recent/expensive models that may be worth looking at.
 
Cheers all. Some good options there. The Olympus Tough ones are definitely on the options list and I'll add the Nikon ones too.

On the GoPro front, I'm finding it really hard to pick through the historic model line up but are there none that are waterproof without a case that can be grabbed for not a lot of money nowadays?
 
Worth a look. EBay item number

115719501796
 
In the past I had a Panasonic DMC something or other. An earlier version of THIS.

I bought this as a holiday camera actually more for its drop-proof-ness rather than its waterproof-ness as my daughter had recently dropped (and smashed) two compact cameras on one holiday.

It was a good addition to have by the pool, but I think it would be fair to say that the only shots I kept from it are those that were actually taken underwater - or at a waterpark. I don't remember it taking anything decent elsewhere.

Mine went the same way that yours did by the sounds of it. it just stopped working and I suspect water ingress.

I currently have a Fuji XP140. It's OK. But again, I only keep the shots that I couldn't have gotten without it. It is noticeably better than the Panasonic though.

One photo I took a couple of years ago was from a bike ride while on Jersey. Didn't have another camera.

All things considered, I was quite happy with it. But this is probably the only one I'd keep.

If you click on the flickr link you can see (or at least I think) that there's a certain 'filter' type look to it. It looks a little painted.

The one that gets the best reviews for toughness, and IQ is whatever the latest Olympus TG is. I think they're on 06 now. But when I looked, it was double the price of the Fuji and, for the use it was going to get, I couldn't really justify it.

DSCF3327 by Kell, on Flickr
 
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