Waterproof/Dustproof Point and Shoot recomendations?

[Tim Cheek]

I have been happy with a Pentax W10, but looking at the W60 and the Canon D10.

I'd prefer to avoid Olympus' memory cards.

Any recommendations or considerations?

[James Mancini]

The new Panasonic TS1 looks promising. They're rare in the US at the moment, but I played with one in Tokyo last month and it seemed pretty good, though I was unable to download the photos to pixel-peep at them.

[Chris Chastain]

I too, have been happy with the W30. Looks like the W60 will go out to 28mm on the wide end. That was my major wish from the W10/W30's 38mm. I may just sell mine and get one.

[James Mancini]

My TS1 arrives Tuesday; I'll post a review after I've had it out over Memorial day to play with it.

[James Mancini]

See my full review here:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/reviews/display_reviews?forum_thread_id=21334&cat=Photography%20-%20Hiking%20%26%20Backpacking%20Cameras&cid=60

In short: Not worth it.

[Aaron Lastname]

That's interesting as all the (Other)reviews I've seen so far are pretty good.

[James Mancini]

I freely admit I'm very picky when it comes to image quality as I often suck it up and carry around 4lbs of Nikon pro gear. I guess the quality isn't terrible for a point-and-shoot but it's not near good enough for someone who's picky. The quality of the TZ5 was much better, by comparison. I think you're paying a lot for that underwater capability.

I'm going to give the LX3 a try next; admittedly it's more delicate and a bit heavier, but if it's lighter than my Nikon setup, it'll still come along when I don't feel like hauling the heavy kit.

[Aaron Lastname]

I have been carrying around 3lbs of Nikon gear myself…Pictures are nice when I get home but it's a pain to hike with. I think I'll pass on the TS1 too… (Plus they say you have to send it back once a year and pay them to replace the seals to make sure it stays waterproof???)

The LX3 was on my shortlist too, but I can't give up the long end of a zoom. The Panasonic ZS3 is looking good lately…Not waterproof but a real zoom (Though not as far as my Nikon lenses, but it will do) while keeping a wide end…HD movies with stereo sound at something like 7.5oz. I can deal without a viewfinder I guess.

[James Mancini]

My experience has been that the optics on most P&S zooms are pretty worthless, so I'm going to give it a try without it.

The last small zoom I had that was actually pretty good was the Panasonic Lumix FZ5 – that actually was a nice camera, but it was a little too big for pocketing, and I found if I was going to carry it, I'd just take the Nikon instead.

[Michael Schwartz]

Anyone know when the LX3 or G10 will be updated with their next generation model? In other words, when can we expect the new and improved model of these popular p&s? Mike

[James Mancini]

The LX3 was Announced 21-Jul-08, and the LX2 was 19-Jul-06, so I'd expect summer 2010 for that one.

The G10 was Sept 08, the G9 was Aug 07, and the G7 was Sept 06, so my guess is probably this fall if they keep the same schedule.

YMMV.

[Michael Schwartz]

James, thank you for the very useful info. –Mike

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