Review 2 of 3
Price Paid:
$400.00
from Local Shop Summary:
There aren't many compacts that are waterproof without having to use a housing. I bought this camera for two purposes; sea kayaking and since it's so small, for carrying around when I normally wouldn't have a camera with me.
The LCD is pretty bright, and much more visible in daylight than compacts from a few years ago. It's still difficult to see in bright sun but my choice is either this or going back to film which wasn't something I was interested in here, plus it would mean a much larger camera which defeats my second purpose. It's about the size of a deck of cards so there's no reason not to have it with you.
I agree about the images being a little soft and lacking saturation/contrast but those things are easy to do quickly in Photoshop. I'd definitely choose not enough rather than too much of any of these. The distortion is a little surprising at the wide end but that was first noticed in taking a shot of a bridge - not that I hoped to do architectural photoraphy with a camera like this. In most of my uses with this camera it isn't a concern. Since the actual focal length of the lens is so short (actual, not equivalent length), this is almost to be expected. I do wish the wide end of the zoom was wider, but the 38mm equivalent is fairly standard among cameras of this type.
There are good and bad points about a camera this size. It uses tiny XD cards which seem somewhat fragile so I got a 1-gig card and plan on leaving it in there. The proprietary battery doesn't last as long as I'd hoped but it's easy to swap and charges quickly. It has a surprisingly solid feel to it and claims to handle a five foot drop but hopefully I won't find out if that's true!
It's a good camera for my use and better than other options available today. It might not be the best all-purpose camera for everybody but it works well for me. Strengths:
Solid construction, waterproof without using a housing. It's the best option on the market right now. Big LCD monitor and lots of functions. ISO settings go as high as 1600, and while fairly noisy are much better than similar cameras of a few years ago. Weaknesses:
Proprietary battery, XD cards and a zoom that only goes out to an equivalent 38mm - but small size requires this; at least the first two. The LCD viewfinder isn't terribly bright in sunny conditions but for my use of it an optical viewfinder would almost be more difficult. The printed manual is very basic. There is a detailed manual also included but it's on CD which isn't convenient. Similar Products Used:
Pentax waterproof 35mm P&S film camera, Nikon Coolpix 5000. Customer Service:
Haven't needed it. I bought it from a great local store and if I have any issues they'll take care of it.
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