Reliable underwater camera for snorkeling on vacation?

[gryffin123]

My husband and I are leaving Friday on a cruise to the Southern Caribbean.

 

I have been pouring over the reviews to try to figure out which camera to buy. Most all have complaints about them failing underwater.

 

Does anyone have experience with whether these actually work for snorkeling, and if so which one to recommend?

 

Our budget is in the $250 range.

 

Thanks!

[pierces]

Any can fail, most will not. If you read the precautions in the owner's manual and take reasonable care not to drop them too often or dive beyond their rated limits, the current crop of ruggedized, submersible cameras will all serve you well.

 

My suggestion is get one rated to 10 meters or more since the average snorkeler won't exceed that depth. Bothh the Canon D20 and the Sony TX-30 fit into your price range and are both very well reviewed. The Sony is smaller and may be more pocketable for dual duty aon land but either would be a good choice.

 

Hand strap is a must and one with a float on it may prevent a small tragedy.

 

Dave

[Tommy3putts]

Gopro

[awboater]

Yes, buy one rated for 10Meters or more - even if just snorkeling.

 

Depth ratings are determined in static (non-moving) water. Once you put the camera into an ocean current or go swimming with it - it adds pressure against the seals which has the same effect of going deeper. A camera only rated for 3Meters might fail under these conditions.

 

My underwater camera (Olympus 8010) is 3~4yr old, and I have never had any issue with it's waterproof integrity. But the reason I bought it is because it had 2 o-rings on the door, where many cameras only have one. It's rated for 10Meters.

 

Also, make sure to keep your camera clean. Anything from a grain of sand to a hair falling across the o-rings on the door can cause leaks.

 

And read your manual... my underwater camera has some 10 pages of do's and don'ts for keeping the camera waterproof. Most underwater cameras require you to return the camera once a year to the service department for gasket replacement. I have never done that, but it's another reason to buy a 10Meter or deeper rated camera. Not saying a deeper rated camera will alleviate the need for returning your camera periodically for a check up, but so far, it's worked for me.

 

You probably don't have time to order one, but you can buy a refurbished Nikon AW100 for well under $200 at Cameta Camera. The AW100 is rated for 10Meters. The Nikon AW110 and AW120 are rated for more than 10Meters, but may be beyond your set budget.

Edited February 18, 2014 by awboater

[gryffin123]

Thanks all.

 

I was all ready to try to order a Canon, the Sony or a lower end Olympus from Amazon using Prime shipping. However, I went in to Best Buy to get a rugged case for my iPad and managed to get them to match Target's special pricing on the AW110 ($159.99). I think I got a lot of camera for my money.

[awboater]

Sounds like you got a good deal.

 

Enjoy.

[Turtles06]

Thanks all.

 

I was all ready to try to order a Canon, the Sony or a lower end Olympus from Amazon using Prime shipping. However, I went in to Best Buy to get a rugged case for my iPad and managed to get them to match Target's special pricing on the AW110 ($159.99). I think I got a lot of camera for my money.

 

That's a really great price. I have the older AW100, which was about $350 when first introduced in mid-2012 and had dropped about $100 by the end of 2012, which is when I bought it, and I thought it was a pretty good deal then. :)

 

Enjoy your new camera and your cruise, and come back and post some underwater photos!