Compact Waterproof Camera

A compact waterproof camera might be right for you if you have an active lifestyle. Many of these cameras survive drops, repel moisture, resist dust, and even tolerate extreme cold temperatures. So, for those who ski, snowboard, snorkel, swim, hike, mountain bike, and more, a waterproof digital camera can offer the durability needed.

In fact, a compact waterproof digital camera can be great for people with small children too. Because kids like to play with gadgets and aren't always as particular about how they handle them, a waterproof camera can survive the encounter more readily.

Once you decide a compact waterproof camera will suit your lifestyle, it's time to do some shopping.

First you want to consider all of the same things you do when buying any camera. Here are just a few things to think about:

Does the camera offer the resolution that you want?
Typical casual users are ok with 5 megapixels but 8 is good if you want to crop photos or enlarge them much.

Is there optical zoom and image stabilization?
Zoom helps you get in close with distant subjects and image stabilization helps reduce blurriness due to unintended camera shake.

Does the camera offer the features you prefer?
If you want a lot of automated features such as red eye removal, face detection, and so forth check for these. Many casual users also don't want to deal with setting exposure, white balannce and so forth thus having a variety of shooting modes is important. Sports mode for fast action, night for those low light scenes, portrait, landscape, panorama, and macro (close up) are among some of the popular options.

Does the camera offer video with sound?
A camera that doesn't film video is fine but if you want video capabilities be sure to look for that feature and assure that the quality of the video is satisfactory.

Next you will want to consider your special needs:

Check to see at what depth of water the camera will function.

Determine if the camera is dustproof.
This is necessary if you will be using the camera in other harsh conditions such as at the beach, around sand dunes, and so forth.

Determine if the camera is temperature hardy.
If you will be exposing it to winter temperatures it will need to be able to operate under such conditions.

Check to see that the camera is easy to operate.
Whether you're swimming or skiing with gloves, it's seldom easy to hit too tiny buttons or navigate lengthy menus when you're active or in harsh conditions. Ease of operation is very important.

A compact waterproof camera can of course be used outside of the water as well. If you choose one, it's certainly possible that you will need no other camera. For those individuals, it's very important to look at the overall features to be sure it meets all of their photo needs.

For those who don't find the perfect underwater camera, there's also the option of purchasing an underwater camera housing (when available). This allows the user to select their camera of choice and then "dress" it for underwater use when necessary.

For those who aren't necessarily in the market for a compact waterproof camera but have a one time need for shooting underwater photos, perhaps for a vacation or a pool party, there is the option of purchasing a single use or disposable underwater camera.

Photo Credit
Introduction: James Wicks.
Why Would You Want a Compact Waterproof Camer: egarc2.
What to Consider: Tom@HK
What are the Options: TraveOC.