Best Rugged Digital Camera

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marley1

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Jul 18, 2000
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What is the best rugged camera to get? A friend of mine suggested the Nikon Coolpix AW100, but was looking for suggestions.

Want something that will take a few drops and still take great pictures.
 
I think Darakian forgot to put a smilie after that suggestion. Needless to say the D4 etc. is significantly more expensive than that AW100 you mentioned.

I've looked at rugged cameras here recently. The gist I got while looking is that in general the image quality is less than other P&S in the same price range. Also that while most of the rugged camera lines also say they are water resistant to such and such a depth that is mostly not true - they will often fail after a use or two. The Canon D20 looked promising, but I still hesistate to even give it a recommendation after looking at recent user reviews on Amazon from people who have actually used it; the Nikon AW100 also has reviews that would really make me pause and rethink buying it. Another stylish line was the Pentax Optio WG-2 line. Picture quality not the best, and same concerns on water proofness. These cameras will get you the shot, but the shot may not be the best looking.

Right now I'm looking for a camera for my Mother, and I've narrowed the decision down to the Canon SX260 HS, or Canon ELPH 110 HS. No promises on if you can drop them. The 260 is a camera with a lot of zoom, pretty quick interface, full featured. The ELPH 110 loses the massive zoom, but on the positive it will have images that are a bit sharper and a bit more contrast, - at least that is what I'm seeing in reviews and on Flickr. Quick dirty comparison.

I'll subscribe to this thread, and if I can be of any more help I'll repond again.
 
I liked the Panasonic TS4 more than the Nikon and Canon models I tried. They all have some ergonomic sacrafices to maintain water resistance and ruggedness. The D20 was easiest to hold, but I got a better deal on the Panasonic. If price were the same (I have no idea what they are now), I'd probably get the Canon. The TS4 is the most pocketable of that group.
 
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