Waterproof / Water-Resistant Digital Cameras

[epatt250]

I really wish the point and shoot marketing would stop playing the megapixel game. Quantity does not beat quality. There are just only so many megapixels you can stuff onto a sensor the size of your pinky fingernail. Stop spending R&D trying to stuff more on there so you can put a bigger number on your retail box and spend more time making the pixels you have better quality w/o so much damn noise.

I have seen some amazing large prints taken with a 3mp D30... not a 30D. Yes its only a 3mp sensor but the pixel quality is fantastic and interpolation can do wonders for adding pixels.

I guess it's that way with everything, why should cameras be an exception. For years Intel played the clock speed game. They always boasted very high mhz clock speeds to sell computers. While AMD had faster processors at 3/4 the clock speed at half the price that generated half the heat as an intel unit.

Also another great online photog source is beachcamera.com , as well as the others mentioned.

[Chester]

Got a new Pentax W30 in last week from Abe's of Maine. Service was quick and painless. A few accessory items were mentioned by Abe's, but not really pushed.
Only used it once so far as my headcam on the Tot. It's got just a few new menu items as compared to my W20. Just a slight upgrade from the W20, but worth it I suppose if it'll keep those pesky droplets off the lense cover. So far, 1 small droplet, that vanished in the next clip. They seem to roll off faster. More river time will tell, and I plan to be on the water enough to test it.
Will update later.

[okieboater]

Hi Chester,

Please keep the msg board updated on your new camera's performance.

Like you, I have the w20 and am happy with it, been reading about the w30 and wondered if I should upgrade.

only issue I have with the w20 so far is the view finder is washed out in bright sunlight or at least mine is. I just aim over the top and so far, that has worked pretty good.

thanks for sharing your pentax experiences

[Trismegistus]

Just in case you missed it in the instruction manual -- but theW20's LCD backlighting mechanism features a brightness adjustment that will usually keep ya happy for those times when glare and such proves to be a problem.

[okieboater]

Yup, been playing with that adjustment, but in bright sun, the screen still washes out - no matter what setting I use.

Begining to think I got a bad screen.

[Crane]

Dave... Time for a new camera!!

[Roy Staggs]

My Pentax Optio W30 died of water ingestion halfway down the Grand Canyon. This is the same camera that was sent back for repair a couple of weeks after I bought it. I have never dealt with a worse customer service organization in my life. They will lie to you and they will try to put you off in anyway that they can. I ended up going to their headquarters in Golden Colorado in an effort to get my money back after having purchased this hunk of crap and finally settled for a new camera after they made it clear that I wasn’t getting any of that money back. I guess I could have been arrested in Golden and I did think about making that happen. I sat there in the reception area for the best part of an hour before anybody would even talk to me. I was beginning to get a little cranky. If you own a Pentax product, I wish you the best of luck with it. If you don’t, I would recommend that you keep it that way. Let me reemphasize - the worst customer service I have ever encountered - period.
Oh - and about that glare reduction screen thing with the W30. I don’t care what you do with the brightness setting, you still will not be able to see anything in bright sunlight. I was reduced to pointing the camera in the general direction and pushing the shutter button. I actually quit even trying to see what I was taking a picture of on screen.

[Crane]

I had a similar experience with Pentax customer service several years ago with a waterproof 35mm... Lost its waterproof on the Ocoee...They didn't even offer a replacement... but, I figure by that time I'd already gotten my money out of it. New products are coming quickly. Maybe Olympus is a better bet. Anyone dealt with their customer relations?

[Richard]

I have a canon that has a view finder in addition to the LCD screen. I find the LCD screen to be useless and it consumes battery power.

What waterproof cameras are out there right now worth considering? I want a viewfinder for all the reasons mentioned. I want optical zoom for both still and movie of at least 4x

[okieboater]

For information, I have a rafting bud from up north who purchased one of the new Olympus water "proof" cameras similiar to the Pentax W30. Took it out swimming for a test and it failed the swim test in a pool IE leaked and stopped taking pictures. Last we swapped emails, he had sent the camera in to Olympus and no word on if they would replace it or not.

Here is my experience with purchasing cameras and computers off the Internet or anywhere else for that matter. If they work out of the box, it is great and most of the time they run for a long time. If you have a problem (sometimes purchasing local helps here, often it does not unless you purchased from a very customer service oriented locally owned retailer) --- good luck as going back to the manufacturer for any kind of service is gonna be a real experience. Or, at least that has been my personal experience.

So far I have been lucky with cameras purchased off the internet - but who knows how long that will last.

[Trismegistus]

Although I have yet had any significant repair needs -- my family and I own about a half dozen digital cameras among us -- Kodaks and Pentaxes -- so I can sympathize with these recent posts concerning less than optimal customer service. Moreover in surfing about at other forums -- see complaint.com, etc. -- these problems are not limited to Pentax -- it seems customer service across-the-board leaves a lot to be desired.

Thus time to consult with Kar Yan and Henry at Classic Camera Repair Service who offer the following recommendations:

First, understand that there is little the common man can do when a digital camera goes down. Because of the need for special parts, special tools and repair manuals that the manufacturers do not share with the public we are 100% dependent on camera repair specialists when our digital cameras go down.

Second, most digital cameras which are out of warranty are never going to be repaired if they fail. If you have bought your camera carefully then it should have a lengthy digital camera repair warranty. And of course, even if your camera is still within the warranty period you still have to ensure that you meet the requirements of the warranty -- it is pretty easy to void a warranty as any subjective sign of "abuse" can invalidate the warranty. Given Kar and Henry's devotion to "classic cameras" it's probably not surprising they'd conclude "Please do not ask us about digital camera repairs. Probably all of us here have at least one digital camera. If it breaks we'll just buy a new one. You should do the same!"

Third if a digital camera is more than 2-3 years old -- its obsolete and obtaining needed parts is often all but possible. Your best bet is usually to find a used or refurbished camera from which to salvage parts from as most out-of-warranty repairs will prove to end up costing more than the camera cost -- repair fees of $150-250.00 are the norm once parts are included. So if you have a digital camera go down they're more often than not "pastured out as parts" by the repairmen as it simply isn't worth the effort to pay to have them repaired.

And lastly -- and I was surprised to know this -- in fact it seems illogical -- but a digital camera is under "maximum strain" when it used with automatic settings -- thus many repair men advocate using the manual settings whenever possible to minimize circuit failures.

Thus it seems the manufacturers maintain a position that are $200-300 or more cameras are really nothing more than "disposable". Just like all the other electronic devices we seemingly cherish.

[Susan Tinker]

GREAT CAMERA! I have the water resistent but was worried about it ruining while on the river, so 3 weeks ago, I bought the Olympus Water Proof (up to 10' under water) / Shatter proof (from 5') camera from Bedford's for $375 with 12 months no interest! I just rafted and also floated in life vest down a river in Montana. The camera was attached to my life vest and we went through some great rapids (out of the boat). The camera was under water through several sets of rapids and still works great! Great pictures as well .....
Susan Tinker

[Chester]

So far the W30 is doing well and I'm pleased with the upgrade. Seems the water spots on the lens have become less of a problem (as advertised) compared to my W20. Have not burned a whole 4G worth of video up yet in one setting to test the battery life, but will if Richland runs and I can make it, or when I go back to the Spring River. Have not noticed a problem with the display in sunlight yet.

[Roy Staggs]

The “NEW” W30 is heading back to Pentax for repairs. The following was included in the packaging for the repair tech.

"1. Loud clicking noise in video playback mode caused by lense movement (auto focus) during video recording. Yes, I know that problem was supposed to be corrected on the W30. It’s not.

2. The door to the battery/media compartment can be moved down approximately .020 with only slight finger pressure on the top of the cover. Hold the camera in your right hand while looking at the screen and drag the index finger on your left hand down across the compartment lid. You will see and feel movement. (And you wonder why it leaks there )

3. Yesterday I was taking a photo and tried to turn the camera back off. Pushing the on/off button had no effect. Had to turn the camera off by removing the battery. Reinstalled the battery and the camera started working again.

This is a replacement camera for my first W30 which had the same problem. The first camera ingested water while going down the Grand Canyon after being returned from your repair shop and failed completely thus depriving me of the pictures I COULD have taken during my “once in a lifetime trip”. I have no confidence what-so-ever that you can repair this camera and I can’t get my money back from Pentax, so I guess I’m stuck.

(Name deleted) at your Golden Colorado headquarters gave me this camera as a replacement for the first W30. I wonder how many new cameras I would have to go through to get one that is not a hunk of junk?

This camera has been kept dry and has not been exposed to any moisture greater than normal atmospheric humidity since (name deleted) handed it to me in the reception area at Pentax headquarters in Golden.

Call me if you have any questions.

Roy Staggs
1924 S. R. 164 E.
Dover, AR 72837"

[Chester]

Roy,
On the clicking sound, page 116 of the manual notes, if you check AF w/recording to on in your settings, and any other but PF for the focus mode, the camera noise will occur.
On the door movement, my doors have no movement at all, so yours is probably sprung. I think all doors are subject to trouble, especially waterproof ones, and should be opened/closed carefully.
There was one time I could not turn off my W20. I was testing the self timed shooting mode, where the camera would turn itself on every 30 secs or whatever you set, and shoot a picture. There is a set procedure in the book for turning this off early and if not followed exactly, it'll keep going. I too, remove the battery to stop it. If you were not in this mode then I dunno.