Waterproof cameras – should you get one? In my last post, I talked about getting a pocket camera to carry around in your pocket/purse to take family snapshots. I will admit that we have several of these “pocket cameras” sprinkled all over the house. That may be overkill for a non-professional photographer family, but it’s nice to have one handy when you need it! And the whole “handy when you need it” concept it what I want to talk about today. Specifically, waterproof cameras. I have found that you can get an affordable waterproof camera. Let’s call “affordable” in the $150 – $300 range. But then the quality of the photos is lower than in a similarly-priced regular camera. That is, unless you go up in price to the $250 – $450 range to get a similar quality level of images with the waterproof feature. You can also get a waterproof housing for many of the cameras….for about $200. Those are great b/c they are usually waterproof to about 100 feet which means you can dive with them. Still, waterproof housings can be a pain to use. So, if you will use your camera in lots of wet but not deep water situations (kid’s swimming, beach trip, soccer games in the rain, etc), then go ahead an consider getting a waterproof one. They are also often more rugged and can handle a few falls. I use this one, because I wanted something very rugged….but I would probably pick something different next time. Something with better image quality – like this one by Nikon. As a loyal Cannon shooter (you should see how many Canon cameras I have bought over the years), I feel disloyal recommending a Nikon – but I think their waterproof cameras seem better.
