Tough Camera....Am I expecting too much?

Begbie

Begbie

Begbie

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Hello guys,

Looking for a camera to go on holiday and it was between a canon s110 or a Panasonic equivalent.

Then I started noticing 'tough' cameras, which I thought were pretty cool. In particular the Olympus Stylus TG-2 and the Nikon AW110. Are they going to be any good? I've never delved into photography before and wouldn't mind learning some basics. It also appeals that I'd be able to strap one of these to my bike and record some video.

Am I better off forgetting they will be at all any good for decent snaps?
 
I bought a Lumix DMC-FT3 which is waterproof/2m drop proof and good till -10 or something.

I guess it depends what kind of basics you're wanting to learn. The trouble with most of these tough cameras is that they're just point and shoot. There are a lot of pre-set profiles for different types of pics but there aren't many manual settings available (on mine at least).

If you're looking to learn the basics, you'll either need to find a tough camera with manual controls of some kind or you'll need to just use a DSLR. The pics coming out of them can be ok but you don't get much input into the settings used.
 
depends on your holiday I suppose :S Do you need a tough camera?

You can get waterproof point and shoots that are ideal to stick in your pocket, then you can always invest in a GoPro or cheaper equivalent for your bike for video :)
 
AHarvey said:
depends on your holiday I suppose :S Do you need a tough camera?

You can get waterproof point and shoots that are ideal to stick in your pocket, then you can always invest in a GoPro or cheaper equivalent for your bike for video :)
Click to expand...

Holiday is only to Florida, so execpt messing around in the pool/waterparks the waterproof features won't be used often.

It appealed as I'm a clumsy git, I drop everything and it would be two birds with one stone if I could attach it to my bike and not need to worry about it too much.

I only want to learn the basics, I.E how to take a good photo, nothing that is going to get me published just nice photos that I can share with friends/family.
 
I still use my tough camera occasionally but I soon after I bought it, I realised that its limitations were not something I could live with.

If you can find a tough camera that lets you shoot in raw and that lets you choose aperture settings and exposure times etc then that could be worth looking into. If not then you may find you reach the limits of the camera quite quickly.
 
The Olympus Stylus TG-2 is actually a very decent compact that also happens to be tough! The lens is great and it's backed up Olympus's normal excellence in the point and shoot market. The others tend to be more of a compromise but at the higher end still produce decent results, sadly none of them even the fuji will match the s100 but you need an extra couple of hundred quic to add a waterproof case to it.
 
In terms of taking a good photo, you can make big improvements just by studying general guidelines for good composition. Beyond that, manual focus and exposure controls are the next step towards controlling your photos so you'd want those features. If you just want a rugged point and shoot, then those tough cameras are good
 
Thanks guys,

Can pick up the AW110 for £160~ seems like a bargain to me, may go for that in the next few weeks.
 
Digital Rev TV did a pretty good review of a whole range of tough and waterproof cameras a while back. I'm not sure how current they will all be now though, as it was from at least last year, maybe even the end of 2011.
 
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