Whether you’re snorkeling within the sea or wading within the kiddie pool, water can wreak havoc on electronics. When it involves documenting your wetter adventures, a very good waterproof digicam means the distinction between passing your recollections on to future generations or dropping all proof that you just ever left the home.
Waterproof, rugged cameras are designed to tolerate the weather, making them excellent for all types of journey, even if you happen to don’t plan to truly submerge your self. They can maintain as much as rain, mud, sand, and even freezing temperatures. Rugged cameras aren’t new, however the newest fashions have a lot stronger efficiency and pack extra options than earlier generations.
At a look
Product
Category
Olympus Stylus Tough TG-5
Best waterproof digicam general
Fujifilm Finepix XP120
Best finances waterproof digicam
GoPro Fusion
Best waterproof 360-degree digicam
GoPro Hero7 Black
Best waterproof motion digicam
Olympus Stylus Tough TG-5
The greatest
Hillary Grigonis/Digital TendenciesWhy do you have to purchase this: Good picture high quality and options; built-in GPS.
The TG-5 provides severe specs and nice low gentle efficiency for a water-proof compact.
Who’s it for: Serious outside adventurers.
How a lot will it value: $399
Why we picked the Olympus Stylus Tough TG-5:
When you want a digicam that may deal with being dropped down a small cliff right into a stream — and reside to inform about it — the Olympus Stylus Tough TG-5 is for you. With adventurers in thoughts, the TG-5 is waterproof to a depth of 50 ft, drop-proof from a peak of 7 ft, and includes a built-in GPS with geotagging and site logging skills that may create a map of your journey viewable within the Olympus Image Track app.
The decision has truly dropped from the TG-4 to 12MP, however this improves low-light efficiency, which pairs properly with the 25-100mm (full-frame equal) f/2.0-4.9 lens. It additionally provides RAW recordsdata for max high quality, a 20 frames-per-second burst mode, and even 4K video. Plus, it has a few methods up its sleeve, like a superb macro mode and an easy Live Composite mode that makes light-painting a breeze.
With its give attention to picture high quality and options, the TG-5 is a superb choice for each rookies and skilled photographers who need an outdoor-ready digicam. It gained’t match the efficiency of a sophisticated point-and-shoot just like the Sony RX100 sequence, nevertheless it will get you as shut as you will get in a water-proof compact.
Our full Olympus Stylus Tough TG-5 evaluation
Fujifilm Finepix XP120
The greatest finances waterproof digicam
Why do you have to purchase this: It’s small, inexpensive, and simple to make use of.
The XP120 packs a stable characteristic set and good picture high quality in a small package deal.
Who’s it for: Vacationers in search of a reasonable rugged digicam.
How a lot will it value: $120
Why we picked the XP120:
Fujifilm has largely killed off its point-and-shoot lineup aside from the rugged XP sequence. Why? Because it’s a class that also sells nicely. Although just like the Olympus Tough TG-5, the XP120 has an inexpensive price ticket — we’ve seen it as little as $103 on-line — and is as light-weight as attainable. But don’t let its easy design idiot you: The XP120 is waterproof to 65 ft, shockproof from 5.8 ft, freezeproof to 14-degrees Fahrenheit, and dustproof.
Inside the XP120 is a 16.4-megapixel backside-illuminated CMOS sensor. The digicam handles steady taking pictures at 10 frames per second, and Full HD video is captured at 60p. Its 5x optical zoom lens is optically stabilized that will help you get regular photos, even if you happen to’re teetering on a log in a lake. Built-in Wi-Fi permits you to add trip pics whilst you’re nonetheless on trip, or print to one among Fujifilm’s Instax Share printers for pocketable prompt prints.
If you don’t want the GPS or RAW assist of the TG-5, save your self some money with the XP120.
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GoPro Fusion
The greatest waterproof 360 digicam
GoPro FusionWhy do you have to purchase this: Great construct high quality, straightforward to make use of.
The Fusion is the head of small 360 cameras, and might survive a dunk within the pool if it must.
Who’s it for: 360 video aficionados
How a lot will it value: $599
Why we picked the GoPro Fusion:
Strictly talking, 360-degree cameras don’t precisely work underwater; the water itself distorts the digicam’s view, thus making it unattainable for either side of the video from the twin lenses to sew collectively correctly. However, if you happen to like the concept of immersive video and also you desire a digicam that’s at the very least able to surviving some moist climate or a splash in a lake, look no additional than the GoPro Fusion.
Aside from being waterproof, the Fusion has one of the best characteristic set of any dual-lens 360 cam we now have ever examined. It additionally is comparatively straightforward to make use of due to GoPro’s well-designed cell app. The Fusion can be able to delivering excellent picture high quality with a virtually invisible stitching line — however you’ll have to edit in GoPro’s Fusion Studio desktop app for that, a course of which is way more laborious.
360 video isn’t for everybody, and $600 could also be a tricky ask if you happen to’re simply trying to experiment with the format, however the Fusion provides essentially the most potential of any compact 360 cam we’ve seen.
Our full GoPro Fusion evaluation
GoPro Hero7 Black
The greatest waterproof motion digicam
GoProWhy do you have to purchase this: Super easy digital picture stabilization, nice person expertise
The Hero7 Black units a brand new normal for digital picture stabilization.
Who’s it for: Extreme athletes, journey vloggers, filmmakers
How a lot will it value: $500
Why we picked the Hero7 Black:
Each yr, GoPro finds small new methods to enhance on one of the best, however the Hero7 Black has made a large leap in digital picture stabilization. Sure, this characteristic has been round for a number of generations now, however its implementation within the Hero7 Black is a major enchancment, to the purpose the place GoPro has even coined a brand new identify for it: HyperSmooth. It even allowed us to seize completely secure footage of a downhill mountain bike journey.
GoPro’s new flagship motion cam additionally now options native live-streaming, so you may exhibit your stunts on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, Vimeo, and extra. The sound recording capabilities have additionally been improved, promising much less vibrational noise and higher dynamic vary (the vary from quiet to loud sounds the microphone can seize with out distorting).
And in fact, the Hero7 Black contains all the usual options we’ve come to count on from GoPro, like waterproofing with out the necessity for a case, a pleasant contact display screen and interface, and the ever-present GoPro mount that allows you to connect the digicam to just about something with the suitable accent.
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