New Olympus u1030SW - Perfect Waterproof Compact Camera for Sailing

[aidancoughlan]

Just noticed this recently..... I've been looking out for a Waterproof Compact with a Wide-angle zoom lens for a long time. I know there have been waterproof compacts, and compacts with wide-angle lenses - but none with both to my knowledge.

This Olympus has a 28mm-105mm zoom lens (longer is hard to control on a small compact on a boat anyway - but the 28mm end is invaluable).

Unfortunately I bought a Lumix DMC-TZ3 in January (28-200mm), a great camera but not waterproof... we'd been considering a waterproof case for it (it got a bit stressed while skiing with all the condensation) , but might look the new Olympus.... need to start working on the missus now.

 

[Malcb]

I've had an Olympus u720SW for some time. Perfect for sailing. Shockproof and Waterproof. Any upgrade on that in terms of performance etc is well worth it IMO. The only disadvantage is the lack of an 'normal' viewfinder. However that seems to be what is lacking in most modern compact digital camers.

My main camera is an Olympus E410, however, and the diference in performance is outstanding. Except it is not water proof/resistant. Drat.

 

[Jonny_H]

We have the 720 too - love it

Jonny

 

[l'escargot]

You can go the whole hog and get a underwater housing for it too:

 

[Drascomber]

Waterproof is good, wide angle is good for scenery and shots of stationary boats but for me it has to have at least a 300mm tele for wild life and distant boat shots with a powerful image stabilisor so I can photograph bouys then blow them up on the screen to read the name! So I wont be buying a U1030SW.

Trouble is that my existing Canon superzoom compact is not waterproof and won't fit in my pocket and in any case the TZ3 doesn't have a viewfinder so I still live in hopes of the ideal boating camera arriving one day.

 

[saltwater_gypsy]

Any price info.
I've got a Pentax Optio which is "waterproof" but the viewing screen is rubbish. The Olympus looks to be a good replacement.

 

[fireball]

Re: New Olympus u1030SW - Perfect Waterproof Compact Camera for Sailin

We've got hte Optio too ... have you got the 5megapix or the 6megapix version? ours is (luckily) the 6 and it is great - it is not an SLR though, but it does work in just about any condition - skiing and swimming (even snorkel and duckdive with it)