UKH

When in the hills I normally carry my Nikon D3200, a while ago I bought a Sony HX50 (actually I bought a HX20 but it was replaced on warranty) for a more pocket friendly and video capable camera for days out.

However, as I do more multipitch climbing and watersports I'm finding myself wanting something smaller, rugged and waterproof so I can just grab it and not worry about it. For this reason (and because I already own enough cameras) I'd like it to be fairly cheap.

Can anyone recommend such a camera? I've been looking at this selection, but they all weigh in a bit above my price bracket

http://www.ephotozine.com/article/top-10-best-waterproof-tough-cameras-2014...

In reply to Oujmik:

Don't buy one from Aldi, they had some in their specials recently so I got one, but shall be returning it as image quality is poor.

In reply to Oujmik:
A body with a periscope lens is easier to use single handed. You have to be very careful not to photograph your fingers with the centre lens models.

An Olympus tough? Shop around for last years model.

Cheers Adam

In reply to Oujmik:

A quick check on EBay, new prices from £100 freepost

In reply to Oujmik:
I bought the Olympus tough TG-2, whilst on the expensive side its macro mode is absolutely amazing. Normal shots are on par with, if not better then my smartphone and the zoom is terrible at only 4x. Unfortunately that is the limitation with having a bombproof case around it. Takes good video though.

Watching peoples faces as you wash it under the tap is also priceless

EDIT: having the option to attach lenses is a big plus if you like messing around with old style filters or fish eye lens. You don't have to buy their fish eye lens either (which is good, but £120), opt for getting a cheap Chinese one like I did and buy a converter ring to fit it on

In reply to Oujmik:
The Pentax WG-3 seems to offer a good combination of price and functions... the Olympus models seem to get good write-ups but they come in pretty expensive.

If I have to spend anything close to £260 then I'd be tempted just to get a GoPro 3+ Black instead. Granted it's not a camera per-se but it would probably be a more versatile addition to my collection.

EDIT: Having read the reviews of the Pentax I am less convinced, it seems to have an issue with leaking when used underwater. Perhaps that is why it has dropped in price so much more than its competitors.

In reply to Oujmik:

Round-up up review also here:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/2013-waterproof-roundup

In reply to Oujmik:

This has the same sensor as the twice as expensive FT5:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00BET0NL2/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF...

I'm getting one before my next surfing trip.

In reply to Dispater:

I've got the FT3 version. Very pleased with it and all the abuse it has had to put up with over a couple of years. If the one in the link is similar quality and robustness, then it seems a bargain price. Should be of interest to OP if it is in their price range.

In reply to Oujmik:

Just to follow up, I decided on the Pentax WG-3. It survived a beach holiday including surfing and coasteering and I'm pleasantly surprised by the image quality. It's sharp, not over-processed and with good colours. It's also very much cheaper than the competition especially considering it has a faster lens than most.

My only criticisms are the lack of optical stabilisation in movie mode and it's rather idiosyncratic approach to choosing an aperture and shutter speed (even in sports mode it sometime decides to shoot 1/100 f8 instead of something faster).