Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS2 14.1 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 4.6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 2.7-Inch LCD (Blue)

So far, I am pleased with the DMC-TS2. As anybody purchasing a waterproof camera probably does, I decided to find out right away how durable the camera really is. I started with a nice sunset on Lake Ontario. I placed the camera right down on the rocks as the waves came crashing in. My pants got a little wet, the camera took some very sweet shots, and lived to shoot another day! My next trip was white water rafting on the Salmon River. I clipped the camera with a carabiner to my PFD, and grabbed my paddle. The image stability worked fairly well. I got some good shots of upcoming rapids shooting one handed while being tossed around on the raft. On run number two, our fearless captain decided to spin into some oncoming rapids. I got tossed from the boat, shot down the river, bouncing from rock to rock. The camera and I took quite a ride. After getting pulled back into the raft (and clearing my lungs), I immediately turned on the camera and snapped some photos. The camera is definitely waterproof, and shockproof! Just remember to wipe off the lense or else you'll have some distortion due to water drops. I am not as pleased with the low light pictures. The TS2 does offer a starry sky mode with 15 or 30 second shutter speeds. Just don't expect it to come close to an SLR. I did a direct comparison with my Nikon D5000, and you can guess the results. The camera is FAST for a P&S. Quick AF and low shutter lag, key for taking quick and easy pics of the kids. My wife loves it because, "it is easy to use and it takes the picture when I want it to" as she says. Picture quality is good. My favorite thing about the camera, just like the saying goes, "The best camera is the one that's with you." You can bring this anywhere! On to the next task, Rock Climbing in the Keene Valley. ADK, here I come! Should get some nice shots from the rock wall : )

Like everyone else, I was looking for a rugged camera to take underwater/beach or on that ski trip where I would not worry about the camera. I did my research and like many have said it came down to the Panasonic and Canon and I chose the Panasonic because it was more portable and also because I currently love recording video of the family in HD using my sony camcorder that uses AVCHD which this Pansonic does too. I recently got to test this camera out on a family trip to the Maldives. Took this camera out snorkeling and to the pool over a half dozen times and had it rolling around in the sand with me and the kids. I took some pictures which came out good but my wife also brought along our Canon SD1000 whose pictures were extremely comparable. The pictures on the canon are probably actually slightly better in my opinion except that it can't take underwater pictures of the kids or the fish (unless I got a shell which I find too bulky to lug around). The true value was the video which was awesome. Now, it is not easy to record video underwater while snorkeling because glare off the screen was tough to get used to underwater, but once I adapted I have great footage of parrot fish, angel fish and even black tipped reef sharks that swim up to you. I have my son and wife pointing out at the coral and schools of fish swimming up to them. Truly once in a lifetime and this camera performed. Once we got back home from vacation, it snowed and with the kids, we went out for a good old snow ball fight which this camera recorded and even took a nice direct hit. So in summary, the pictures on this camera are OK and the video is great. The ruggedness and waterproof is what you want and this passes with flying color (even took a big licking on coral and came away with minor scratches). Also this was very portable and only slightly noticeably bigger than our Canon SD1000. It fit easily in my pocket and I took it everywhere. These are the reasons I bought it and it was definitely money well spend. (also the blue is a cool color to get too and stands out nice)

I read a lot of reviews for waterproof cameras, and found that everyone reviewing them had different problems. The cheaper Fujifilm didn't seem to take great pictures, the Canon seemed to leak for others, and the Olympus tough seemed to be really slow. This one seemed to be the one with the least problems, so I decided to go for it. WATERPROOF? - For now, yes. I took it out for several hours in the ocean, and it survived. Why do I say "For now"? The product manual seems to acknolwedge the fact that this camera's waterproof features last only about a year. The rubber seal is thin, and salt water, sun, and time will eventually corrode it. All water needs is the tiniest of cracks in the seal, and your camera is done. I like my camera, but I know it's only a matter of time until this eventuality occurs. Still, I cleaned it with fresh water, and used my little brush like recommended. The silicone cover is also handy to protect it a little more. The manual also seems to say that something like big crashing waves could be a little too much for this camera. I guess know this for all waterproof cameras: The clock is ticking. UNDERWATER PICTURES - They're good. You'll need proper light, but the pictures that come out look great. WORKING THE CAMERA UNDERWATER - The buttons are easy to understand. The arrangement could have been a little easier, but it's easy to know what you're doing REGULAR PICTURES - They look nice. 14 MP, I would say in some ways it rivals my DSLR MOVIES - They're good, not great, but this is a camera not a video camera, so the videos are decent. You'll have to decide between AVCHD Lite and MJPEG. Motion JPEG is an easier file extension to work with (since it's a Quicktime) I decided to go with the proprietary Sony / Panasonic filetype because it takes up about half the amount of space on your SD card as MJPEG and it's HD. The tradeoff I made, though, is that I have to import my movie files into Windows with my Panasonic software, which takes a long time. It converts them into .h2ts files along with three other associated files. I had to type .h2ts into the search function in order to find my videos among the thicket of associated file wrappers, and move them to another folder. After that, I have to convert them to MP4 files using Handbrake (a free software) and then I'm free to finally put them into photo editing software. It's a lot of work. FILE NAMES - For some reason, Panasonic decded to name all the files with really long numbers. On my other cameara, I just look for IMG-1002, so I know it's the 1002nd photo, but on this camera, Panasonic names them 1000040404(100001002) and it makes it really hard to look for photos. So far I'm happy with the camera, but I know I'll be mad the day I put it in the water and lose everything. If you're looking at this camera as a long-term investment, you'll be disappointed. If, however, you want some underwater pictures and know the risk, then go for it. I'd recommend a floating wrist strap if you go in the water. You'll need it when the water gets rough.