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Which underwater camera?

Started Mar 13, 2015 | Questions thread
BorisK1 Veteran Member • Posts: 5,645
Re: Which underwater camera?

The cams you listed are all "rugged" models. They are designed primarily for situations when photography is secondary. They are tiny and very sturdy, but won't necessarily give you the control and image quality you might want for serious photography.

Within the "tough" class, the Olympus TG-3 is probably best for still photography (due to its fast lens and quick response times). But its video isn't as good. If video is a priority, I'd look into the Panasonic ts-5. The Nikon AW120 is somewhere between the two.

The other Olympus you mentioned (tg-860) is a one-trick pony - it's by far the cheapest way to get a waterproof ultrawide (21mm) shooter, but aside from that, unremarkable.

If image quality and control options are important though, I'd start looking in a different direction. One possibility is a Nikon 1 AW1, another - a high-grade compact (like Sony RX100 mk 3) in a waterproof housing.

Hope this helps!

 BorisK1's gear list:BorisK1's gear list
Olympus Tough TG-4 Olympus E-3 Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 50mm 1:2.0 Macro Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm 1:4.0-5.6 Olympus Zuiko Digital 11-22mm 1:2.8-3.5
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