Consumer digital cameras

2005-06-08
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Pentax OptioWP front, transparent

Things > Digital cameras >

coming later

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Table of Contents [hide]

Introduction ∞

Being interested in an entry-level digital camera, the things I thought about were:

Ruggedness:

  • I have to bring it everywhere and use it anywhere and anytime. It has to survive. It has to be something I can use actively, and not something so fragile that I am distracted by being delicate.

Ergonomics:
  • Size and comfort should be good.

  • User-interface should be comfortable.

Speed:
  • Fast time-to-picture. From dead cold to taking pictures should be good.

  • Taking multiple pictures in a row is essential for taking pictures of people.

Other considerations:
  • Battery life should be good enough.
  • Picture quality should be average or better for its category.
  • Should be fairly "standard" as far as formats, accessories and such.
  • Cost isn't so important, but something obviously overpriced for the featureset will be shunned.

  • Manufacturers who have a lineage of quality leading to that product will be elevated in desirability, especially in cases where each step leading to the camera has obvious improvements.

Conclusion ∞

Unfortunately it appears that the Pentax 43WR doesn't actually exist in the universe. [ 1 ] The only place I could find it had a $100 shipping charge. I ended up with the Pentax OptioWP, mainly because the Ricoh doesn't exist either, and the place that sells it is selling it for $1200. Sigh.

So.. in conclusion, I'm not particularly happy with the selection. I did a lot more research than I needed to, and it appears that the "good" cameras don't necessarily continue their evolution. Pentax appears to be evolving their cameras nicely, but their design decisions seem to have changed between the WR and the WP, which is dismaying.

The report that the OptioWP isn't a particularly useful camera for low-light, has a weak flash, has poor sharpness, etc etc.. really pisses me off. I really wanted the 640x480 30fps of the 43WR too.

So I suppose I'll go for the glitz of the OptioWP. =/

I already have a card reader which should work for this.

Need
  • A snug case (to protect the lens cover)
  • An AC adapter?

  • A spare USB cable for work?

All-Weather (Water-resistant/Waterproof/Rugged) Digital Cameras ∞

Legend:

  • + positive

  • - negative

Ricoh ∞

https://www.ricoh.ca/en

Ricoh - Digital Camera Lineup

Ricoh - Caplio 300g ∞

https://web.archive.org/web/20160417004108/http://ricoh.com/r_dc/caplio/300g/

Features
  • - 3.34MP
  • 3x optical
  • 3.4x digital
  • + Macro 1-60cm
  • + 2.5 shots/s
  • + shutter speed 1-2000s
  • Optical viewfinder
  • + SD/MMC card

  • + 2xAA or li-ion battery

Links

[ 3 ]

Ruggedness
  • Waterproof JIS Grade 7
  • floats
  • Dustproof JIS Grade 6
  • Impact resistant
  • - USB 1.1
  • - 1.6" TFT screen
  • - fairly large

  • - ISO 125, 200, 400, 800

Cost
  • I found a Caplio 300g on eBay; link dead, not archived, price not noted.

  • $1200

Ricoh - Caplio 400Gwide ∞

I couldn't find this on the manufacturer's website!

Olympus ∞

Olympus Stylus Digital Cameras

They all use Olympus' xD Memory

Olympus - Stylus 300 ∞

was http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_product_lobbypage.asp?l=1&p=16&bc=27&product=902

Ruggedness

  • - "splashproof", not waterproof.

Cost

Olympus - Stylus 410 ∞

was http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_product_lobbypage.asp?l=1&p=16&bc=27&product=957

Ruggedness

  • - "splashproof", not waterproof.

Notes

  • can't use M1GB xD memory

Cost

Olympus - Stylus 500 ∞

was http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_product_lobbypage.asp?l=1&p=16&bc=27&product=1149

Ruggedness
  • - "splashproof", not waterproof.

  • + All-metal

Links
Notes
  • Fantastic screen (2.5", 215k pixels)
  • Great startup time (1.2), Autofocus of 0.6-0.8, shot-to-shot of ~1.4
  • No easy way to immediately delete a photo
  • Redeye is significant.

  • Fuzzy pictures

Cost

Olympus - Stylus 800 ∞

was http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_product_lobbypage.asp?l=1&p=16&bc=27&product=1173

Ruggedness

  • - "splashproof", not waterproof.

Olympus - Stylus Verve ∞

was http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_product_lobbypage.asp?l=1&p=16&bc=27&product=1130

Ruggedness

  • - "splashproof", not waterproof.

Links
Notes
  • Poor battery performance (~100 pictures)
  • Redeye is significant.

  • "mushy detail" on grass, hair, etc.

Cost

Olympus - Stylus Verve S ∞

was http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_product_lobbypage.asp?l=1&p=16&bc=27&product=1160

Ruggedness

  • - "splashproof", not waterproof.

Links

https://web.archive.org/web/20050906021934/http://www.dcresource.com:80/news/newsitem.php?id=2993

Notes

  • Supposedly better battery performance, but no numbers were given.

Pentax ∞

https://web.archive.org/web/20210508223456/https://www.pentaxcanada.ca/

Cameras

Pentax - Optio 33WR ∞

https://web.archive.org/web/20060118084838/http://www.pentaximaging.com:80/products/product_details/digital_camera--Optio33WR/reqID--1022/subsection--optio
(Canadian site)

Links

[http://canoekayak.com/whatto/digicams/index2.html]

Notes
  • li-ion or AA batteries
  • Pretty low-end / crappy.
  • stevesforums.com reports 1cm macro + flash works.

  • - no lens cap

Cost

Pentax - 43WR ∞

https://web.archive.org/web/20060118083706/http://www.pentaximaging.com:80/products/product_details/digital_camera--Optio43WR/reqID--1004/subsection--optio

(Canadian site)

Notes
  • 4.23MP (4.0 effective) (2288x1712)

  • 2.8x optical

    • non-continuous (staged in 12 steps)
  • 4x digital
  • + 640x480 movies @ 30fps!
  • 0.9s startup
  • 0.05 release lag
  • viewfinder (poor accuracy)

  • 4 consecutive shots 1024x768 in 1.5s

    • 5 2288x1712 in 7.5s
    • - viewfinder blanks-out during this.
  • ISO 50, 100, 200, 400
  • 3.93" macro
  • shutter speed 1/2000-4 sec.
  • shot-to-shot from 1.31 to 0.88s
  • 8x zoom when viewing captured pictures
  • Power up to capture 2.1-2.7s

  • shutter-lag 0.1s, 0.7 to autofocus first

    • Can be decreased through "snap" mode
Ruggedness
Links
Notes
  • SD Card
  • 1.6" TFT
  • - no lens cap, but "43WR has a crystal hardened lens protector over the lens."
  • Requires a fast storage card for 640x480 movies.
  • Quick startup and snapshot by simply pressing shutter.
  • poor with very low light.
  • + Has a DC-in

  • usb and A/V connections are combined

Cost

[my choice] Pentax - OptioWP ∞

I ended up choosing this one!

Pentax OptioWP Waterproof Digital Camera

https://web.archive.org/web/20060908045306/http://www.pentaximaging.com/products/product_details?reqID=6442215&subsection=optio
(Canadian site)

Notes
  • - 5MP (3.14 effective)
  • 2.55 seconds to startup+first shot (average)
  • + 1.5s shot-to-shot at highres, 0.3s at mid-res.
  • - 0.46 shutter-to-shot
  • 320x200 movies

  • burst-mode for multiple pictures

    • - high-speed is 3/s @ 1280x960
Ruggedness

  • JIS Grade 8 (30 minutes in 1.5m)

Features
  • - Turning it on is difficult (small recessed button).
  • - flash distance of 8.2'
  • - Large, but low-pixel count LCD screen. Difficult to see in daylight.

  • DL-18 lithium-ion batteries.

Cost

Nikon ∞

Nikon - Coolpix S2 ∞

was http://www.nikon.ca/products/coolpixs2/

Ruggedness

  • Not immersable

Notes

  • I get a bad feeling about this one...

The body of the COOLPIX S2 offers “splash proof” water resistance equivalent to IEC 60529 IPX4. It is not waterproof and should never be immersed in water.

Well that completely rules this thing out as a serious contender.

Cost

Other ∞

Oldschool ∞

Other ∞

older notes

Last updated 2022-11-01 at 04:06:57

    Footnotes


  1. 2021-03-13 - I was able to find it on Amazon [ ↩ ]
  2. was http://www.dpreview.com/news/0212/02120301ricoh300g.asp [ ↩ ]
  3. briefly became tek.no/wip4/digitscore_detail.epl?id=14587 (not archived) [ ↩ ]
  4. + 256MB card [ ↩ ]
  5. was http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/review.php?reviewId=483 [ ↩ ]
  6. was http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/optio43wr.html [ ↩ ]
  7. was http://www.dpreview.com/news/0403/04030801pentaxoptio43wr.asp [ ↩ ]
  8. was http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/sl300r.html [ ↩ ]
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