Waterproof cameras

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westoz
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Postby westoz » Sun Feb 04, 2007 11:01 pm

Has anyone bought or had experience with the Olympus 725sw ? The lcd screen on my trusty Sony dsc-u60 has died and I am in replacement mode.

-Tom

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ramone
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Postby ramone » Mon Feb 05, 2007 11:23 am

no costco in aus. haha. fkrz.
my W20 has held up considerable damage so far this winter including double and tripple OH poundings, rockypoint reef landings and me dropping it on the floor a few times.
highly recommended.

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Bud
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Postby Bud » Mon Feb 05, 2007 11:34 am

westoz wrote:Has anyone bought or had experience with the Olympus 725sw ? The lcd screen on my trusty Sony dsc-u60 has died and I am in replacement mode.

-Tom


HI TOM!

I had the Olympus but returned it after 3 sessions with it. No problems with basic operation, its solid, sturdy well built and takes good pics. But for my use I didn;t like it compared to the Optio. significantly heavier & boxy corners but the biggest issue was - the lens opening is too small & deep - water pools in it too easily and it's very difficult to wipe it clear of water/smearing, especially on the fly with pounders bearing down on you.

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Kelly7873
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Postby Kelly7873 » Mon Feb 05, 2007 11:49 am

Note that Bud had the 720sw, the 725sw isn't for sale in America yet. I see in the ads that the 725sw has a "water-drop free lens", I hope they fixed the problem Bud was having but most likely they haven't. I may try the camera when Costco starts selling it in March.

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Bud
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Postby Bud » Mon Feb 05, 2007 12:30 pm

I forgot you told me about that Kelly, I'm interetsed to see how they accomplish drop free lens. thatd be a huge huge advance, but seems rather easy to accomplish... convex glass maybe?

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westoz
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Postby westoz » Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:28 pm

Hi Bud and crew

I'm suprised the 725sw isn't for sale in the usa yet ?? its been here for some time already, I noticed its water proof rating is up from 3 meters to 5 meters and that's what got me interested, I hadn't considered the water/lense issue. What model camera you are using now bud?

-Tom

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Bud
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Postby Bud » Mon Feb 05, 2007 3:29 pm

Tom-

I'm using the Optio W20, mostly because a particular retailer offers an all-inclusive warranty for $50/year. Bring it to them in pieces and they repair/replace it.

So far it's been great, but given the well known history of the first generation Optio (most everyone I know who had it, went tits up within a few months, although my first gen Optio lasted 1.5 years) I bought it with low confidence; Not sure if I would have bought it w/out this warranty

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westoz
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Postby westoz » Tue Feb 06, 2007 7:07 pm

Bud

That warranty sure would make it attractive, no such warranty over here so the olympus 725 maybe my next choice, I havn't been able to find any reference to the water droplet free lense yet.

-Tom

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Kelly7873
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Postby Kelly7873 » Wed Feb 07, 2007 2:30 am

westoz wrote:Bud

That warranty sure would make it attractive, no such warranty over here so the olympus 725 maybe my next choice, I havn't been able to find any reference to the water droplet free lense yet.

-Tom

It's on their European site:http://www.olympus-europa.com/consumer/29_mju_725_SW.htm. Their asian site says "725SW features a newly developed water-repellent coated lens" so it will probably just wear off.
Did you see that Olympus just came out with a new model? The 770SW, waterproof to 10 meters. http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1287

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surfer9joe
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Postby surfer9joe » Wed Feb 07, 2007 8:19 am

What is the 2007 best camera to use? I know you guys have told everyone a million times, but what is Neil using and what is bud using?

This loos like a nice little pocket sized model, found just from looking online though: Pentax Optio 33WR....?

Edit: i see two replies above bud said he has the Optio W20, Doh!
Last edited by surfer9joe on Wed Feb 07, 2007 10:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
Why Wouldn't Ya?

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red
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Postby red » Wed Feb 07, 2007 9:44 am

Optio series works fine for me. I don't take it out as much as Bud, though because I'm broke and have to use it for movie stuff as well.

My question is where is the warranty place that Bud bought it from? I checked out best buy and circuit city but they don't carry the optio.

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Bud
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Postby Bud » Wed Feb 07, 2007 10:49 am

Red: Ritz Camera

Local branches at Kahala & Ala Mo.

(thanks to Olly, who will be using his warranty again!)

olly
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Postby olly » Wed Feb 07, 2007 10:59 am

Bud wrote:(thanks to Olly, who will be using his warranty again!)


arrrrgh :x :x :x :evil:

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red
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Postby red » Wed Feb 07, 2007 2:59 pm

Fisher Hawaii has a waterproof olympus for 399, but I didn't check the model number. No special warranty, either.

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Bud
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Postby Bud » Wed Feb 07, 2007 3:32 pm

I got the Olympus from costco for $370ish (If I recall correctly) last October, used it 3 sessions and was able to return it no problem.


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