Camera for "rough" conditions.

Hello ladies and gentlemen.

I registered here because I know nothing about digital cameras, besides how to use one =) And my experience tells me that asking the pro's before i buy electronics, usually makes me end up being happier about my purchase. This is where you come in ;)

So here goes. I am off to Afghanistan in a while, and i am therefore looking for a camera that can take some beating.

Waterproof, dust-proof, able to handle the temperature. Also if it was able to capture videos in high resolution, that would be a huge plus. AND a camera that i can still use when i get back home.

I realise that my demands might be a bit over the top, as I have no idea what the standards are in today's modern digital cameras.

This might be a religious question for you guys as you all have your favourite brands and so on, but i hope that you can help me in my search.

Thank you in advance

Jonas

Olympus or Pentax - both make rugged waterproof cameras.
Handling the temperature will be a problem as battery charge lifetime decreases with temperature.
You'd probably need spare batteries that you could keep out of direct sun.

A Pentax K7 fits what your asking. It's about as small as an aspc DSLR can be.
Get an extra battery or 2.
The camera and kit lens(18-55) is weather proof. It also does acceptable HD video.
A reasonably priced WR 50-200 is also available.

PS Keep the lens cap on when not in use. Blowing sand is hell on coatings and glass.

Hmm, not so sure on the K7, it has to be water proof not water resistant?
And dust is the real killer - that means internal focussing and zooming lenses.
And shock, if you go to ground with a dSLR, it's likely to be toast.
The ruggedised waterproof cameras will take a beating and still work.

Also consider whether you want a camera with proprietary rechargeable batteries or standard AA/AAA. – TF

I use the olympus E3. Even though it doesn't do video I would recommend it for rough use. I have put mine through heck and back and it hasn't got a scratch to speak of. You might also consider a film camera for a back up. One that doesn't require batteries to work.

Welcome to the site, Jonas. You don't say whether you're looking for a pocket camera or something more sophisticated. Can you tell us a little more? Did you want a point-and-shoot or a more powerful camera? How much are you planning to spend? I assumed you were looking for a point-and-shoot camera but obviously, some of the other folks here think you might want a digital SLR.

There are a whole bunch of waterproof, dustproof, shockproof point-and-shoot cameras available now. That category really took off in the past 12 months. I wrote a buyer's guide for them, which you can see here:

Outdoor And Waterproof Digital Cameras >>

That guide needs to be updated because a whole bunch of new cameras have come out since it was published. That being the case, here's an article I just wrote about the latest batch of waterproof digital cameras:

Waterproof Digital Cameras At PMA 2010 >>

I've also been testing the newest Pentax, Casio and Olympus waterproof point-and-shoots. If you check our underwater photography articles category you'll find a couple of hands-on articles about the Olympus and Pentax:

Underwater Photography news & Articles >>

I hope that helps. I think the waterproof point-and-shoot cameras are the obvious choice. But if you're looking for more, please let us know.