Shopping for a rugged compact

[mattb]

I'm going to visit extended family in Western Australia in August with my wife and son. Besides visiting family we also want to go to the beach, maybe do some snorkeling, and go on some hikes.
I'm going to bring my Pentax K-5 and a few lenses, at least one of which is sealed which makes it ok to use in the rain or dust.
But I'd also like something that we can take snorkeling or swimming.
A housing for my K-5 is expensive and while it would be nice I think something less costly and smaller would be a more practical purchase. That way we could have two of us shooting photos simultaneously as well.

I've read reviews both here and elsewhere and I think I have this somewhat narrowed down.

The current contenders are the
Panasonic DMC-TS5 and the Olympus Stylus TG-2 as well as last year's Panasonic DMC-TS4 which is selling pretty cheap these days.

I like the wireless abilities on the TS5 and being able to use my phone as a remote control and viewfinder makes it very appealing. I could see using it for lots of fun applications besides this trip.

The TG-2 seems to have the best image quality, but it's video isn't as good.

The TS4 seems pretty good and is inexpensive enough that I could be really hard on it without too much worry. But it sounds like some had leak issues. My thinking on that would be that it's most likely defective cameras that leaked so as long as I had time to test it before the trip the chances of it holding up are pretty good.

So what do you folks think? I didn't include the ones I think I have already eliminated due to IQ issues and/or design flaws (Nikon, Canon, Pentax, & Sony) that came out in reviews and comparisons.

Thanks in advance for opinions and/or info!

[Photo-John]

The Canon actually has the best image quality, in my experience - as long as you leave out the slow, variable-aperture lens. And that takes me back to the Olympus. The Olympus TG-1 is still the best rugged P&S I've used. The TG-2 is basically the same camera with the same lens and sensor so I expect the image quality to be the same. Have you considered the TG-2 with an Eye-Fi card? The Panasonic's built-in Wi-Fi gives you a few more features and should be easier to set up. But you can use the Eye-Fi card with any camera and after you figure it out it works pretty well.

Have you looked at the latest Pentax? I figured I should ask since you're a Pentax guy. The new WG-3 GPS has an f/2.0 lens like the Olympus. I don't know if they've really improved the image quality, though. That was the biggest issue I had with the last Pentax WG rugged camera I used. The image quality just wasn't there.

[mattb]

Well adding up all the variables and looking at lots of sample photos I decided on the Olympus TG-2. I wanted to like the Pentax and the specs look good on paper but the sample pics did not cut it for me. The Canon samples I saw also didn't look great.
The Panasonic looked very interesting with the wireless viewfinder app - I could envision putting the camera in the water and watching for fish (or whatever) and snapping from a phone. Would be cool! But that one had less availability, longer lead times to ship, and was more expensive. Three strikes. Also all the trouble they had with it's leaky predecessor turned me off.
So I got the TG-2 for $329 on Amazon with Prime free shipping. I'll have it next week.
I also looked at the TG-1 and the prices were holding firm very close to what the TG-2 costs. That's probably the sign of a good camera. There are also almost all universally glowing reviews of both the TG-1 and TG-2.
I thought about an Eye-Fi card but haven't ordered one. I might before the trip if they aren't too pricey.
I'll report back when I've had a chance to use it.

[Photo-John]

I think you did the right thing. The TG-1 is the first rugged P&S camera I've used where I felt the image quality was "good enough." By that, I mean I don't really regret not having taken the time to get out the DSLR. It would be nice if it had built-in Wi-Fi. I think that is a really useful feature. But I would put the camera performance first - especially for you. And the Eye-Fi card has worked great for me. It can be a little finicky but for the most part it does what it's supposed to. They have a new version out that's made just for transferring photos to mobile devices, too. You don't need to register it or use the Web like you do with the Mobile X2 card I have. That should make using it a bit easier.

I have one concern - that is using the Eye-Fi card with the very metallic TG-1 / TG-2. Let me try it out for you with the TG-1 and see if it works. I recall having problems in the past with other Olympus rugged cameras, that's why I mention it. I'd hate to have you buy the card on my recommendation and then have it not work.

Looking forward to a review from you!

[mattb]

Ok, I found a Sony Class 10 32GB SDHC for $20 so I'll start with that. But I'd be curious to hear if it works for future reference.

[Greg McCary]

I got a couple of those cards. They work fine. I am not sure a higher class means higher speed. Lexar cards are noticeably faster. I still like CF cards better than anything I hate to see so many cameras going to SD.

[Photo-John]

Ok, I found a Sony Class 10 32GB SDHC for $20 so I'll start with that. But I'd be curious to hear if it works for future reference.

Eye-Fi compatibility confirmed! I reformatted my Eye-Fi card and put it in the TG-1 and was surprised to find that the camera actually has Eye-Fi controls in the menu. I also successfully transferred a couple of photos to my phone (Samsung Galaxy S3). So you're all set for using an Eye-Fi card.

Also, I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to move this thread to the general digital cameras forum. That's really a better place for it. I wanted to make sure it got a few replies before I moved it though, since ViewFinder does get more action

[mattb]

Cool, thanks for the info. No problem about moving the thread.