Tough Under Fire?

I am looking for a camera that I can take on the fire line with me when I am fighting wildfires. It seems most of the weather-tough cameras are tested for cold temps and water resistance, but I'm not seeing any particular testing under extreme heat. The conditions the camera needs to operate under would also include dust/ash, heat & moisture.

Mostly I want to use the camera for documenting fire activity and conditions, which would essentially be landscape shooting, but also for documenting evidence of the origin of fires, in case arson investigations are conducted.

A light, small P&S is what I am looking for, but would really like to have RAW capability. Cost is a factor, only to the extent that exposure to the harsh conditions will probably result in a relatively short lifespan for the camera, so I'm trying to think of this as a camera to last one fire season only.

I have reviewed PJ's 2012 Outdoor and Water Proof Camera Guide, but am not finding RAW capabilities in the top picks...maybe I will just have to settle for JPEG. Any thoughts and suggestions will be appreciated.

There's a whole new batch of rugged, waterproof P&S cameras out this year, Ken. That guide is due for an update but I haven't had my hands on any of the new cameras yet. Until I update it, you can read all of my rugged P&S announcement articles here, however you're not going to find a camera with RAW shooting, yet:

Share Your Adventures With The Fujifilm FinePix XP200 Outdoor Wi-Fi Camera | Camera News & Reviews

Based on the specs and features, the Olympus TG-1 and TG-2 still look the best to me. I used the TG-1 all winter and it worked great. A lot of my old complaints have been eliminated. The sensor is great, as is the fast lens. It would be nice to shoot RAW, but overall, I found the image quality was really pretty good. The main problems I had were with white balance in the snow and when that happened I just converted them to B&W :)

I am hoping we're getting close to a rugged P&S with RAW shooting. Olympus has been very aggressive with the TG-1 and TG-2 features and I feel like adding RAW and maybe even a larger sensor are an obvious next step.

Thanks for the info, John. I almost bought a TG-2, but decided to wait until an option with RAW shooting hits the market. In the meanwhile, I guess I will sacrifice my S95 for this duty!

Hello guys I'm new to the forum.