Picture = 1,000 Words

It's time to shop for a new compact digital camera. As regular readers will know, I drowned my trusty Nikon Coolpix S9 after a Winter swim in the Pere Marquette river. It was replaced with a low-cost refurbished Nikon Coolpix S220. While the S9 was a great camera, the S220 is not. It seems to have real trouble with almost any contrasty image. And color balance is mediocre. I've owned a ton of Nikon gear over the years and this is only the second disappointing item (early generation 43-86mm Nikkor zoom was an absolute train wreck of a lens), so that's not bad.

A year or so back I looked into water/shock/coldproof compacts. I pretty quickly found out that while they were durable, image quality was very poor. Plus, they were pricey. But the appeal of such a beast is powerful. Right now, I keep S220 in a small compact case. Fumbling with that has become a pain, and results in me taking fewer pictures as it's not very convenient.

But it would appear that advances in technology benefit me here. I've now got three viable candidates in consideration.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS2D
I'm all about good optics for great images. And the only thing better then my beloved Nikkor lenses is Leica glass. Guess what's in the Lumix? Yup, a 28-135mm Leica. Sweet. Evidently the earlier TS1 had some issue with sealing that have been addressed in the TS2. At present, this seems like my leading candidate.

Canon Powershot D10
Canon's first entry into waterproof has gotten solid reviews. Most say it's got great image quality, a good user interface and many other admirable qualities. But I have two issues. First, it's bulky. And big cameras get left at home. But second, it's a Canon. This is a Coke-Pepsi thing. As a lifelong Nikon loyalist, I just don't think I can do it. Oh, and it's the most expensive of the bunch. There, yeah, now I don't have to buy one...

Pentax Optio W90
My favorite camera brands (Nikon, Olympus, Leica) are notably absent from the waterproof scene. But Pentax has always been a brand I thought highly of. And this one is totally cool looking. Has that "you could park a truck on this thing" look. Price is good, too. But the image quality, as reported in many reviews, seems sub-par.

So I think it's finally time to take the plunge (pun intended) on a waterproof compact camera. Not that I won't miss fumbling with a fly rod, camera, and case while trying to take a picture of a buddy with a fish. Or just leaving the camera in my pocket all day on a bluebird ski slope.

-Sean-