Today I’m going to take a look at some of the best waterproof cameras on the market in 2018. There is a fantastic range available at BestBuy.ca, and I’m excited to help you choose the one that suits your needs.
With summer in full swing there is simply no better time of year to be outside and enjoying those long, lazy days of summer. And with temperatures peaking, you’ll need to find a way to cool off, like a dip in the ocean, lake, or pool. Some of the best memories are made on summer days in the water, so why not bring a waterproof camera along for the ride?
Fujifilm FinePix XP130
Fujifilm has become one of the leaders in the mirrorless camera market with its X-series range of cameras, which photography purists have fallen in love with. With the FinePix XP130, Fujifilm has taken all of its technical savvy and packaged it into a fun and easy-to-use camera that you can take anywhere. It carries a 16.4MP 1/2.3″ CMOS sensor, and is waterproof to an impressive depth of 20 meters. It can withstand a fall from a height of 1.75 meters, and when winter rolls around you can bring it with you on your snowy adventures as it will happily shoot at temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees Celcius. No need to worry about dust or sand either, because the XP130 is sealed tight to prevent anything from getting through that tough exterior.
With a 5x optical zoom you can get closer to the action if you need to, or zoom all the way out and squeeze everything into the frame. The XP130 can shoot up to 10 frames per second of still images, and it can shoot video in full 1080p HD at 60 frames per second to allow you to create cool slow motion shots. One of my favourite features is the Wi-Fi connectivity which allows you to connect to your smartphone and transfer photos and videos. In fact, you can even operate the XP130 remotely from your phone to capture perfect selfies and group shots every time.
Olympus Tough TG-5has
If you’re looking for a rugged camera to take on, say, a river rafting trip, then look no further than the Olympus Tough TG-5. It carries a 12MP 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor, and has a 4x optical zoom. It is waterproof to a depth of 15 meters, shockproof from a height of 2.1 meters, and capable of shooting at -10 degrees Celsius. The lens has a maximum aperture of f/2.0, which is great when you’re shooting in low-light situations—it gives you a little more leeway to get the shot without cranking up the ISO which introduces more digital noise. The TG-5 can shoot in RAW mode too, which straight away marks this out as a more ‘serious’ camera. RAW files are uncompressed and give you more options for post-processing than compressed jpeg files.
The TG-5 comes with Wi-Fi too, so you can connect to your phone and shoot remotely if you need to. One of the most impressive features though is the video capabilities; not only does it shoot 4k Ultra HD, it also shoots Full HD at 120 frames per second, which allows you to create some really nice super slo-mos. You can also shoot macro shots with the TG-5, those cool close-ups of small objects that you are probably familiar with.
You can check out my video review of the Tough TG-5 below, or read my full review of the camera here.
Nikon COOLPIX W300
The Nikon COOLPIX W300 is a camera very much in the same league as the TG-5; it has a 16 MP 1/2.3″ CMOS sensor, a 5x optical zoom, is shockproof from a height of 2.4 meters and coldproof to -10 degrees Celcius. It also shoots 4k Ultra HD video, and allows to share files and shoot remotely from your phone via Wi-Fi.
However, and this may be a dealmaker for the scuba diving enthusiasts out there, it is waterproof to a very impressive 30m. Another nice feature is the image stabilization, which helps you to take sharp images and prevents camera shake when you’re shooting at slower shutter speeds in low light situations.
Both the Coolpix and the TG-5 offer you lots of location info like GPS coordinates, altitude or depth, compass directions and more besides. Really useful to have in all sorts of outdoor scenarios. The Coolpix also has an LED light built-in, in case you need to read a map or find your keys when you’re out in the dark.
GoPro HERO6
No discussion of waterproof cameras would be complete without mentioning GoPro. Although a lot of companies have started to offer similar products, GoPro is still the 800 pound gorilla in the room when it comes to action cameras. The GoPro HERO6 is the flagship model which is capable of shooting 4k Ultra HD video at a stunning 60 frames per second, or Full HD at an amazing 240 frames per second. HERO cameras are primarily known as video cameras, but they do also shoot still images. Of course you don’t get any optical zoom functionality, but you can shoot in burst mode, you can shoot timelapses, and you can shoot in RAW mode too. The HERO6 has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi built in to allow you to share your photos and videos to your smartphone, and it offers lots of location information too. One of the key upgrades that came with the HERO6 was GoPro’s most advanced image stabilization ever, which gives you super smooth shots every time.
The HERO6 is waterproof to a depth of 10 meters, so more of a snorkelling camera than a scuba camera perhaps, although you could put it in a waterproof housing if you really needed it to go deeper.
You can learn more about the HERO6 from the review video below, or read the full review here.
So there you have it, a quick round-up of some of the best waterproof cameras of 2018. I hope you found something in there to match your needs, and of course please feel free to mention your own favourite waterproof camera in the comments below.
