Hello all,

My dad has put me in charge of tracking down a durable waterproof/resistant camera for my mom for Christmas. Unfortunately he hasn't given me a budget to work with. I pointed at some in catalogs and he said he would have a good chunk of cash at the end of the month, but not $1300 to spend on a camera, but didn't necessarily turn away from $500 models.

My mom will drop whatever camera she gets and will want to take it places to take pictures in the rain or snow. She's not a photographer by any means, but I'd like her to get one with a 6MP minimum.

Personally, I'm a Canon fan, but I'm open to suggestions. After some searching, only reviews that came mentioned durability were on the Olympus 710 and 720 SW.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions

As well as the Olympus models you mentioned, there are a whole bunch of waterproof cameras out there (and some weatherproof ones too). For my money, amongst the best are the Pentax Optio WPi and the Ricoh 500G. The second is more expensive but built to withstand more (it's popular on building sites) and should come in under budget if you shop around.

I don't know what it is, but waterproof digital cameras seem to consistently under-perform in reviews when it comes to image quality. Perhaps the housing compromises things somewhat? If your mother needs the waterproofness only occasionally, it could be worth buying a regular digicam and a waterproof enclosure to go with it...

Thank you so much for your help. I found some reviews and pictures of the Ricoh 500G, and it looks like it might fit the bill. On looks alone, it seems more durable than the Olympus 720 SW. I also like that it isn't super tiny and the buttons are big which allow gloved use. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble tracking down sites that actually sell this camera or finding a price. Is it not readily available to the public? I can't believe it would be discontinuted already because it was only released this May.

I'm told that before her current camera, she was always breaking them. She's had this Minolta Vectis Weathermatic for quite a while now.

Thank you for all your help

What does she do to them?!?

Ricoh's not the most popular brand in the world but you can find out who your nearest dealer is on the Ricoh USA website:

http://www.ricoh-usa.com/about/sale...p?tsn=Ricoh-USA

If it's sturdiness you're after, and waterproofing isn't a deal-breaker, the new Canon G7 might prove tempting... It's an unexpected resurgence in high-end digicams which most serious photographers thought had been abandoned (since the mythical trinity of the built-like-a-tank Canon G6, Nikon 5400 and Olympus C-5050 disappeared all those years ago).

I don't think waterproofing is a dealbreaker. I was suprised that the Olympus can actually be used underwater. I think what my dad has in mind is something that is simply water resistant.

I did find a 500G on eBay in Japan for $800, but no other deals online. I like what I see on the Canon G7. If it is as durable as the Olympus 720SW, it will probably be what I recommend. I almost wish I needed a new camera, but mine does what I need it to do.

As far as how she breaks them, I would guess clumsiness is the culprit. I let her borrow mine for a bit and was so worried that she would forget how fragile they can be. Though I did drop my AE-1 down a flight of stairs once and it survived okay

Thank you again for all your help

Maybe you should give her your AE-1 and buy another camera yourself :-)