Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Waterproof Camera Review, Panasonic TS-10 and TS-3


  Hello and thank you for reading. When buying different products over the years I always find myself spending hours and hours researching product reviews and prices all over the internet. The problem so often is that I generally get a ton of tech stats, but not really sure what they all mean.  When Cat and I write reviews, please understand that it is only our opinion, based on our use of it. Different people will sometimes see the same thing but differently. Like I always say, they have the right to be wrong..hehe

  A few years back, I was looking for a good water proof camera and checked all my usual reviews. I decided on the Olympus 8000 Stylus Tough waterproof and shock proof camera. From the very beginning, I was not really happy with the camera. The camera had two main settings, one for all general pics and one with the intelligent setting. I would find that if I could get the general setting to focus, the pictures would turn out great. As time went on, it became harder and harder to focus in that mode. I would switch to the IA mode and it would focus but the color was real poor. The final straw came when I was fishing last spring and landed a beautiful 22 inch Bow. I had my friend take a couple pics in both modes and I was totally disgusted when I got home and checked them out. I didn’t feel like I could take the chance of ruining a client picture when they caught a big fish.


   I started researching again and also checked with my friends. One friend had just purchased a Cannon DC-10 and he was real happy with it. I checked out some of his pictures and found the clarity to be excellent. He had taken skiing with us and the action was great. He also took some fishing pics and I thought they were really good. The clarity was nearly perfect but I did notice just a tad bit of color loss. The pics seemed just a tad bit flat but I was thinking I would still buy it.


  I did some more research and started looking into the Panasonic TS-10 and TS-3. The cameras ranged from 250 to 400 dollars. They both had great reviews, with only a few negatives with both. The TS-10 was a 14.1 mega pixel and the biggest complaint was the high resolution would sometimes give a grainy look. The TS-3’s main complaints were the complexity of the GPS feature and the high cost. I went ahead and tried the cheaper TS-10, I found it on ebay for around 175$. The first time out, I was completely sold. The camera was incredibly easy to use and the pics were clear and colorful. I have been using the camera for a year and don’t think I have taken a bad pic yet. The only issues at all are that there is no lens protector, so when carrying it I need to keep it in my pocket to keep the lens from getting scratched. When taking video, I have not found out how to zoom in and out while filming.   Also, with the clear pictures, it is hard to exaggerate the size of my fish. I would rate this camera at a 8 out of 10, with the minus 2 for the issues I wrote about.


  Cat and I began doing videos for the shop and so we went out and tried using the old Olympus, it was getting lonely in the cabinet. After one trip out, it was clear (or not clear) that this camera was not going to work. I was looking into getting Cat the same one as mine but still wanted to do some more research. I saw that the TS-3 had 1080 video and the GPS issues seemed to be gone. Most stores had the TS-3 at around 400$ and seemed just a little pricey. I found one on ebay for 250$ and decided to give it a try. Not that I really care what cameras look like, but we got the blue one and it is as hot as Cat. The camera is full of features including an altimeter, GPS unit, compass, and barometer and to top it off takes awesome pictures and great video. The best feature about the video is that you can zoom in and out, like a video only player, and it automatically focuses itself on point image. The image stabilization is good but not quite the quality of a true video recorder. The underwater features on both models are fantastic. It gives a unique perspective when seeing the fish and bugs underwater. The camera came with movie making software that Cat found very easy to use. The first night, she turned bits and clips into a short movie. We have not spent a lot of time playing with the GPS section but have found that when looking at pictures on our computer and clicking on properties or display, we can read the GPS coordinates. Hopefully we can block it when other people are viewing our pics on line.hehe. We have only had the camera for a month or so but at this time, I would rate it at a 9 out of 10. The minus 1 is because it has the same issue with no lens protection. I can’t see knocking it because of the price because you totally get what you pay for.


  I hope anyone looking for a new waterproof camera finds this review as helpful. We do not sell cameras in the shop so I can assure you there are no ulterior motives. I know after seeing my pics, Alex also purchased the TS-10 and is very happy with it. Both these cameras are totally worth the price, if wanting to spend more time taking video, I would suggest the TS-3 and if taking more pics, I would suggest the TS-10. They are both wonderful cameras. Panasonic got it right when making these cameras and I think all would be very happy with them.
Thanks for reading, Connell

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