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
Thanks for reading, Connell
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