We went deep with waterproof point ’n’ shoot cams (and a lovely lady) to find out which model gives you the most wet, wild fun.
Olympus Stylus ¿Tough-8000
Able to withstand dunks of 33 feet, 220 pounds of pressure, and 6.6-foot drops, the 12 mp Tough-8000 proved to be burlier than our tester in cold water, but even snaps taken with shiv-ering hands looked sharp thanks to the cam’s dual image stabilization.
$400 olympusamerica.com
Panasonic DMC-TS1
Panny’s first waterproof cam is only waterproof to 10 feet, but it’s got the strongest specs in the group. Its 4.6 optical zoom and wide-angle Lumix lens produce crisp edges and rich colors, even underwater. Our favorite feature is HD video, so we can finally shoot our perverted Waterworld remake.
$400 panasonic.com
Canon PowerShot D10
Built like an old diver’s helmet, the D10’s bubbly, bulgy body looks like no other camera on the beach. That added bulk makes it less pocketable on land, but allows it to shoot deep—33 feet underwater. Its slight shutter lag is a bummer, but the images we took were among the best of the set.
$330 usa.canon.com
Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP
The small, light neon Z33WP has a mere 10 mp sensor; it’s waterproof only to 10 feet; and the tiny bumplike rubber buttons will make you wish you had shrunken fingers. But at half the price of a couple of these cameras, it’s a steal in our book. Buy it for the pool; don’t buy it for your Grand Canyon rafting trip.
$200 fujifilm.com