Looking for a well made digital camera. Not one that will work underwater but just one that is well made and not too bothered about how many pixels or even how brilliant the pictures are. Most reviews seem to concentrate on that though. Are am I just always going to be dissapointed as digital cameras are some what disposable?

olympus mu sw range tough as old boots, mines lasted ages snowboarding, backpacking, bottom of the camelbak, dropped it load etc

it also happens to be waterproof

Personally, I’d just regard them as disposable and get a new one when they break.

we have olympus mju tough- the first one to come out, it’s been pretty bombproof, though the lens is a bit scratched after 3 years+ of abuse.
same as kimbers, lots of knocking it about and still working fine
they have upgraded it at least once and made it more ‘armoured’ too

I have one of these for skiing, sailing, cycling..etc.

http://www.fujifilm.com/products/digital_cameras/xp/finepix_xp10/

It’s very robust.. (dust, water, shock and freeze proof).. the only criticism is that it lacks a viewfinder and the screen isnt great when taking photos in bright sunshine.

There are quite a few cameras branded as ‘tough’ these days..
Maybe start here:
http://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/techniques/features/guides/471184/tough-cameras.html

Another vote for the mju.

Ours has been strapped to a seakayak being exposed to salt water. USed when scubadiving, taken white water kayaking, my GF has a great video of her dropping it while galoping on a horse. I use it biking loads.

It’s hard as nails. You do have to make some compromises though. Not much zoom and not the greatest picture quality. I have considered buying a better quality camera (lens and zoom) for the less destructive holidays.

I bought a Panasonic Lumix FT-2 – their ‘tough’ camera – after destroying a number of ‘normal’ digital compacts. It’s waterproof and shock resistant and takes photos which are more than good enough for me and is very easy to use either point and shoot or in slightly more complicated mode.

Similar level of robustness to the Olympus Mjiu – or however it’s spelled – but reviews generally are that the picture quality is better. Good enough for me anyway.

I think each of the main manufs has a ‘tough’ range.

My first thought would have been Oly through brand loyalty, but some reviews weren’t hot on the image quality a year or so ago. Just read a recent one though and it said there were no issues BUT they had a really cool feature where you could navigate the menus by tapping the sides of the camera instead of pressing tiny buttons. Excellent for use with gloves so for that reason, I’m in.

Or I will be when I get the cash 🙂

http://www.pentax.co.uk/en/product/16427/Photo_Cameras.html

i’ve had a couple of mjus – first one got nicked. Both have been indistructable

Two well made cameras you could consider (they’re not designed to be tough, they’re just made all of metal):
Panasonic LX-5
LX-5
(wy wife once dropped her LX-3 into a small stony stream and, apart from a couple of dents, it’s still fine.

Samsung EX1
EX-1
(The Samsung’s screen flips around to protect the glass too..)

Thanks for the replies. I will check them out.

+1 for the olympus. Had one ages.. planes, trains, bike and boards…

Bombproof.

+1 for the mju, dropped it in the first week of ownership and dented the aluminium body without stopping it working.

Another Mju fan here. Tougher than an economy class airline steak.

I’m in the same boat as the OP. I checked out the reviews for the Panny FT3 and they reckon it’s hard to use with gloves on. The Olympus doesn’t have this problem but the start-up and autofocus are slow. Anyone agree/disagree with these comments?

My Panasonic FS lasted 8 monthsbefore it developed terminal problems and was refused warranty as the camera was ‘used’…

I am about to head down the cheap un for watersports / hill days / bike days route as I kill so many, even with waterproof casing