w30 or w60 or something else?

[jmdeegan]

so I happened to browse this section one day a few weeks back and caught the info on the w60, and it got me thinking....

i don't have a "new" point and shoot. i have the k10d, my wife has a 2 year old canon advanced p&s which she really likes. but both of our compacts are no better than 4 years old.

with our kids and all the trips we have and will take..i was thinking a waterproof camera would be awesome, to take in the pool or ocean or just closer to the bodies of water than we would with our normal cameras

so, we are headed to aruba in august...rather than grab more disposable film cameras...was thinking i'd love to have the waterproof point and shoot by then.

so....it seems reviews on the 60 so far are mixed. im wondering if its worth waiting to get the 60--and worth the premium---or if scoring a w30 is a good move. or, if there are better options with a good pricepoint, even if it means some brand diversity?

my big concerns are few. waterproof, secure digital cards. thats it. if i can run off of regular batteries, great, but not a dealbreaker.

[jmdeegan]

looks like i may be better served by getting an olympus stylus...seems to offer better bang for the buck in this department.

after a trip to hersheypark where the wife wanted to drag her canon into the kiddie water areas (it survived, but in ensuring it survived, it kept me out of the fun with the kids for fear of the camera).....i just said i gotta get something designed for this.

could easily just drop any tele on the k10d and get the shot without being in the water, but the p and s is much friendlier on the size end of things

so....any comments?

[barondla]

Can't see how buying an Olympus Stylus squeaks by one of your main concerns. No Oly uses SD cards! Uses the horrible XD card. Know because I have a Stylus 710. Between it and the Optio 30 would rather have the Optio. It is easier to use (same menus as other Pentax) and takes better quality pics. Only have the Stylus because it was very cheap used. Dad will get the Stylus one day soon.
Considering the W60. Great carry everywhere camera and water proofing good for bicycling. Love the manual control option on it. Can't wait to see one. There is nothing wrong with the Optio 30! Do like the 5X zoom of 60 and the manual control.
thanks
barondla

Don't forget to enter the POINT SHOOT CONTEST #9.

[jmdeegan]

i went with the stylus 850, for a few reasons

1-comparing the 30 and the 850, without a doubt in my mind, the stylus felt better in my hands. the dials just seemed easier if not more intuitive

2-the pictures I have seen did not make a case for or against either one. If pictures exist that show one takes shockingly better images than the other, I never saw them

3-re: the XD cards...a non-issue. They arent the cheapest, but it takes micro-sd as well and i can drop a 2nd card in there, 4gb for example, for peanuts. Odds are the card in there today won't come out a lot, so the use of SD was a nice to have, not a need to have...

the fact that the stylus also had the drop rating was very nice. i could not have considered the 60 really if i had wanted to, because i don't even think it would have shipped in time for our august vacation, and i want time with the new camera to get familiar with it long before then too.

as for similar menus--a non issue. my wife is a canon user-from the digital elph to the powershot, so she's got no history of pentax. as long as i can show her how to use it, shes fine.
add in the quicker response with the shutter, and i think for what it's intended use is, the stylus is fine.

did i want to love the pentax? yes. but side by side handling and testing, i just couldn't.

[TiJean]

Pssst... just my 2 cents. My Sandisk 1GB xD holds 582 images from my new 770SW and costs $15.