You’ve probably seen them on Facebook: people taking picture while playing in the surf, at the local pool, and even under the water. That takes expensive gear, right?
Not anymore, although by no means is it cheap. Sand, water and all the chemicals that came with them usually aren’t good for anyone looking to keep their cameras operating smoothly, but driven by today’s social media trends, a growing number of companies are making the leap into the water-proof market with affordable models.
Canon’s PowerShot D30 is the company’s latest product to hit the waves. We recently took one with us to Southeast Asia where we tried it out at the pool, at the beach and, of course, on land. If you’re looking for a camera that does well in the water — especially when going deep while scuba diving — the D30 may be the gadget for you. If you’re strictly a landlubber, however, with no intention of going in the water, the added premium would be better spent elsewhere.
The camera can handle pressure down to 25 metres. This is more than enough for anyone who sticks to the pool or a light bit of snorkelling, even if you drop it on the reef. It is shock proof to 2 metres, which means it should be able to take some abuse at the local water parks.
One feature I learned to appreciate was the camera’s simple interface, which is ideal for underwater use. When you’re trying to get that picture of wildlife that just won’t stop swimming while you aim the camera — or if you’re holding your breath — the last thing you want to do is mess around with small multiple-function buttons. The D30 has just three buttons: one for power on top, one to take pictures and one to record video. The buttons are large enough that you can operate the camera with wetsuits gloves on.
Built-in flash
Perhaps the one annoying factor with the D30 is that it doesn’t make the jump out of the water well. The camera’s lens does not shed water well, meaning that a number of shots I took have water spots, some of them rather large. It certainly helps to give your photos a just-been-in-the-water feel, if that’s what you where looking for.
The camera comes with built-in flash — good for scarring fish — a 5x optical zoom, a 4x digital zoom and 20x combined zoom with optical image stabiliser. That’s not great compared to other cameras on the market, where 40x zooms are not uncommon, but it was sufficient underwater where lighting levels make telescope photography a moot point. The lack of a longer zoom means that camera has no external moving parts, which we assume helps with the water proofing, and also means it is ready to shot the second you hit the power button.
The camera offers 12.1 Megapixel pics on a 2.3-inch CMOS sensor and a maximum shutter sheep of 1-1/1600 sec, good for capturing fast-swimming fish or running teens. It shoots full HD video (1920 x 1080) at 24 frames-per-second. It has a MSRP of $329.99 (Dh1,211.06).
