What makes a good tough camera

Technology has made it possible to build extremely rugged devices. Recent advances have brought the costs involved crashing down, hence making such devices readily available to the public. These days, there are tough laptops, cameras and even phones. Of course, the extra price tag won't appeal to everyone, especially if you are not at all clumsy or don't take a liking to photography in extreme situations.

So why would you want one? If you are an enthusiast for extreme or underwater sports, owning a rugged camera enables you do catch those shots in places where smash friendly cameras dare not venture. Maybe you just like being able to capture awesome shots at any time in any place, even in the rain. You also could just be a useless drunk who ends up smashing your camera or taking it for a swim after a big night out, forgetting you placed it in your pocket earlier. Now if you fall into all three categories, a tought camera couldn't be more ideal. The one I own has been through more then a hundred hard snowboard stacks, gone snorkeling or swimming on several occasions and been placed in many beer jugs for a nice party trick. As an added bonus, it's practically impossible to break it on a big night on the town.

There's a few on the market these days. This is pretty good, because it gives you choice. It also makes the decision much harder as you weigh up all of the features and decide which is the best for your lifestyle. Some of the major categories are shockproofing, waterproofing, picture quality and many extra features as determined by the manufacturer.

Water Proofing

Water proofing is often reported as a depth rating. Obvsiouly, this indicates the maxiumum depth and hence water pressure which the casing is able to withstand before the seals are breached and allow water to leak into the valuable insides of the camera. Common depths among tough cameras are 3 and 10 meters. Cameras with 3m ratings are good for most watersports such as skiing, wakeboarding, shallow snorkelling and swimming. Bear in mind that this rating is based on pressure. In situations such as a high speed dismount from a wakeboard, pressure on seals can spike higher then normal. Cameras with 10m ratings are obviosuly a lot more waterproof and are good for more intense situations. If a camera is listed as being water resistant, know that it will only be good to catch some splashes or rain. Any kind of pressure will result in a dead camera.

Shock Proofing

Shock ratings are also reported in meters, this time referring to a drop height. Depending on the manufacturer, shock tecsting involves dropping the device from different heights a given number of times. The height in which the camera survives the number of drops is the given shock rating. Check out each manufacturer for their test methods. A high rating generally indicates a tougher camera. Most of the major rugged cameras have similar ratings for shockproofing.

Crush Proofing

A simple weight rating indicates how much weight can be placed on the device without being crushed. Not all tough cameras have a crush rating, but you can be sure that a high rating here means a very tough housing on the camera.

Picture Quality

It is a fairly wide misconception that the number of megapixels a camera sensor is capable of is a good indicator of the quality of photos it takes. Compare a comparable megapixel phone, compact and SLR camera and see just how much difference there can be. The actual quality mostly comes down to the optics in front of the sensor, and the software behind it. These differ greatly between manufacturers, and unfortunately there is no way to compare the picture quality without having all the cameras you wish to compare in the exact same conditions. There are however several websites which compare cameras in exactly this way.

Extra Features

There are so many more features which differ between the various tough cameras on the market. If I went into all of them, this would drag on forever. I will get to including them in my next installment. Included are things like night performance, shooting modes and scenes (and their respective performances), video recording and physical controls.

A tough camera is another awesome addition to any photographers arsenal, enabling shots to be taken anywhere, anytime, in places where you wouldn't dare take a normal camera. With the variations on cameras and prices on the market, it is important to weight up the features of each model to ensure you get the right camera for your lifestyle and needs.