Cheap, rugged waterproof video camera

Most waterproof cameras - for video or still images - seem to be long on attitude and short on features, which means that instead people risk taking normal kit outdoors or buy a cheap camera for more daring outings.

However, we were genuinely impressed with the Sanyo CA65 which is designed for just such tasks. It uses SD memory cards rather than tapes to store video, so recording isn’t cheap, but as prices of such cards are coming down this is less problematic.

Operation is simple and video quality impressive for the price, and it’s possible to take decent still photographs as well. Some of the key controls are protected by the screen when it’s closed, and need a fair amount of dexterity to reach when holding the open camera one-handed. We weren’t expecting much from the twin microphones, but they worked surprisingly well.

The camera can be awkward to hold. Its body tapers outwards and, held in one hand, it can feel like the camera is about to pop out of the top of the hand like a bar of soap. This never happened, and there is a reassuringly large loop at the bottom of the camera for a strap, but it was disquieting nonetheless.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 31st, 2008 at 3:59 pm and is filed under Digital Camera. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.