Our third round-up is dedicated to the two types of waterproof cameras you can use for documenting your adventures in wet and wild places.
Two main types of cameras are used for ‘adventure’ photography and videography: waterproof and action cameras. Both can tolerate total immersion in water and are rugged enough to use where it would be unsafe to take a regular camera or smartphone.
Waterproof cameras are designed for use in situations that would be unsafe for regular cameras or smartphones. (Source: OM Digital Solutions.)
Because they’re built to withstand impact shock, these cameras are ideal for activities like rock climbing, skiing, mountain biking and hiking. Their wide-angle lenses are great for capturing landscapes and panoramic videos. Some include extra features like a compass and altimeter with integrated GPS that lets you geotag your shots and can help you track your location and find directions in new environments.
Adventure cameras are often less sophisticated than regular cameras. Their sensors are smaller and they may have lower resolution and very basic processors. Their built-in lenses tend to be smaller and less versatile and their batteries often have lower capacities.
However, on the plus side, many come with dedicated straps and mounts that let you attach them to helmets, bikes or surfboards, although for some these are optional accessories. Flotation aids are also available and can be worthwhile if you snorkel or scuba dive or are involved in other water-based sports.
We’ve split his round-up into separate parts covering waterproof cameras and action camera and concentrated on recent releases. With the action cameras, because there are so many similar models, we’ve only covered the top model in each manufacturer’s line-up.
Waterproof Cameras
Pentax WG-8 (June 2024)
Pentax’s flagship WG-8 camera is waterproof to 20 metres and can be used underwater for up to two hours. It has a 20-megapixel 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm) BSI-CMOS sensor and fixed, 28–140 mm (equivalent) f/3.5-5.5 lens. However, it lacks a viewfinder and can only record images as JPEGs. The only stabilisation available is Digital Shake Reduction. The camera is offered in green or black and its toughened body is dust-, crush-, freeze- and shock-proof to 2.1 metres. It comes with a 6-LED ring light surrounding the lens plus built-in GPS and a digital compass.
The fixed 3-inch LCD screen has a resolution of 1,040,000 dots. Users can record 4K (3840 x 2160) video at up to 30 fps and the camera includes a webcam function that supports live streaming. The single UHS-I SD card slot is located in the battery compartment and accepts Flash Air Wi-Fi cards to compensate for the lack of Wi-Fi in the camera. The battery has a capacity of 340 frames/charge. The camera weighs 242 grams with battery and memory card and measures 118 x 66 x 33 mm. Its RRP is $799.
Pentax WG-1000 (June 2024)
Affordably priced and available in grey or olive colours, the pocket-sized Pentax WG1000 is designed for family use, with simple, point-and-shoot operation and the ability to withstand a two-metre drop. A more basic model than the WG-8, it has a slightly lower-resolution, 16.35-megapixel BSI-CMOS sensor and can only record stills in JPEG format and Full HD/1080p video at up to 30 fps using H.264 compression. The WG-1000’s 4x optical zoom lens covers focal lengths equivalent to 27-108mm with maximum apertures of f/3.0-f/6.6. A Digital Zoom function can extend the range up to 24 times. Waterproof to 15 metres, it can be used for up to one hour underwater. With a maximum sensitivity of ISO 3200, the camera offers seven capture modes (including Auto Picture and Manual) plus 18 Scene selections and 20 personalised colour settings.
Its body is resistant to common sterilising chemicals and comes with a fixed 2.7-inch 230,000-dot LCD monitor and built-in flash – but no viewfinder. It includes electronic shake reduction (which crops the frame a little) and supports time-lapse recording. The camera has 29MB of internal memory plus a single SD card slot and Ricoh D-LI96 rechargeable battery. While it lacks the WG-8’s GPS and compass features, it has the same ring light around the lens. It measures 116 x 68.5 x 50.5 mm and weighs 220 grams with battery and SD card. The local RRP is $399.
Ricoh G900SE II (August 2024)
Designed for use in manufacturing, construction and disaster relief, Ricoh’s ultra-rugged compact camera features a 20-megapixel 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm) BSI-CMOS sensor and 28–140 mm (equivalent) f/3.5-5.5 lens. As well as being waterproof to 20 metres, its body is also chemical-resistant and includes digital IS and contrast-based autofocusing. The SE model features a Bluetooth interface that can connect to a GPS device, Wi-Fi wireless LAN and a linear and matrix barcode reader, which are not provided in alternative cameras. It comes with password protection and other security options, including system data management.
There is no EVF but the camera has a 3-inch fixed LCD with a resolution of 1,040,000 dots and a six-LED ring light. Users can stream video directly from the camera when it’s connected to a computer, which also lets it act as a Full HD 30p webcam for video conferencing. It has a single UHS-I SD card slot plus 6.5GB of internal storage and also supports contactless Near-Field Communication (NFC) IC cards. This camera can only record stills as JPEGs, but supports 4K/30p video. The DB-110 battery has a capacity of 340 frames/charge. The camera weighs 249 grams and measures 118 x 66 x 33 mm. Its RRP is $1729.
OM System Tough TG-7 (September 2023)
Capable of recording 12-bit ORF.RAW files as well as JPEGs, the Tough TG-7 has a 12-megapixel 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm) BSI-CMOS sensor and 25–100 mm equivalent f/2-4.9 lens and is available in red or black. Waterproof to 15 metres, it comes with sensor-shift stabilisation that offers up to 2.5 stops of shake correction. There’s no EVF but the 3-inch fixed LCD monitor has a resolution of 1,040,000 dots and the camera uses contrast-detection autofocusing. The TG-7 has four Variable Macro shooting modes that include a document mode and a ‘microscope’ mode that can focus to within 1 cm of the lens for up to 7x magnification.
Focus bracketing and stacking are supported, along with Pro Capture (pre-release) shooting, Interval Shooting with Time Lapse Movie generation and support for vertical video. Three new construction modes provide automatic dust detection and removal, optimised exposures in low light levels and automatic balancing of highlights and shadows in scenes with a wide brightness range.
Video can be recorded at resolutions up to 4K/30p and continuous shooting is available at up to 5 fps. Built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enable swift data transfer and real-time collaboration. The single UHS-I SD media slot is located in the battery compartment and the battery capacity is 330 frames/charge. The TG-7 weighs 249 grams and measures 114 x 66 x 33 mm. It is compatible with a wide range of optional accessories, including fisheye and tele-converters, ring lights and housings. Its RRP is $699.
Kodak Pixpro WPZ2 (October 2019)
Waterproof to 15 metres, the Pixpro WPZ2 has a 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm), 16.35-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor and a 27-108mm equivalent f/3.0-6.6 zoom lens that can focus to within 5 cm at 27mm or 60 cm at 108mm. Up to 6x digital zoom is available, along with digital image stabilisation. Still shots are JPEG only and can be recorded in aspect ratios of 4:3 (4608 x 3456), 3:2 (4608 x 3072) or 16:9 (4608 x 2592), while video is restricted to Full HD/1080p at up to 30 fps or VGA (640 x 480) at 120 fps. The camera provides seven selectable shooting modes: Auto, P, M, Wi-Fi, SCN, Movie and Underwater, plus the following scene presets: Panorama, Children, Portrait, Night Portrait, Landscape, Sport, Sunset, Fireworks, Snow, Party, Beach, Night Landscape, Glass, Panning Shot, Indoor, Leaf, Museum, Image Stabilisation.
The 2.7-inch 230,000-dot LCD monitor is non-adjustable and the camera has a built-in flash – but no viewfinder. ISO sensitivity ranges from 100 to 3200 and the camera includes 25-point TTL AF with face detection. The top continuous shooting rate is 6 fps and the camera sports a low-power, built-in flash. It comes with 8MB of internal memory plus a single micro-SD card clot. Wi-Fi allows remote control over the camera via a smartphone. The rechargeable LB-015 battery has a capacity of 200 frames/charge. The camera body, which is available in yellow, red and blue, measures 103.2 x 66.7 x 52.4 mm and weighs 176 grams without battery and card. The local RRP is $299.
SeaLife Micro 3.0 (June 2020)
Built around a 16-megapixel Sony IMX083 1/2.3-inch (6.7 x 4.55 mm) CMOS sensor, the SeaLife Micro 3.0 is essentially a point-and-shoot camera with a 19mm equivalent f/2.8 fixed-focus wide-angle lens that can produce sharp images from 38 cm to infinity. Waterproof to 60 metres, it is leak-proof with simple controls and menus that can be operated with dive gloves on. It can record both JPEG and DNG.RAW files as stills and 4K video at up to 30 fps. There is no media slot but the camera has 64GB of internal memory plus Wi-Fi and a USB 2 connector for transferring images and movies to a smart device with the free SeaLife Micro 3+ app.
Shutter speeds range from 1/25 to 1/2000 second and continuous shooting is available at up to 10 fps for JPEGs or 3 fps for raw files. Time-lapse recording is supported. The 2.4-inch TFT monitor has a resolution of 260,000 dots and is non-adjustable. No viewfinder is provided. The camera weighs 329 grams and measures 54 x 74 x 107 mm. Its non-removable battery is charged via USB cable and has enough capacity for three hours of use. The local RRP is $1049. Optional add-on lenses and underwater lights are available for this camera.
Action Cameras
DJI Osmo Action 5 (September 2024)
DJI’s newest Osmo action camera comes with a Type 1/1.3 (12 x 9.6 mm) format image sensor that can record stills at up to 40-megapixels (maximum 7296 x 5472) or 4K (16:9) resolution at up to 120 fps. The sensor can record 13.5 stops of dynamic range, while the fixed lens covers field of view of 155 degrees with an aperture of f/2.8 and 35 cm to infinity focus. Up to 2x digital zoom is available for both stills and movies with burst shooting at up to 30 fps for stills. Time-lapse shooting is not supported but 4K movies can be recorded at up to 120fps for slow-motion playback. The camera supports HDR video recording up to 4K/60p and includes 10-bit D-Log M and 10-bit HLG modes. Its SuperNight mode uses noise reduction algorithms for sharper, cleaner footage in extreme low-light. Up to 3 stops of electronic image stabilisation is available and the camera has a pre-recording mode that can record 5/10/15/30 seconds for 1/2/5 minutes.
There are two OLED touch displays: the front screen a 1.46-inch display with 342 x 342 resolution and the rear screen a 2.5-inch 400 x 712-pixel display with 800 cd/m2 maximum brightness (typical). The camera is waterproof to 20 metres or 60 metres with a waterproof case. A built-in Pressure Gauge displays water depth and altitude and the camera automatically starts/stops recording when entering/exiting water. It has three built-in microphones and a class-leading 4-hour battery life. There is 64 GB of built-in storage, with 47 GB available for use plus extensions available through a MicroSD media slot. Wi-Fi 6.0, Bluetooth 5.1 and USB 3.0 connectivity are provided with wireless transfer speeds up to 80 MB/s and support for live streaming and recording
The Osmo Action 5 Pro measures 70.5 x 44.2 x 32.8 mm and weighs 146 grams. It is available in two formats: The Osmo Action 5 Pro Standard Combo (RRP $599) includes the Osmo Action 5 Pro, Extreme Battery Plus (1950 mAh), Horizontal-Vertical Protective Frame, Quick-Release Adapter Mount, Curved Adhesive Base, Locking Screw, Type-C to Type-C PD Cable, Pro Rubber Lens Protector, Pro Glass Lens Cover, and Anti-Slip Pad. The Osmo Action 5 Pro Adventure Combo (RRP $769) includes everything in the Standard Combo, plus the Quick-Release Adapter Mount (mini), Multifunctional Battery Case, and 1.5m Extension Rod.
GoPro Hero 13 Black (September 2024)
Featuring a Type 1/1.9 (6.74 x 5.05 mm) CMOS sensor, the GoPro Hero 13 Black can record 27-megapixel JPEG or GPR.RAW photos and movies in 5.3K/60p, 4K/120p, 2.7K/120p or 1080/240p resolutions with 10-bit HDR, GP-Log and SDR video profiles. Users can extract video frame grabs at up to 24.7 megapixels. Rugged and waterproof to 10 metres, it has a 2.27-inch rear touch-enabled screen and a 1.4-inch front colour display and is available in black or forest green. The 35mm equivalent f/2.5 lens has a 156-degree field of view at the full 8:7 aspect ratio and is coated to shed water to keep shots crystal clear. The Hero 13 Black boasts class-leading HyperSmooth 6.0 video stabilisation as well as time-lapse recording and pro creators can use GP-Log encoding with LUTs and timecode sync. The lens accepts variable lens modules and graduated ND filters. A special Burst Slo-Mo setting records 400 fps movies at 720p for 15 real-time seconds or 900/360 fps for 15 seconds. Up to 10 image frames can be recorded at 10 fps.
The camera includes USB-C connectivity, along with built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth with Bluetooth Audio Support and Voice control with 14 commands. Users can record movies at appropriate sizes for traditional playback, for social media, or at Full Frame and decide later when editing in the Quik app, which also supports time coding. They can also overlay telemetry data as real-time animated graphics to display information like speed and altitude via the Quik app. The single media slot supports UHS-3 or V30 rated MicroSD cards. The GoPro Hero 13 Black measures 71.8 x 50.8 x 33.6 mm and weighs 159 grams with mounting fingers and battery. Its RRP is $649.95.
Insta360 X5 (April 2025)
The latest Insta 360 camera has dual Type 1/1.28 (10 x 7.5 mm) CMOS sensors that can record 13.5 stops of dynamic range and deliver up to 8K/30 fps 360-degree video or 72-megapixel stills. The camera is waterproof to 15 metres and a new PureVideo AI-powered low-light mode can record video at up to 8K/30p resolution and produce cinematic footage in underwater lighting, kept steady by digital image stabilisation. The Photo mode can record stills at a maximum resolution of 72-megapixels (11904 x 5952), either as JPEGs or in DNG.RAW format. Dedicated Interval, Starlapse and Burst recording modes are provided. The supplied lens has a 6mm focal length and f/2 aperture and the camera’s first-of-its-kind replaceable lens system lets users swap out damaged lenses on the go.
The Insta360 X5 comes with a large 2.7-inch touch screen display that is bright enough for outdoor use. It has a MicroSD card slot, two built-in microphones and a rechargeable battery that can support up to 93 minutes of 8K/30p recording or 208 minutes of 5.7K/24p footage in Endurance Mode. Special video recording modes include PureVideo, InstaFrame, Timelapse, TimeShift, Bullet Time, Loop Recording and Road Mode and Vivid, Standard, Flat and I-Log colour profiles are available. Two Wind Noise Reduction settings are provided, along with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and USB-C connectivity. It also comes with editing presets plus an intuitive app and many compatible accessories. The camera body is available in black or white. It measures 46 x 124.5 x 38.2 mm and weighs 200 grams. The local RRP for the ‘Standard bundle’ is $929.99.
AKASO Brave 8 (released 2021)
Built around a ½-inch (6.4 x 4.8 mm) CMOS sensor with Quad Pixel technology, the flagship AKASO Brave 8 model is waterproof to 10 metres and can record 4K/60 fps videos and capture stills at either 48-megapixel or 12-megapixel resolution in JPEG or JPEG + DNG.RAW formats. Its multi-layer glass lens has an angle of view equivalent to 16mm in 35mm format and an f/2.5 aperture. Four ‘digital lenses’ let users crop the frame to bring the action closer, while built-in ‘SuperSmooth’ electronic stabilisation produces steady video while the camera is moving, aided by a 6-axis gyroscope. The Brave 8 can capture slow-motion movies at 16x, 8x, 4x, 2x reductions in speed and also record 8K time-lapse movies. Hands-free voice control is available in seven languages and includes AI-based exposure metering that detects human faces for optimal exposure in portraits.
The camera also records stereo soundtracks and includes a Human Voice Mode as well as a Dark Light Mode, One-click Capture/External Mic setting and remote control. The single media slot accepts microSD cards in capacities up to 512MB. Dual colour screens – a 1.22-inch front screen and a 2-inch LCD touch screen at the rear – let users preview selfies and allow instant reviewing of shots. A Bluetooth connection is also provided, along with a USB-C port. The camera comes with two batteries, a dual charger, a remote control and a range of mounts. It measures 63 x 36.5 x 45 mm and weighs 114.8 grams with the 1550 mAh battery included. Its RRP is AU$389.99.
See Photo Review’s Lightweight camera kits buying guide
See Compact camera buying guide
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