My son is 4 1/2 and he loves swimming. One important subject for my photography as a parent is capturing his swimming moments. So I wanted a waterproof camera. Last year I bought an Olympus TG-5 P&S. It was well reviewed. I absolutely loathe using it. Perhaps more than any other camera I have ever owned. From a usability standpoint it is absolutely horrid. But I used it last summer because is was the only underwater camera option I had. Barring buying an expensive housing for one of my dedicated cameras (which I wasn't willing to do).
I just got a GoPro Hero7 Black (after talking with @kenoh). I am loving it. It is significantly better than the Olympus regarding usability and IQ.
At ~$350 it isn't exactly an impulse purchase, but in photography terms it's reasonable. And after using it I think it's good value for the money.
Won't talk about video as that isn't what I use it for.
It's in the P&S realm and doesn't offer manual control over exposure regarding shutter speed and aperture. Which is honestly fine for its intended use. It's for action/sport. For underwater pics (or pics around the pool), one wants to freeze motion. It has a 3mm f/2.8 lens and generally picks a shutter speed of ~1/950th sec. or faster--which is exactly what I want it to do for pool pics. I'm not sure how the exposure algorithm handles low light (i.e. I don't know where the break point is where it starts to sacrifice shutter speed to maintain a proper exposure).
It can shoot RAW with the gotcha that write times go into the seconds for RAW images, without the ability to take another image while it's writing. So RAW shooting is limited to basically capturing the "perfect moment" in one shot. To get bursts you are limited to JPEG output (which can go up to 30 frames per sec, depending on light). This isn't a deal-breaker for me, but something to keep in mind.
The other potential "gotcha" is that while it is waterproof and it has a remote (separate purchase) which is also waterproof, remote capture isn't possible with the camera underwater. Minor bummer.
For what it is, I'm quite happy with it.
My son (again 4 1/2 years old) took a pic of me today (see below). I've taken several pics of him which I'm pleased with but won't share .
I've been pleasantly surprised by its output. And it's significantly better in actual use than the Olympus I bought last year. Like an order of magnitude better/easier.
Thought people might be interested. It's summer with the potential for swimming, other water sports, or other "action" activities. The GoPro Hero7 Black has worked out quite well for my uses.
I just got a GoPro Hero7 Black (after talking with @kenoh). I am loving it. It is significantly better than the Olympus regarding usability and IQ.
At ~$350 it isn't exactly an impulse purchase, but in photography terms it's reasonable. And after using it I think it's good value for the money.
Won't talk about video as that isn't what I use it for.
It's in the P&S realm and doesn't offer manual control over exposure regarding shutter speed and aperture. Which is honestly fine for its intended use. It's for action/sport. For underwater pics (or pics around the pool), one wants to freeze motion. It has a 3mm f/2.8 lens and generally picks a shutter speed of ~1/950th sec. or faster--which is exactly what I want it to do for pool pics. I'm not sure how the exposure algorithm handles low light (i.e. I don't know where the break point is where it starts to sacrifice shutter speed to maintain a proper exposure).
It can shoot RAW with the gotcha that write times go into the seconds for RAW images, without the ability to take another image while it's writing. So RAW shooting is limited to basically capturing the "perfect moment" in one shot. To get bursts you are limited to JPEG output (which can go up to 30 frames per sec, depending on light). This isn't a deal-breaker for me, but something to keep in mind.
The other potential "gotcha" is that while it is waterproof and it has a remote (separate purchase) which is also waterproof, remote capture isn't possible with the camera underwater. Minor bummer.
For what it is, I'm quite happy with it.
My son (again 4 1/2 years old) took a pic of me today (see below). I've taken several pics of him which I'm pleased with but won't share .
I've been pleasantly surprised by its output. And it's significantly better in actual use than the Olympus I bought last year. Like an order of magnitude better/easier.
Thought people might be interested. It's summer with the potential for swimming, other water sports, or other "action" activities. The GoPro Hero7 Black has worked out quite well for my uses.