A New Toy!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I can be somewhat impatient when it comes to things like my Olympus 1030SW troubles. I'll always give something a fair chance to prove itself... but if I don't get satisfactory resolution within a reasonable timeframe, I tend to move on. And move on I have. To the Canon D10 - Canon's first stab at competing in the world of waterproof / freezeproof / shockproof cameras.

The D10 is a 12.1MP point'n'shoot which resembles a tiny, turquoise submarine (or at least mine is turquoise... apparently interchangeable covers are available). It's unconventional styling grabbed my attention right away, but the great reviews it received (check out http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q209waterproofgroup/) solidified my decision to buy one. In truth, I've always gravitated towards Panasonic products - I've owned several and have been more than pleased with every one. Panasonic did have a competitor in this group, and for me it really came down to the TS1 or the D10. The greater underwater depth rating of the D10 and the fact that it is touted as 'freezeproof' (to -10C) are what pushed me over the Canon edge, however. Don't worry though - I'll be continuing my Panasonic saga... the GF1 is next on my purchase list... more on that, later!!

I was able to get outside with my new toy recently, to work it over for real. Overall, I'm happy thus far with the results. I mostly took pics in Program mode - with ISO settings of 80 and 100. The day was overcast and a bit blah, but the colors that were recorded were saturated nicely. And the macro is impressive! The camera sure starts up quickly and can find a focal point super-fast... but I didn't think the images were as sharp as the reviews made them out to be. Sometimes though, I wonder if I'm a bit spoiled and have overly high expectations... I've been shooting with a D-SLR for a couple of years now, so I forget the limitations of a smaller camera. The following two photos are from the same spot along the trail... keep in mind these are resized...

Pentax K20D

Canon D10

Over the next 6 weeks, I'll have the opportunity to try it out both in the water and on the snow... and I'm looking forward to evaluating its performance in these adverse conditions. Hopefully I won't be disappointed... I've already been let down big-time by a major player in this specialty camera game, and while I could definitely enjoy being a camera collector, I'd really rather NOT end up with a pile of non-functioning junk.

Cheers!