Canon D10 vs Olympus 8010 cameras

exalted512

Wife and I are looking for a new camera. We like the thought of these new waterproof cameras. We've been snorkeling before and bought the cheap waterproof disposables...terrible pictures...so now were looking for something better.

Which brings me to these 2. Both waterproof up to 33'. Most now are waterproof to about 9'. I want 33 and I dont want to sacrifice that...Which these are really the only 2 I've found that are waterproof to that deep that arent just all out diving cameras.

So if there's others out there that will go that deep and are worthy of mentioning....post them up!

Anyway, I just wanted opinions. My current camera is a few years old (like 6ish...lol). Its an olympus and still works fantastic. My biggest gripe? xd card. The new olympus just used sd...so huge plus.

From what I've read online, the canon takes better pictures, the olympus is more durable.

Well...i'm coming off of a 4mp camera...and i'm not a huge picture taker, so i dont really think the difference will matter to me. I still think my camera takes awesome pictures...so im easily impressed...haha. Which has me leaning to the olympus. The olympus also has a cool feature. If i ever wanted to go on a serious scuba dive, you can buy a case for it that expands waterproof capabilities down to like 40m. Which is way more than i would need.

Plus...the canon is effin ugly. Seriously. And I'm not one to chose fashion over form but jesus. The $40 id be saving by going to canon over the olympus would be negated for the $40 id have to spend to get a new damn cover on it that isnt aqua blue. It just looks like a POS toy camera.

So, price doesnt really matter. I'm also not going to complain if one is a half inch bigger than the other...or heavier.

I know there's quite a few people on here that love taking pictures...and i would love your opinions.

Links to websites:
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=2590&modelid=18332
http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1497

The olympus also has a better zoom and 2 more mp....MP doesnt really matter to me, but my current camera has 10x optical, stepping down to a 3x on the canon...not sure if id like that.

thanks,
-Cody

audiobliss

You should get a Nikon. A huge Nikon DSLR. With two or three big old lenses. And a water-proof case. And a second body. Yup. That's what you need.

Demiurge

Canon will do you fine, but I would consider a Nikon.

exalted512

Does Nikon make waterproof cameras? I didnt see any.
-Cody

audiobliss

Based on those two, definitely the Olympus. Now, that opinion's having not done ANY research on the two. So if you read and find one does just a lot better with white balance, or low-noise high-ISO, or some other scenario that would be advantageous to you, that might change your choice.

But you don't want to sacrifice any more zoom than you have to. 5x isn't GREAT, but it's certainly not bad. 3x is kinda pathetic nowadays, I feel like.

And you're right...if someone in a group held out that Canon to me and asked me if I could take a picture of them...I think I'd just walk away instead of being seen using that ugly thing.

Willow

We have owned two Olympus waterproof dig cams. We sold the first one cause one of the doors on the housing couldn't close with the proper seal (after having had it for 2yrs). second one, we used it on our last 3 trips, Florida, Cuba and Mexico. Mexico it was used a whole lot under water while snorkeling. If you wish I can send you some shots of what you can expect, keep in mind that I never really played with all the features. We were happy with the results, until the last day we went to see some ruins and the camera just stop working. The lcd screen no longer functioned, well it did when it felt like it. It sucks as there is no view finder on ours. Since March the lcd works on and off. We called Olympus and told us we should send it in to them to see if it can be fixed and at what price. All in all it is a great camera. (not sure off hand which model we have I'm at work right now)

exalted512

Well its good to know you liked the camera but now I'm a little worried that it might not stand up like my current Olympus has. Hopefully the wife and I will have better luck.
-Cody

Willow

exalted512 wrote: »

Well its good to know you liked the camera but now I'm a little worried that it might not stand up like my current Olympus has. Hopefully the wife and I will have better luck.
-Cody

If they can't fix it, we will buy another Olympus as we use the underwater feature at least 2x a yr on our travels. We spent 10 days in Akumal snorkeling and the camera was in the water with me every day I'd say it was submerged for a good 2-4 hrs a day.

shack

I've seen some photos taken by the Canon and they are pretty good. I have not seen any from the Olympus but they have a decent reputation for underwater cameras. If you think you want something that goes a little deeper...you can always look for a good camera and then see if there is an underwater housing that fits. Sort of the best of both worlds...but it is a little more expensive.

Demiurge

exalted512 wrote: »

Does Nikon make waterproof cameras? I didnt see any.
-Cody

You just buy the housing. I guess you need to ask yourself how much you're going to use it underwater vs on land.

If it was me I would buy a better SLR Canon or Nikon and then get the housing.

fatchowmein

Canon usually has a fantastic autofocus. Not sure if it's true of their point and shoot cameras but I imagine it would be. Is there any way you can test the autofocus on both cameras?

Also, test to see if there are any lag time between pressing the button to take the shot and when the camera actually takes the picture. It could mean the difference between having that shark framed perfectly or just catching his caudal fin.

How fast do those cameras write to file? You may be able to take 3 or 4 quick shots but you don't want to have to wait 10 seconds before the 5th or 6th shot while waiting for the camera to write.


If you're just taking snapshots of stationary objects, ignore this post. But, if you're taking life action shots, a fast autofocus, how quickly the camera can take the shot, and how fast the camera can write the information after the buffer is full will be very important to you.

BottomFeeder

The people I talk w/all recommend Canon.

exalted512

I'm not looking for a SLR camera, I'm wanting more of the point and shoot cameras. Something I can throw in my pocket and not have to worry about.

Another reason why I'm looking at these cameras is because of my wife...she loves to drop things and has no prejudices against dropping it on a mattress, carpet, tile, curb, pavement...wet or dry.

So this is also something for her and she can throw it in her purse and not have to worry about it getting messed up.

Thanks for all the tips guys.
-Cody

exalted512

Went ahead and ordered the olympus. Got it in, but havent done much with it yet. I'll post some pictures from Vegas when I go in a couple weeks.

I went through my filing cabinet, in April of 2004, I bought a 4MP Olympus with a 10x zoom for $381. Fast forward to 2010, I bought a 14MP Olympus with only a 5x zoom, but its waterproof to 33', crushproof up to 220lbs, freezeproof to 14*F, shockproof from 6.6', AND takes video in 720P....for $355.

-Cody

audiobliss

exalted512 wrote: »

only a 5x zoom, but its waterproof to 33', crushproof up to 220lbs, freezeproof to 14*F, shockproof from 6.6', AND takes video in 720P....for $355.

lame zoom....

exalted512

audiobliss wrote: »

lame zoom....

whats the zoom on your camera?
-Cody

audiobliss

exalted512 wrote: »

whats the zoom on your camera?
-Cody

I don't use a camera. I take pictures with my eyes. So it's just a 1x zoom. But it's, like, a gazillion x eleventy-billion pixels, so I can zoom in on the picture all I want after the fact.

exalted512

audiobliss wrote: »

it's just a 1x zoom.

okay then:p
-Cody

P.S. The Canon was only a 3x zoom!

shack

exalted512 wrote: »

okay then:p
-Cody

P.S. The Canon was only a 3x zoom!

The Olympus is the equivalent of 28-140mm focal range and the Canon is equivalent to 35-105mm.

Both decent opptical ranges and will get 90-95% of what most folks shoot.

exalted512

shack wrote: »

The Olympus is the equivalent of 28-140mm focal range and the Canon is equivalent to 35-105mm.

Both decent optical ranges and will get 90-95% of what most folks shoot.

sooo....whats that mean? haha.

shack

exalted512 wrote:

sooo....whats that mean? haha.

One camera having a 3X optical range vs another camera having a 5X optical range is pretty worthless information unless you can put it into some sort of perspective. It only means that one has a mathmatically wider range than the other. The formula is actually (Optical zoom(X) = maximum focal length / minimum focal length). In photography everything goes back to the 35mm film world for determining focal lengths where 50mm lenses are considered "normal" because they work without reduction or magnification and create images the way we see the scene with our naked eyes. Any lens with a smaller number than 50mm is considered wide angle and anything with a larger number is considered to be telephoto.

Sooo.......

The Olympus is the equivalent of 28-140mm focal range and the Canon is equivalent to 35-105mm.

It means the Olympus goes a little wider and longer than the Canon when you convert their optical ranges to the 35mm film standard. Again just saying one is a 5X vs a 3X doesn't mean much unless you know what you are comparing. The Olympus could be a 50-250mm lens and have a 5X optical range. But it would also mean it doesn't do wide angle....but has a much longer telephoto range. Important to know if you want a camera that will take wide angle photos. It could also be a 25-125mm which is also a 5X optical range, but isn't that much wider or longer than the 3X Canon. So IMO knowing the actual minimum and maximum focal length is more important than the "optical range".

Both are decent opptical ranges and will get 90-95% of what most folks shoot.

Most of the photographs people take (expecially with P&S cameras) will be in the 35-125mm range. Anything wider or longer is just not within the norm of what most people use their camera for. So the focal range of the two cameras being discussed in this thread will cover 90-95% of all the pictures the average person will ever want to take, regardless of whether one is a 3X or a 5X optical range.

I hope that sort of explains what I was saying.

exalted512

Got ya! I figured it was just "the olympus can zoom more than the canon"

I'm a noob when it comes to cameras, if you cant tell...
-Cody

shack

exalted512 wrote:

Got ya! I figured it was just "the olympus can zoom more than the canon"

I'm a noob when it comes to cameras, if you cant tell...
-Cody

In this particular case, the Olympus WILL zoom a little longer than the Canon...but...if the Canon had been a 50-150mm focal range (which is not uncommon) then it would have had a longer zoom focal length and less wide angle than the Olympus but still only a 3X optical range.

Things like more megapixels, optical zoom factors and so forth are mainly for marketing because it sounds good and the average consumer has no real concept of what it all means. Sort of like 4,000 watts total output peak power, 1,000 watts RMS at 1 ohms and .00000001% THD, etc...sound familiar? :rolleyes:.

exalted512

Got ya! Thanks for the clarifications on that!
-Cody