- Waterproof.
- Solid Appearance, inspires confidence.
- Good grip, including one hand.
- The LCD screen is of good quality.
- The video is of reasonable quality.
- The configurable green button to quickly dispose of four functions, very useful for changing settings without going into lengthy menus of the user interface. One can for example have the way of exposure metering, ISO, from overexposure, the white balance, image quality, etc. Thus despite its basic interface and no touch screen, settings can be made rather quickly.
- Virtually all device options can be configured as USER mode to keep its default preferred mode: Flash, EV compensation, image settings, etc. Together with the green button, it has a relatively ergonomic device despite its simple design.
- The manual focus system zooms in high definition on the subject to fine tune. It is thus specifically detail setting a macro.
- LED illumination around the lens for macro flash and more.
- Many preset shooting modes simplify usage for beginners or if you hurry.
- We can do without the industry. The USB cable allows you to charge the battery in the camera, and AC adapter will provide more power for fast charging.
- Compass, altimeter, external time display. It can be practical.
(-)
- Really too short duration of the battery.
- The image quality is not great. With the ridiculous battery life, this is the second big negative of the unit. Certainly, it is better than a smartphone, but the sharpness and JPEG compression are far below the Tropic compact result not from other manufacturers (Canon, Sony). We must therefore choose what is most important: resistance to water or sunlight beautiful images ...
- GPS is an option that evokes hiking and travel. It would be a quality to record the location of the photo if desired, but with a battery already small for photos and video, GPS becomes virtually unusable gadget. I do not see how this option would be used on a full day.
- Zoom limited.
- The bright lens at f / 2 is attractive, but the camera does not offer aperture priority mode, so pay attention to the reduced depth of field which can result in blurred macro if you move slightly. The image quality being what it is, a slight blur will not forgive and will be difficult to catch up, unless reservations for thumbnail photos on the web.
- Lack of any manual adjustment. It will mess with ISO and overexposure to get somehow a desired setting.
- The tendency to overexpose the views, but it is possible to compensate for this by default.
- Limit the ISO range to not type above 400 if you are looking for above all the image quality, unless unable to do otherwise, because the sharpness deteriorates sharply beyond and compression jpeg n ' not help matters. Too bad other devices today, like those of Canon brand, is adept the growing ISO.
- The shutter button is a little hard for my taste, probably because of the joint, that may cause motion blur in some cases, as a macro with focus accurately.
- There is no original of an external charger if you have several batteries.
- The carabiner comes with is perhaps adventurer, but it is in my opinion not a very good idea for precision material with a glass lens and a large screen at the back. A wrist strap would have been better, just to make one with a string, and the carabiner keychain happen.
OPINION STAFF
This shockproof and waterproof camera wants to be the adventurer holiday companion.
I have not tested the impact resistance, but tropicalization is appreciable when rinsed or for ocean lovers and sand. Very good point, the device has no moving parts in action, no objective unfolding, no hidden iris lens, which limits the risk of breakage or faulty seal. But big negative, the battery life is bad, a few hours at most in basic use. It will therefore open the hatch for recharging the unit or replace the battery, at the risk of bringing moisture. The appearance will be especially useful tropicalized if you take some photos or take this for granted on a short video. It will also make a good backup in case of rain if the weight does not come into play. But if you want long wetland shots, it will look elsewhere.
In the end, the unit is designed, waterproof, the interface menus are simple but well made, the buttons give access to premium functionality. We feel some care taken in its design. It is a pity that some shortcomings tarnish this table. With an increased battery life, a priority mode diaph and improved image quality, it would be a great everyday camera. In the state, there is a secondary tool, a sort of hybrid, a device that will be complementary to my sense of another.
Therefore, we will have to define your needs before choosing this material.
If the image quality, the zoom or manual settings prevail, go elsewhere. However, if the resistance to the elements, the video function and incidentally photos for common conditions interest you, it will be a feasible and pleasant camera to use.
It can be a good choice for website like photos or social networking, where the sharpness of the image is less important because by reducing the resolution we gained a little sharpness.
Finally, located in the same price range as GoPro systems, it is not comparable. It is slightly larger in terms of payload, less suitable for fixing, less focused on wide angle and offers more variety for shooting. Again, it will not be the purpose of replacing another dedicated system, but a complement.