Best LifeProof Cameras - 2011 Edition

It's summer.  You plan a weekend trip with all your friends to go canoeing down the Chattahoochee River on the East coast, camping on the river banks and grilling on the campfire.

It's winter.  The family decides this year to spend Christmas snowboarding in the Rockies, renting a cabin in Park City, Utah building snowmen on the back porch.

It's spring.  Your wife plans an anniversary trip to Alaska to whale watch in the afternoons, climb glaciers in the mornings and watch the Northern Light streak across the night sky.

It's fall.  The kids are in the backyard making mud pies to serve for desert while the dog is running towards your covered in dirt ready to play a rousing game of Jump on Master.

You need a camera that won't crap out at exactly the wrong moment. 

Life Proof cameras are an excellent way to keep up with your adventurous lifestyle, withstanding extreme temperatures, relatively deep waters, drops from a good height and a serious amount of dirt and dust.  Nearly every company has produced a camera that carries a Life Proof rating, some better than others.  You don't always have to compromise picture quality for durability.  This guide will explore a few options, list a few necessary accessories and give you a good idea of what it is you really need when it comes to Life Proofing your equipment.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3

Panasonic's new Lumix DMC-TS3 extends their line of "tough" cameras. This camera leads the way with its ability to survive extreme situations. It is capable of surviving depths of up to 40 feet under water, falls from up to 6.6 feet, temperatures as low as 14°F and its seal also keeps dust and sand out. On top of this outstanding ruggedness, you also get the quality and ease of use expected from a Panasonic digicam. Sporting a 4.6x optical zoom lens, 12.1-Megapixel imaging sensor, iAuto shooting mode and full 1080p HD video capture; you are not sacrificing anything for the tough features. A GPS radio was added that allows the camera to record where each of your images was captured. Available in 4 standout colors; Orange, Aqua Blue, Deep Red and Silver, this camera is also very eye-catching. Pick this up if you're looking for a camera that you can take into any situation and not have to worry about what happens to it. It is great for around pools and kids and has an MSRP of $399.99.

Pentax Optio WG-1/WG-1 GPS

If you're anything like me, every piece of gear you have must be able to be as durable and dependable as you are. Pentax answers the call with their newest camera in their rugged series: the "carry-it's-own-weight" Optio WG-1. This lifeproof camera is tough enough to keep up with you, and perhaps might even have a little more adventure left at the end of the day than you do. With a 2.7-inch LCD display, 5x optical zoom, and HDMI output, Pentax continues to maintain a good compact camera enclosed in a dust, water, cold, shock, and crush proof shell. The WG-1 upgrades from its precursor the Optio W90, with a 14-megapixel image sensor, 5 LED lights around the lens, a more ergonomically focused shape, and capability enhancements in the water depth, shockproof, and crushproof ratings. Waterproof down to 33 feet, crushproof up to 220 pounds (100kgf kilogram-force), Coldproof to sub-freezing temps of 14°F (10° C), dustproof, and shockproof up to a 5 foot fall, the WG-1 is as tough as they come. Many of its other features have been carried over from the W90, including those listed above and 720p HD video recording. The WG-1 and WG-1 GPS are really tough cameras (we even froze one in a block of ice!). The WG-1 has an MSRP of $349.99, but if you're interested in geotagging, the WG-1 GPS has an MSRP of $399.99

Nikon Coolpix AW100

The AW100 is the first underwater camera Nikon has made in over a decade. And what a fun little camera this is. Make sure the lock is tight on the chamber where you put your battery and SD card, and you can dive down as far as 33 feet (10 meters) under water. Salt water? No problem, just rinse it off afterwards. Crazy enough, there's even stereo sound recording which should work underwater as well. The AW100 is also shockproof up to five feet and temperature proof down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit where the camera's over-sized buttons will come in handy for anyone wearing gloves. The AW100 features a 16 megapixel 1/2.3 inch backside illuminated CMOS sensor, 5x wide angle optical zoom NIKKOR lens (equivalent of a 28-140mm in 35mm format), an electronic compass which can be called up on the display, and GPS functionality for geo tagging (works with the included ViewNX2 software, Nikon's mypicturetown.com, or Google Earth) as well as very basic navigation using the built-in maps, which will have various "points of interest" in certain locations. 

The AW100 is capable of 1080p high definition video recording at 30 frames per second as well as 720p HD movie capture at 60 frames per second. Because AW100 is built for various weather conditions and environments where users may be wearing gloves, Nikon has designed a new way to access different function modes. Called "Action Control operation," this will change between two pre-selected modes (say Portrait and Landscape) with the flick of a wrist, saving you the time of having to access the menu. The AW100 has an MSRP of $379.99.

Olympus TG-810

Like past models of Olympus' Tough line of Lifeproof cameras, the TG-810 is packed with their Tough features (Waterproof down to 33 feet, Freezeproof down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit, Shockproof from up to a 6.6 foot fall, Dustproof, and Crushproof up to 220 pounds of force), making it an obvious choice for active users who like to explore the great outdoors. The TG-810 boasts 14-megapixels of resolution, a 5x optical zoom lens, 3.0-inch LCD screen, and 720p HD video capture. They've also added their new 3D photo mode, dual image stabilization, 8 Magic Filters, an LED illuminator, and built-in GPS system with Electric Compass and Manometer. The Olympus TG-810 has an MSRP of $399.99, but can often be found for less.

Accessories

If you do a lot of underwater diving, spear fishing or general underwater photography, perhaps you should expand your equipment repertoire to include a swanky Liquid Image video mask.  They are geared towards capturing HD video underwater with incredible resolution.  The Scuba Series records at a ridiculous 5 megapixels and 720p video resolution.  Bonus feature: it take still photographs as well!  It can dive with you all the way down to 130 feet.  Wearing a video recording mask provides you with the ability to handsfree dive keeping both hands available to spearfish, swim, wave hello to Nemo or fend off hungry sharks (punch them in the gills and eyes, fyi). 

Purchase the Liquid Image mask here.

Pelican Cases have been a long standing company in the world of durable cases.  They protect everything from soldiers to SD cards.  Literally, if it can fit in a Pelican case, it is guaranteed against anything and everything you can throw at it (excluding five-year-olds, shark and bear attacks).  Their line of micro cases are perfect for small compact point-and-shoot cameras, so if you find yourself exploring Mars anytime soon, then you should considering purchasing a Pelican case. 

Purchase Pelican Cases here.