Off to Niger in less than 2 months to do more fieldwork (doing my PhD). Last time I was there my digital camera (fairly old but not ancient) did not survive one particularly nasty sandstorm. Anyone have any suggestions for a digital camera that works well in 110 degree heat with sand blowing around? Under $300US as I'm a relatively poor grad student. Thanks :)
1
lan
Best option would be a weatherproof/waterproof one - as they're sealed, which should prevent the sand from getting into anything expensive ;)
Pentax Optio's probably the best choice, current model is the W30 - check the reviews, and try it for yourself though.
2
beelzbubba
W30?! Merde! I just bought a W20 a few months ago...and now there's the W30? I love my W20 and it's been through rain storms and surf and mud and it continues to perform wonderfully! I would not trade my W20 for anything else but the W30's anti-shake and new LCD sounds like nice improvements. Thanks for the update, Lan.
3
lan
beelZbubba: I share your pain. Every time I buy a new camera it seems like they release a better model a month or so later - on the bright side, at least it gives us an extra month to take pictures, and it's not like the camera suddenly stops working when the latest one comes out ;)
4
klaush
I have the Olympus 720SW, (obviously there now is an improved 770SW months later). It holds up well in rainy weather so it should resist sand too.
Other than that, I am pondering the purchase of a russian Zorki 1 camera, as a fallback option for extreme trips :-)
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