Reddit mentions of Olympus TG-4 16 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 3-Inch LCD (Black)

> long battery life / replaceable batteries

Generally a DSLR will be your first choice here, since they tend to have longer battery life than mirrorless cameras do. Unfortunately, that makes the "not too bulky" proposition more difficult.

> weatherproof & rugged

Pentax tends to be the manufacturer of choice when it comes to weatherproof and rugged.

> under $500

The Pentax K-50 with 18-55mm weather-sealed lens goes for a little over $400. For about ~$100 more, you can add their 50-200mm weather-sealed lens into the package.

If you want something smaller than a DSLR, some mirrorless cameras are weather-sealed, like the Olympus OM-D E-M5 but unfortunately their weather-sealed lenses will probably blow past your budget unless you find an amazing deal. For point-and-shoots, the Olympus TG-4 is rugged, has a timelapse feature, and also comes in under budget, but I'm not familiar with its battery life.

Thanks again for the response! That camera I linked for the #2 is really nice, and I'm agreeing with you it seems badass! But...


For the point and shoot, I decided to go with this sucker: Olympus TG-4 16 MP https://www.amazon.com/Olympus-Waterproof-Digital-Camera-3-Inch/dp/B00UKV5D4C/ref=sr_1_5?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1472719881&sr=1-5&keywords=Olympus+TG-4

The reason is that the person who is going to use it is very, very prone to dropping things. So that camera seems to have decent features + can handle some drops. So I think that'll work :)

For the #1, the Pentax K-70, maybe you could answer another question! I see on Amazon for $900 you can get the camera + 18-135mm lense, or you can buy just the camera for $650.

Do you think the extra $250 is right for the lense, or should I buy a seperate one instead for the same price?

The person will be using the camera to shoot buildings, city random things, some up close, some far, general stuff.

Many thanks!

Olympus TG-4 with the Olympus PT-056 UW Housing and a GoPro Hero 4

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UKV5D4C?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K91DFY8?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

Very seriously, I'd use a http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UKV5D4C/ rather than a SLR or Mirrorless since you obviously have not been using it so far. I find that people who aren't already taking shots with their camera phones generall do not suddenly start taking shots with their camera phone, BUT if you hand them a P&S, tada, it's party time.

The Olympus is waterproof, coldproof, dustproof and thankfully takes great shots.

Two reviews:

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/6000322829/olympus-tough-tg-4-review

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-waterproof-camera/

The Olympus TG series is great for durability. Now I had the first generation but it still worked great almost 4 years later with plenty of abuse.
https://www.amazon.com/Olympus-Waterproof-Digital-Camera-3-Inch/dp/B00UKV5D4C

I have. Several years ago I was faced with a dilemma: lose a very big fish on the Dream Stream, or go in above my pack and drown my iPhone. So, when I bought my new phone I also purchased one of those Lifeproof cases and it didn't turn out to be as waterproof as advertised. Now I just keep it in a higher pocket and in a heavy duty zip lock bag (sometimes..usually not). I really wanted one of those Galaxy Sports, but my unlimited data is tied strictly to an iPhone, so until AT&T figures out how to get rid of us Grandfathered data hogs, I'm stuck.

Edit: This is the camera I'm going to get, for now