Camera VS Playa Dust: 2012 Edition

[jcliff]

I'm in the market for a new digital camera (Santy Claus?) I had a Panasonic Luminex, but it didn't fare well on the playa this past year. The automatic lens opener thing (can you tell I don't know what I'm talking about?) got dusty and now doesn't open on its own. Does anyone have a reccomendation for a good digital camera that holds up to the dust? I'm looking for something small, hopefully under $250 or so.

[Savannah]

I liked the Canon Waterproof Powershot D10 I tried out this year. No issues.

Note: I was really careful with it, even though I might not have needed to be.

[AntiM]

FujiFilm XP (I think they're up to XP2). Around $150. Dustproof, shockproof, waterproof, freeze proof. No problems, good as a general point n shoot. I bought one on base at the PX, and a newer one at Costco for MyLarry. It doesn't rock in low light, but I can live with that. Otherwise, perfect little pocket pal.

I too had a Luminex, and it died the same death. This past year I had the Fuji hanging on the camelbak, dropped it in the dust, worked just fine. My SD card died though. Wah! I hadn't brought a spare! Boo on me!

[trilobyte]

I'm going to break this one off and start a new thread. It's not that resurrecting long dead threads isn't delightful and charming in its way, but odds are those in the market in 2009 have already figured something out. And with the pace of technology, what was an ideal solution in 2009 may not even still be around today, let alone be the better solution.

[trilobyte]

For 2011, I used a Canon Powershot SX210 and my iPhone 4. The SX210 took some great pictures (14megapixels), and I loved having the 14x optical zoom lens. I completely under-utilized the camera (I spent far more time enjoying the moments than trying to play shutterbug), and in retrospect I wish I'd used it to shoot some video as well (it can capture 720p video). It does have mechanical parts (turn it on and the lens 'opens up' etc), but it opens/closes fairly quickly and I was careful not to use it when the dust kicked up. With the iPhone, I switched it to airplane mode when I arrived (which helped on battery life), and brought it with me a few times to play with some of the photo toy apps (Hipstamatic and You've Gotta See This were favorites). Fun stuff, a great 5 megapixel camera with no mechanical parts to worry about, and fairly easy to get results I was happy with (especially during the daytime and up through twilight). It was a total surprise, I hadn't really planned on using a cameraphone on the playa. Next year I'll probably have a few more photo apps to play with.

[teardropper]

I've used this the last two years. I don't think your Panasonic that you ruined was this one. I, too, ruined a couple, probably due to the lens going in and out as you turn it on. This thing is made like the Toughbooks, laptops made for the Army. Waterproof, dustproof, shockproof, and all these are really 'resistant', but for all practicality, it is really tough. Shoots HD movies with Dolby sound, a 12 mp still, a glass lens and a real, 28mm, wide angle. Small, easy to carry so you will have it with you. Uses their battery, a lith ion, so stock up. I have 3, and SD cards. This really is a great little camera, I give it the highest playa survival score...

[Patsh]

just before TTITD, I got a Fujifilm XP, too, and I even had a coupon for about $30 off!
And, yes indeed... it's water/shock/DUST/freeze proof!!

Worked beautifully.

I DO recommend getting familiar with it BEFORE going, because somehow, I managed to lose the first 4 or so days worth of pictures, while trying to figure out something or other. Boo.

Also, for the first picture, write your name(s) and address, and/or playa location... and take a picture of it.
Much easier to get it back if you 'misplace' it!

[BBadger]

My Canon S90 has survived two Burning Mans and is still chugging. I was even using it during dust storms caused by the burns; I can still see some playa dust on the extension tubes. No special case was used other than a belt-case like this. I had thought about getting one of those aquatic camera cases, but with the price of them I'd just rather invest in a new camera. Regardless, I'll bring it next year too.

I love the camera because it has such a good lens for a compact that size, and might upgrade to an S95 or S100 some day mostly because of the better ergonomics. Get an S95 (better ergonomics) via the Canon Refurb program because refurbished cameras are cheaper and often higher quality than new ones because they've been certified by technicians rather than just sold new. Note that it is will cost about $300.