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A tough choice

TOKYO — As a photojournalist, I need to rely on my instincts quite a lot because newsmakers may be surrounded by a throng so thick I can only raise my trusty camera well above my head to get a bird’s eye view of the situation. More often than not, I get a very uninteresting palette of pates — in differing degrees of cover.

Nikon’s tough Coolpix AW110 camera. Photo: Nikon

Nikon’s tough Coolpix AW110 camera. Photo: Nikon

TOKYO — As a photojournalist, I need to rely on my instincts quite a lot because newsmakers may be surrounded by a throng so thick I can only raise my trusty camera well above my head to get a bird’s eye view of the situation. More often than not, I get a very uninteresting palette of pates — in differing degrees of cover.

There is always the fear of dropping my camera — or worse, having my lens knocked clean off the housing to disappear in the stampede. Fortunately, having been in the trade a number of years, I have had enough practice in pushing off the melee, keeping my angle sharp and getting the picture of the day.

If the showing at this year’s international comprehensive camera and photo imaging show, CP+, in Tokyo is anything to go by, quite a lot of shutterbugs face similar problems to mine. The CP+ offers the latest the photographic industry has to offer and the Nikon Coolpix AW110 and AW110S stood out for me.

The successors to Nikon’s first tough, waterproof and coldproof cameras, the AW100 and AW100S, they are capable of diving up to 18m, survive falls from up to approximately 2m and withstand cold temperatures of approximately −10°C, according to the press release.

Of course, I did not get a chance to put them through those extreme conditions in Tokyo. But it seems unlikely Nikon would stake its stalwart reputation if it cannot back up its claims.

Besides the tough exterior, the AW110 and AW110S boast great internal workings to put smiles on photographers’ faces.

The 16-megapixel cameras — running on a backside illumination CMOS sensor — have a 5x optical zoom NIKKOR lens and an altimeter, depth gauge and atmospheric pressure display with recording function so you know exactly how high or deep you were when you took that award-winning shot.

The wireless function lets you transfer pictures from camera to the cloud, social media or back-up computer in a jiffy so you can continue your shooting spree.

Not to be outdone, Pentax revealed its WG-3 GPS camera. It is waterproof up to 14m, shockproof at 2m and coldproof to −10°C.

It does offer one more “-proof” over Nikon’s offerings: It is crushproof for up to 100kgf. I have not yet figured out why photographers need that, but I am sure Pentax has done its due diligence. As the name suggests, the camera also has a global positioning system so you can pinpoint where you shot your pictures.

Panasonic offered the DMC-FT5 camera. It has a rugged body for outdoor photography, is dustproof, waterproof down to 13m, shockproof up to 2m, freezeproof down to −10°C, and pressure-resistant up to 100kgf.

It also supports AVCHD Progressive full HD video recording and is equipped with an advanced underwater mode.

Casual shutterbugs may want to check out the DMC-FT25, which Panasonic says is “for leisure or everyday use that you can enjoy without worrying about water or impact. It is dustproof, waterproof down to 7m, shockproof up to 1.5m, freezeproof down to −10°C. And it has an advanced underwater mode”.

With these offerings at hand, the extreme photographer will be spoilt for choice.

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