Nikon Coolpix AW130 Shock & Waterproof GPS Digital Camera (Orange) - International Version

The build appears quite robust, about twice the weight of my Sony Cyber Shot. To quote Arnold Schwarzenegger, "Weight is a sign of reliability."I also like that the lens is recessed fairly deeply within a bezel, which should provide a lot of protection. I've seen older Olympus models with a moving lens cover, and I've seen a lot of them which are broken.... All it takes is enough brackish water or a little dirt to jamb a moving lens cover so I'm glad Nikon chose to recess the lens instead of covering it.So far I've only used it once, but I'm quite pleased at the price. I used it on an 8 mile kayak trip with class II and III rapids in 40F water without any troubles. Considering that it was quite overcast, providing poor lighting, I was impressed with the quality of the pictures it took as well (see the attached picture). I apologize for the blurry smudges, that is user error, not product fault.... I do need to remember to blow droplets off the lens before taking pictures.After the initial setup, power on to taking pictures is less than a second. This is a major improvement over all other cameras I have owned or used in the past. This means that you can conserve your batteries and not watch that bird fly away while your camera is booting up.I had noticed that reviews on this camera and similar camera have around a 10% catastrophic failure rating due to water infiltration. Considering that when they fail like this, they seem to fail within the first month of use, it makes me think either user error or damaged gasket.Something I noticed was that there is a red mark on top of the battery door that one needs to pay attention... You can actually get the door to latch while this marking is still partially exposed! You must make sure that you press the door in hard enough while you are latching it to fully obscure this marking if you want reliable waterproofing. People not doing so may account for the majority of the aforementioned 10%.The battery life is impressive. I used this camera for half of a day, taking pictures and videos for almost the entire time, and the battery indicator still showed the battery fully charged. Considering that it was only 40F outside and it was getting splashed continuously by water that was 40F (at the most), keep in mind that low temperatures decrease battery output, I consider it impressive.Before I bought this camera, I was torn between the Nikon AW130 (this model) and the Olympus TG-860. They are both comparable as far as their specifications and I had dealt with Olympus cameras in the past. The deciding factor was that I'd seen many reviews stating how horrible Olympus customer support tends to be while Nikon tends to be quite friendly. Normally, I buy products assuming the warranty is worthless, but when dealing with a $230 camera with a 10% failure rate I did take it into consideration.The real test will be when I take this camera on my annual trip to Lake Superior for kayaking, camping, and snorkeling... Bad weather, rough water, and free diving... I may post another review afterward.A word of caution to anyone wanting an indestructible camera... This thing may be a beast, but it has moving parts so it can fail. I'd seen a lot of reviews where people ONLY brought ONE CAMERA and then complained that it failed during their trip. Bring two cameras, or if you are like me, bring three or four. They don't all have to be new, top-notch cameras either. My Sony is an older 12MP model that I bought for $1, add a sandwich bag and it is waterproof enough for kayaking and maybe an accidental dip although I wouldn't intentionally submerge it. It gives me a backup if I need it and is insignificant when packed in a hold on my sea kayak.

I have been very happy with this camera. There are a few trade-offs compared to a regular point-and-shoot, but fewer than with any other ruggedized camera that I've owned. It is the same body as the AW120 with some improvements such as a little better low light performance.Pros:-- Very good picture quality.-- Excellent and fast autofocus. Auto face detection which is nice.-- Easy to use.-- Excellent low light performance.-- Very solidly built. Survived a tumble down a lava rock slope that would have broken a regular camera.-- Has a depth/altimeter gauge that is on the main display. GPS built in.-- Multiple modes (like pet mode for taking action shots of your dog) but honestly you'll leave it in automatic 90% of the time.Cons:-- To charge it you have to plug the microUSB cable (connected to the charger or computer) into the charging port in the batter compartment. The means the O-rings are sitting exposed to dust, cat fur, etc.. Since you rely on these O-rings being intact and clean to keep for the waterproof seal this isn't ideal. I ultimately ordered a separate battery charger.-- The setting on the flash is either auto or no flash (in the automatic mode). You can force the flash to fire (to fill in darker areas of the scene) in most of the other modes like portrait.-- It only comes with a regular "land" strap. If you are taking it into water of significant depth recommend you get a float strap.Comparing the AW130 to the AW120: The AW130 is a relatively minor upgrade to the AW120 (which is being discontinued). Both cameras have 16 megapixels effective resolution, 5x optical zoom, optical image stabilization, max aperture f2.8, max shutter speed of 1/4000 sec, 3” screen with the same resolution. The improvements in the AW130 are:-- Better low light performance (ISO 125-6400, compared with AW120 ISO 125-1600)-- Slightly longer battery life (370 shots vs 350)-- Timelapse recording (but when are you really going to use this)