In terms of water proof, shock proof, everything proof nothing beats a Pelican case.  A bit bulky and heavy but as long as your camera is in the case you know it is completely protected.  I can keep the Pelican case right on the floor of the canoe by my feet for easy access and never have to worry about bilge water etc. damaging my camera.

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Given the quality of the images you can now get with waterproof point-and-shoots, I just can't see taking my DSLR on wilderness trips. My DSLR is old and I just bought a Nikon, (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links). The point and shoot has 4 time the resolution of my "good" camera.  The big downside of the Nikon is it has no viewfinder, just the LCD.

azalea wrote on Jan 19^th, 2015 at 8:09pm:


Dumped my boat at West lake on a solo.......ruined my Cannon SLR which was supposedly in a "dry bag" which I didn't seal properly and it put a big damper (no pun intended) on the whole trip.

Enter in Panasonic Lumix which I wear right on my hip, always available, waterproof and shockproof. Throw in an extra battery and I'm good to go. Zoom is a bit limited but that just means I need to get close......edit on the computer and its fine for the casual observer. 

Of course if photography is the emphasis it wouldn't replace proper equipment. But what I have found is if the camera is neatly tucked away then the pic is generally not taken.

When asked what camera do you get the best pictures with DD responded “The one I carry in my shirt pocket”.  That rang home with me so I wanted to have my next camera fit in my shirt pocket but it must be able to survive if I go for a swim.  I purchased a DMC-ZS40 (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)  . It get pictures of things my eyes cant see.  I use it as binoculars with stabilization. Look at the options that thing has (view finder, X30 optical zoom, stabilization, and much more).  I put it in a SeaToSummit 1L DrySack.  I roll the top down and clip it around the camera for extra padding.  It then fits in my shirt pocket. I have gone swimming 2 times and been caught in the rain many times and never got a drop of water on the camera while in the dry sack. I keep my big camera dry by putting it in the closet at home.

I keep my DSLR inside a ziplock in a soft Lowe case that attaches to the thwart in front of me. I have a silnylon dry bag that I can put the whole the case in on rainy days. Not overwhelming protection, but the camera is easy to access when the unexpected encounter occurs.