My Panasonic FX8 has taken ill - the display is almost black and I can only discern dark shadows of the world in front of the lens. Sometimes, pressing hard on the upper right conrner of the display brings back the light and colours but only for a while until the camera again succumbs to the digital equivalent of major depression.
My camera dealer told me it would presumably cost more to revive it than to buy a new camera, so I'm thinking about alternatives.
The old camera accompanied me almost everywhere, even when I had my digital SLR with me. In this case, I used the Lumix for Macro shots and for some shots that would have been difficult to take with its big brother (awkward angles...).
The new one should also be small and able to take good macros. An option for more manual interference would be welcome as would be the ability to take raw photos, but this would not be a must.
However, it would be nice if the new camera was at least water resistant and maybe even came with an optional under water case.
I sometimes do Scuba diving and even on a boat tour an water tight camera would be handy (I was completely soaked after a boat trip in Costa Rica only a couple of months ago - it was a wonder that both cameras survived...).
Two compact cameras which at least partly seem to fit the bill are the Pentax 30 W and the Olympus mju 1030 SW.
Has anybody here any experiences with one of these cameras or another model that might fit the above description?
Looking at some tests, both the Olympus and the Pentax seem to have less than brilliant image quality...
Laurenz
