I called Pentax and asked specifically about using it the 33WR for kayaking
in sal****er and they said it was NOT within the design specs. According to
Pentax it will probably be OK, but they won't garauntee it.

Michael Daly wrote:

In fact, I wish that I could afford a good 10x zoom digital with
waterproof housing. Until then, I make do with an older 2Mp camera
with 3x zoom.

The Pentax 33WR really lowers the entry price, because previously an
underwater housing cost almost $100, so a good digicam with housing
set you back about $500. Although it can't really be used for scuba
or skin diving, the 33WR costs only $350.

The 33WR is rated JIS grade 7 for waterproofness. According to some
statements on the web, the Pentax WR-90 (an early kayaker favorite)
rated only grade 5, and the Pentax WR-105 rates level 6.

Olympus makes no claims that I can find for water resistance of the
Stylus/Mju 300 and 400. Also I compared several sample photos on
steves-digicam.com and it seems like the 33WR images were sharper
than Stylus 300 images in the corners, and comparable in the center.

Eric Johnson wrote:
I called Pentax and asked specifically about using it the 33WR for
kayaking in sal****er and they said it was NOT within the design specs.
According to Pentax it will probably be OK, but they won't garauntee it.

Several people I know used the Pentax WR-90 for sea kayaking. Provided
they didn't zoom it underwater, and washed it off upon returning, their
cameras survived many trips.

George Gralund wrote:
I'm going to paddle with the whales next summer around Tadoussac in
Quebec and would like a good, waterproof camera (preferably digital)
to take along. Any recommendations?

One of the best combinations available currently is one of the Canon
Powershot "S" series cameras (S30, S40, S45, S50) combined with the
waterproof housing made specifically for them. They aren't cheap
($400-$600 for the combo if you shop around), but the results are
excellent. I bought my girlfriend the S50 and housing and we've been
having a blast with it. The still shots are high quality and the movie
mode is really nice for training sessions and capturing action on the
water. Just be sure to buy a 256 MB or larger Compact Flash card for the
camera.


--
Regards

Brian

Bill,
Glad to hear that you know people using the 33wr because I was seriously
looking at it, but was afraid of wrecking it. Couldn't see dropping the
money for a good camera and the waterproof housing when my ElphSport takes
very nice pictures. The 33wr does lower the entry cost a good amount.

Eric Johnson wrote:

Glad to hear that you know people using the 33wr because I was seriously
looking at it, but was afraid of wrecking it. Couldn't see dropping the
money for a good camera and the waterproof housing when my ElphSport takes
very nice pictures. The 33wr does lower the entry cost a good amount.

I do *not* know anybody using the 33WR, which only began appearing in stores
a short time ago. Sorry if I was unclear. My point was just that Pentax
has been king of waterproof cameras since Nikon abandoned the ActionTouch.
Several people I know have ruined Canon Stylus/Mju cameras, also touted as
"weather-resistant", by dropping them in the water. They are definitely not
as waterproof as Pentax P&S models. So given the additional class 7 rating,
you can probably rest assured that the 33WR will work for kayaking.

Glad to hear that you know people using the 33wr because I was seriously
looking at it, but was afraid of wrecking it. Couldn't see dropping the
money for a good camera and the waterproof housing when my ElphSport takes
very nice pictures. The 33wr does lower the entry cost a good amount.

I do *not* know anybody using the 33WR, which only began appearing in stores
a short time ago. Sorry if I was unclear. My point was just that Pentax
has been king of waterproof cameras since Nikon abandoned the ActionTouch.
Several people I know have ruined Canon Stylus/Mju cameras, also touted as
"weather-resistant", by dropping them in the water. They are definitely not
as waterproof as Pentax P&S models. So given the additional class 7 rating,
you can probably rest assured that the 33WR will work for kayaking.

What is the 33WR? I have the 105WR and like it. The zoom range is 35-105. It is
an excellent camera for kayaking.
Lynn

LLutton wrote:

What is the 33WR? I have the 105WR and like it. The zoom range is 35-105.
It is an excellent camera for kayaking.

Isn't the 105WR's zoom range 38-105? The Optio 33WR is a digital camera
with zoom range of 5.7-16mm, equivalent to 37-104mm on your camera.

Specs are good, and results look very good, but with the included memory
you can fit only 7 images of biggest size 2048x1536 and highest quality,
or 11 images if you go for 1600x1200. For about $35 you can get a 64MB
SD memory card, 4x as large, to hold 28 or 44 such images.

The Optio 33WR weighs 208 grams vs 360 grams for the film-based 105WR.
The 33WR is an ugly square box, not very deep, with rubberized corners.
It takes CR-V3 lithium battery, or alternately 2 standard AAs, which is
about as good as it gets nowadays (AA batteries will be around forever,
and NiMH rechargeables are available). Pentax claims "up to" 450 shots
using the CR-V3 lithium battery, but I could find no independent test.

It takes only 2.5 seconds to turn on, but 2.3 seconds between shots,
although there is a continuous shooting mode for 6 frames in 5 seconds.
Shutter lag is a long 6/10-9/10 second, or 2/10 second if prefocused.
The weakest point for durability is probably the LCD. I'm not certain
how easy it is to wipe fog or splash droplets off the tiny lens.

Isn't the 105WR's zoom range 38-105?

It probably is. I was being lazy and just guessed at the zoom on the low end.
Sorry.

The Optio 33WR is a digital camera
with zoom range of 5.7-16mm, equivalent to 37-104mm on your camera.

Sounds pretty good. I wonder what the 33 stands for? Neither the digital or 35
equiv.
Lynn

I recently got a Pentax Optio 33WR to replace my 105WR. I forgot I had it
in my PFD pocket last week and rolled with it - no problem. Looks like it
is going to do exactly what I wanted - i.e. replace the 105WR with digital.
Pics at http://www.fastq.com/~jrschroeder/bl...004/index.html were all
taken with it then knocked down to size for the web without any other
tweeking.




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I recently got a Pentax Optio 33WR to replace my 105WR. I forgot I had it
in my PFD pocket last week and rolled with it - no problem. Looks like it
is going to do exactly what I wanted - i.e. replace the 105WR with digital.
Pics at http://www.fastq.com/~jrschroeder/bl...004/index.html were all
taken with it then knocked down to size for the web without any other
tweeking.

Good pictures, thanks,
Lynn