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Tough digital camera reviews

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Last updated: 12 May 2016
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If you want a travel camera that can cope with some rough treatment, you need to look out for a tough camera. All the models on this test were designed to be rugged, with added protection for being dropped – and most have the ability to survive a dunk in the water. Our buying guide covers what to look for in a digital camera, and how we test explains how we get our results.

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Our test covers a dozen tough digital cameras.

Our expert testers give every camera a thorough workout to help find the models that:

  • are best at taking strong quality images
  • are best at taking quality videos
  • are easiest to use
  • provide the best level of protection in the water and environment.

Our interactive comparison tool helps you find out which digital cameras are dust and water resistant. Our Recommended list will help you see quickly which cameras come out on top.

Matthew Steen
By Denis Gallagher
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    Prices are recommended retail, as provided by the manufacturer. When this information is not available the price is taken from an average from major bricks and mortar retailers. In either case you should be able to do substantially better by shopping around.

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    Weight (g)

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    • Good points
    • Bad points
    • Overall score
    • Image quality score
    • Ease of use score
    • Monitor score
    • Movie quality score
    • Flash score
    • Start up time (sec)
    • Shutter delay 1m (sec)
    • Shutter delay 8.5m (sec)
    • Price
    • Brand
    • Model
    • Camera type
    • Zoom range
    • Lens factor
    • Minimum aperture range (f-stops)
    • Sensor type
    • Effective resolution (megapixels)
    • Dimensions (mm, W x H x D)
    • Weight (g)
    • Tripod socket
    • Claim for water resistance
    • GPS tagging
    • Manual white balance
    • Full manual mode
    • Min shutter speed (sec)
    • Max shutter speed (sec)
    • Preselect shutter speed fixed
    • Preselect aperture
    • Priority mode aperture
    • ISO rating
    • HDR function
    • Number of selectable exposure programs
    • Exposure bracketing
    • Time lapse
    • Panorama (panning)
    • Image stabilisation (physical)
    • Image stabilisation (electronic)
    • Closest focus tele (m)
    • Face detection
    • Focus tracking
    • Focus bracketing
    • Monitor size (mm)
    • Monitor ratio
    • Touchscreen
    • Monitor histogram
    • Video ratios supported
    • Video format
    • Manual white balance video
    • Preselection shutter speed video
    • Preselection of aperture video
    • Number of selectable exposure programs video
    • Video face detection
    • Video spot focus
    • Video focus tracking
    • Time lapse setting
    • Slow motion setting
    • Built-in speaker
    • Audio recording format
    • Can add a comment to a still image
    • Memory card type
    • Internal memory (MB)
    • Image ratios supported
    • Flash type
    • HDMI connection
    • wifi wlan connection
    • Charge via USB
    • Charge via mains
    • Separate battery holder
    • Image editing software
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