Do you need a lifeproof camera?

I don't know about you, but I've destroyed a few cameras. They've all been digital cameras and that tells you my victims all succumbed in the past ten years. There's one thing all these cameras had in common, they belonged to my wife.  

Sure, I had plenty of opportunities to drop cameras at work, but that only happened once and it bounced just fine. So what's the difference? The small, convenient cameras just aren't has rugged as the bulky and heavy DSLRs I haul around for the University.

Fortunately, for anyone who has dropped and killed yet another compact digital camera, there is a new breed of camera in town--lifeproof. It's not a brand name, not yet, but it is a classification that is catching on.

What makes them lifeproof? Well, according to some specs, you can drop them from a height of 7 feet at least three times without harm. What happens after that? I don't know. They are waterproof to a depth of 10 feet for up to an hour. That means you have time to unknowingly knock it into the swimming pool, go in the house, discover you left the camera outside, go outside to hunt for it, finally notice it in the pool, panic, then jump in and get the camera. Or you can take it to Hawaii and go snorkeling. 

These cameras are also dustproof. If you happen to work or play in dirt-filled environments, having a digital camera that can be right there with you is a big deal. And if you are prone to leave your camera in the refrigerator or freezer, these will handle the cold down to 14 degrees F. 

Lifeproof cameras are small which means they'll travel a lot compared to the big DSLR blobs that tend to stay home more and more these days. The new cameras are around 12MP and cost between $150-400. 

Olympus has their Tough Series of cameras. FujiFilm has their XP series. Casio has the EXLIM Ex-G1

My daughter has one of these lifeproof cameras. It replaced the camera I bought her last year as she went off to college...and left it in the rain.  My wife will have one soon, sometime after I finish off her current camera that still works if you hit it just right. 

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