Hello all,

I know the waterproof camera thing has come up a lot, but these two cameras are truly new- in fact they are not yet even available, so I thought I'd throw this out and get some help making a decision and I don't think it's "beating a dead horse" since these are new to the scene.

I was anxiously awaiting the street date of the new Pentax Optio W90 that I recently posted when suddenly I learn that Lumix has a new underwater camera- the TS2. The "land version" of the Lumix takes amazing pics. It's got a Leica lens, and I have shot Leicas since the film days starting with my very first camera- an old M3 I inherited from my great uncle, and later a Leica R4. Nothing beats the color separation of Leica optics.

Both cameras are rugged and waterproof. From my research the difference seems to be the Lumix has a bit better waterproof rating (which I'm not really sure if those ratings are accurate and evenly standardized) and 14 megapixels versus 12 for the Pentax. The Pentax on the other hand has an awesome 1cm focusing capability with a macro led light next to the lens for close focusing. I like that. The Optio has a bit longer focal length (equivalent in 35mm of 140 versus 128 for the Lumix.) However, the lumix has better resolution so I could crop the picture and probably get the same effective zoom without loss of quality in comparison. The Lumix also has optical image stabilization where the Pentax has digital.

Both cameras seem to be equal on the video capability which is a very critical factor in my decision because I want to shoot video of surfing, "wave ramming" and document big swells as well as land-based stuff. I figure with these two cameras I don't really need to go out and buy a dedicated video camera. I basically just need 30 minute capability for those "Hey y'all, watch this" moments. :)

So- basically both seem to be excellent. I have tried the Optio W10 and the Lumix non-waterproof. Both took excellent pictures. I think I'm safe with either of their newer waterproof cameras. So... here's the two sites:

http://www.panasonic.net/avc/lumix/compact/ts2_ft2/index.html

http://www.pentaximaging.com/digital-camera/Optio_W90_Black/

Both cameras come out in April. Does anyone have experience with their current counterparts, the Pentax Optio W80 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1 ? OR- anyone want to help me decide which to buy just based on the features. Maybe you guys will pick out a pro or con that I haven't thought of. I have a professional land camera (Nikon D80) so this camera is strictly for wet outdoors stuff, for video, and for closeups. I find that the little pocket cams with their inherent better depth of field are often better than big cameras for close-up stuff, excepting mega-buck dedicated macro lenses. Pentax seems to win on close-up but nothing beats a Leica lens and Lumix still gives me 5cm focusing and better resolution. Okay- enough... your thoughts?