[eye30]

The school holidays are upon us, as is high summer (well it is here in blighty  ), which can only mean one thing - it’s time to hit the beach!

Of course, water and sand are two things that regular compact cameras don’t get along too well with, which is where ‘tough’ compacts come in.

Tough compacts are specifically designed to repel sand and keep water out, usually to a depth of around 10m, which makes them ideal for snorkelling with. In addition, they are usually freezeproofed for use on the ski slopes.

So, if you’re looking for a camera that you can take to the beach and hand to the kids without fearing for its moving parts, a tough camera is for you.

We’ve rounded up five of the latest to see how they compare and to discover what special features they offer. Let’s take a closer look and see which comes out on top.

The ultimate beach-proof cameras - BT

[Lakes]

I thought you were talking about action cams.
i'm thinking about one myself. looking into the Sony as GO PRO a bit pricy & sony battery gives you more user time but, still thinking if you know anything let me know.
cheers

[FatBoy]

I have a compact, shock proof (1 m drop), dust proof, waterproof (to 3 m) camera.  It's a Fuji XP10 which I purchased overseas in 2010.  At the same time, my wife purchased the exact same model here in Australia. 

Fujifilm Finepix XP10 Waterproof/Shockproof Digital Camera - 12.2 Megapixel - Digital Camera Warehouse Australia

We've found ours to be fantastic for what it is designed to do.  We've taken it to the beach, water parks (where it came out of my pocket on a speed slide), snorkelling (the guide took the camera down to about 6 m for a photo, no damage or leaks) and generally around the place.  It doesn't take up much space and you can bash it around a bit.

[Doggie 1]

I reckon the ultimate beach camera to use is someone else's.