SUVs without compromise: TOP 5 all-protective cameras

The digital duster in protective gear from the Japanese company Panasonic is aimed at active users who prefer to spend their free time not lying on the couch, but in all kinds of travel or extreme outings into nature.

The "baby" with dimensions of 104x58x20 mm and a weight of a little more than 140 g is resistant to moisture and dust, can shoot underwater, diving to a depth of 8 m, does not lose its performance in the cold and can withstand falling to the ground from a height of one and a half metres. Ie, it provides a complete "gentleman's kit" to protect electronic components from external influences.

With the hardware of the Panasonic DMC-FT30, things are more modest, but the main emphasis in the compact is on security, and not on advanced photo capabilities. Inside the camera there is a small sensor, typical for a detachment of state employees, with a physical size of 1/2.3" and a resolution of 16.1 MP. Complements the overall picture of an object with a 4x optical approximation (25-100 mm in the equivalent of a full frame), which is slightly dark — the maximum value of its aperture is rigidly tied to the focal length and "floats" in the range from f/3.9 at the short end to f/5.7 in the zoom position.

The quality of the images obtained is quite consistent with the democratic cost of the compact — you can count on a good result when shooting in conditions of sufficiently good illumination. With a decrease in the amount of light in the images, noise artifacts begin to actively breed. However, in the dark, a flash with an effective range of "puff" up to 4.4 m comes to the photographer's aid. It is also worth bearing in mind that at focal lengths close to the maximum, the edges of the frame are often blurred.

The video on the camera is written in HD resolution (1280x720 pixels), and the stabilizer Mega O.I.S. supplied to the compact gives it clarity of movement, but the model lacks support for photographing in the "raw" RAW format, as well as the possibility of setting manual settings when photographing. Instead, the manufacturer introduced a wide range of shooting modes and creative filters into the camera. In order to capture the moments of active recreation, the number of shooting scenarios pre-installed in the Panasonic DMC-FT30 is more than enough.

The GoPro camera with a confident step entered the market of camcorders for active filming at sunset in 2016. Being not the newest "player" in the arena of action cameras, the model has practically no alternatives, since competitors of such a form factor can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Externally, the camera has retained the maximum similarity with the previous generation of the "cube" in the face of GoPro HERO4 Session . The front part of its body is entirely given over to an object with a viewing angle of 170°, which is "under the cover" of the protective glass. On the upper edge, one of the control buttons for starting and stopping video recording, as well as a single-line information display showing the main shooting parameters, peacefully coexist. You cannot change them directly from the camera — for these purposes you will need to attract a smartphone connected via Wi-Fi with a pre-installed GoPro application.

In comparison with its predecessor, GoPro HERO5 Session has learned to write 4K videos with a frame rate of 30 fps. In FullHD, the frame rate can be increased to 90 fps, and in HD — up to 120 fps in order to show slow motion. That's just in all these cases, electronic image stabilization is not available to the videographer, since it helps in obtaining a smooth picture when shooting at a frequency of up to 60 fps. In terms of the quality of recording the video sequence, the camcorder is not inferior to its older brother — a top-end camera for active filming GoPro HERO5 .

Adherents of all kinds of activities will be pleased with the main "feature" of the model — water resistance up to 10 m without the use of additional protective devices. And in order not to be distracted by camera control once again, she was "given a ride" to support the execution of voice commands. With all the functions running, Kubik continuously writes videos for 60-70 minutes. (at a maximum resolution of 3840x2160 pixels). In the future, the camera will need to be recharged, because the battery installed in it with a capacity of 1000 mAh is non-removable.

As a bonus, a pair of additional fasteners are attached to the model, which are indispensable attributes of the standard configuration of the camcorder. Being practically weightless (77 g), the camera will not weigh down luggage and will serve as an excellent solution for those types of filming where compactness is extremely important without compromising the quality of video recording.

The JVC GZ-R435 amateur-level video camera seems to be an ordinary device only at first glance, if we talk about its abilities in video shooting. However, you can not stand on ceremony when handling the camera — the model in dust- and moisture-proof design is not afraid of shocks and easily withstands temperature changes.

The "manual" camcorder got a long-range object with 40x optical magnification (40.5-1620 mm) at its disposal. When a digital zoom is connected to the operation, the multiplicity of the approximation increases to 200x, which allows you to see in detail the craters on the surface of the Moon. Shooting at such a powerful zoom requires remarkable hand strength, because at the slightest shift of the camera, the frame will inevitably be spoiled by twitching the picture. The videographer's "iron hands" are an intelligent stabilization system, but it is not a panacea at long-range distances.

In the wide-angle position, the shooting is performed with a maximum aperture of f/1.8, and closer to the long end, the aperture opening is covered to f/6.3. Videos are recorded by the camera in FullHD resolution at a speed of up to 50 fps, in parallel with which two-channel audio is written. In case the flash drive for some reason stayed at home, an internal drive with a capacity of 4 GB becomes a lifesaver. A 3-inch rotary touch display is used for sighting and changing parameters during filming.

The JVC GZ-R435 does not shine with outstanding video quality, but as an intermediate option between a squad of action cameras and camcorders for household needs, the model provides a very decent result at the output. Its quality deteriorates in direct proportion only with a decrease in illumination. In addition, few of the direct rivals of the video camera are ready to offer 5 hours of continuous video recording. And when the energy reserves in the battery are exhausted, it is possible to organize recharging during the video shooting from the Power Bank.

The Olympus TG-5 vandal-proof digital compact is designed to work in the harshest conditions. Models are not afraid of diving to a depth of 15 m, falling from a 2-metre height, the sun and frost (up to -10 °C) thanks to which she survives in those situations where ordinary cameras would have given up long ago and hopelessly.

The camera is available in two colours: unremarkable black and bright red, which makes the camera more noticeable and does not let it get lost when falling during extreme filming. The front lens of the object put into service with the model has a two-layer design, which prevents the optics from fogging up with sudden temperature changes (for example, if you go from a frosty street to a warm house or alternate underwater filming in cool water with the "clicking" of frames on the beach under the scorching rays of the summer sun).

The EFR range of standard Olympus TG-5 optics is 25-100 mm, a floating aperture is also attached to it — f/2.0-4.9. The image through the object falls on a 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor with a resolution of 12 MP. The resolution of the matrix is deliberately made not the highest, so that the camera demonstrates more confident work when shooting at high ISO. In fact, it is possible to get good pictures and videos up to ISO 800, which is a very good achievement for such a small matrix. However, sometimes you can raise the sensitivity value higher, since the RAW support allows you to effectively deal with noise at the post-processing stage of the footage.

"Under the hood" the model has a lot of additional equipment installed: Wi-Fi and GPS modules, an electronic compass, a thermometer and a pressure gauge. The camera also has something to offer in terms of video shooting — it can easily record 4K videos and high-speed shooting in FullHD with a frame rate of up to 120 fps. An image stabilization system has been installed to guard the smoothness of the video sequence.

Focus on sharpness during photo and video shooting is performed at 25 points, however, when working in tracking mode, the camera's autofocus is not very strong. In addition, the owners of the camera blame the low screen resolution — 480x320 pixels is clearly not enough today for a 3-inch diagonal display. Despite these minor flaws, Olympus TG-5 still holds the laurels of the best of all-protected compacts, with which it is not scary to go on any extreme outing.

Panoramic cameras, capturing the entire surrounding reality in the frame, have become a new round of evolution of devices for video recording of the consumer segment. One of the most "pumped up" models in the family of cameras with an all-encompassing viewing angle is the all-protected brainchild of Garmin.

Unlike colleagues in the shop under the number "360", who are mostly sharpened for video bloggers, the VIRB 360 camera is designed for extreme people who will drop the device (accidentally or intentionally), submerge it under water to a depth of 10 m or take pictures on a frosty winter day. The view of the ultra-wide-angle optics on board the device is directed in two opposite directions, and the picture captured in the field of view of the objects is glued into a single 4K video programmatically. Provided that the user "stitches" the image together independently in special software, it is possible to operate with videos in an ultra-high resolution of 5.7K (5760x2880 pixels). In addition, the camera supports live broadcasts on Facebook and YouTube.

A quartet of microphones for recording volume sound is dispersed around the perimeter of the Garmin VIRB 360 case. They can also be used to receive voice commands in English, German, Chinese, Swedish or Japanese. The traditional "tidy" with a trio of push-button controls is located on the upper end of the housing-a bar in close proximity to the LCD display. The latter is used to display the set shooting parameters, the connection status of the gadget and the remaining charge of the battery with a capacity of 1250 mAh, which has enough energy reserves for about an hour of shooting at maximum resolution.

A set of sensors in the arsenal of the model is represented by wireless modules Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC and GPS, as well as a bundle of thermometer, barometer, accelerometer, gyroscope and electronic compass. Moreover, the panoramic camera has acquired support for ANT+ technology. In the absence of other equals, Garmin VIRB 360 holds the laurels of the strongest "all-seeing eye" for extreme tourists and other adherents of an active lifestyle and recreation, together with which, with proper skill, it will be possible to create a lot of cool content.