Summer Travel Gear: A Waterproof Camera

Beach vacations, lake getaways, city trips with summer thunderstorms -- there are some trips that require a waterproof camera.

Though I've been happy with my three-year-old Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP camera, I recently tested out the Samsung W300 ($139, www.amazon.com) waterproof pocket camcorder while traveling in Croatia.

When swimming in the Adriatic Sea, I was grateful to leave my DSLR in the hotel room and rely on the camcorder for video footage and surprisingly great still photos.

The Gist: The Samsung W300 camcorder is slightly smaller than an iPhone with a sturdy rubber grip. The buttons were easy to use even with wet fingers. Though my video footage out in the water had some wind noise, the camcorder shot solid HD video. The zoom was a bit jerky but I'm sure my unsteady hands didn't help.



The Samsung W300 is listed as waterproof to about 16 feet but I didn't test it beyond a few feet. It worked just as well in saltwater as in the pool -- no filmy residue built up on the lens. The underwater still photos were pretty clear considering it's technically a camcorder, not a regular point-and-shoot camera. Best of all, I was able to shoot about 50 minutes' worth of video over 10 days before the battery finally died. (I wasn't traveling with my laptop but I could've easily charged it via USB.)

Bottom line? This camcorder is so much more sophisticated than my waterproof Fujifilm point-and-shoot camera and much sleeker than the old FlipCams I have stuffed in a drawer. I was just sorry to have to return the camcorder to Samsung.

Photos & Video by Amy Chen