Panasonic DMC-FT1 rugged camera
 

I just came across a new camera from Panasonic: DMC-FT1. Waterproof, dustproof, shockproof, 12megapixel, 4.7 optical zoom, HD video, and it fits in my jacket.

Can be sourced for around 350€ which isn't too bad either considering the specs.

Sounds pretty darn good really. It is so new that even dpreview.com does not have a review. Any experiences with it already here?

DMC-TS1S - Lumix Digital Cameras - Shop and Compare at Panasonic

This camera looks awesome! Perfect for my kind of videos (YouTube - Motorcycle VLogging Camera Setup). Will be watching this and looking for reviews myself.

Some reviews I found:

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT1, digital cameras, digital photography, photography, digital slr, camera recommendation, price comparison, photographic companies, camera companies, digital camera best prices,

Review voor Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FT1 - goodgearguide.com.au

Review voor Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FT1 - cnet.com.au

I wonder how it compares to the TZ series of Panasonic, which has been an overlanders favourite for some time now.

Right... I took the plunge and bought this little camera :cool4:

Pretty happy with my purchase I must say. I totally love the ruggedness of this thing while it still has the dimensions and looks of a normal camera. It is indeed fully waterproof, as this video I took shows: YouTube - Panasonic DMC-FT1 underwater test

Youtube cripples the video quite badly. Select the "HD" option to get an idea of the quality. The actual quality is true DVD (or should I say Bluray?) quality. In HD mode it records at 1280 x 720 at 50fps in the AVCHD codec. Such quality comes at a price ofcourse, it eats 100Mb a minute at this rate. The camera has a built-in limit of 15minutes for each video clip. Something to do with EU regulations :rolleyes2:.

Here is another clip taken whilst riding: YouTube - Ballon d'Alsace onboard KTM 990 Adventure . I mounted the camera on the windshield with a gorillapod. Bad idea as it creates too much vibration in the image.

This is ofcourse primarily a photo camera. It does quite a good job at it at first sight. Limited manual settings to change, but the "Intelligent Auto" mode does a very good job. Point-and-shoot... . Here are some sample pictures:

http://radiobaobab.be/assets/etogal/...800x600%5D.jpg

http://radiobaobab.be/assets/etogal/...640x480%5D.jpg

And here is how the camera looks like after being mounted on the bike:

http://radiobaobab.be/assets/etogal/...800x600%5D.jpg

I just washed the camera off with water. Really nice to be able to do that. Also no worries when using the camera in dusty/sandy conditions.

At first I wanted to buy the camera in nifty (ktm) Orange but it was not on stock so I went for the dull looking silver. It really looks like a very ordinary, cheap, one-in-a-dozen camera. When travelling that is a good thing!

This does not replace a proper (slr) camera with proper zoom. But for the quick and discrete shot on-the-go this is perfect.

Thanks for the video uploads and review.

This rugged camera seems perfect for the kind of harsh environments that comes with touring. I'm going to pick up one of these before my trip.