Nikon Coolpix AW130 Shock & Waterproof GPS Digital Camera (Orange) - International Version

The build appears quite robust, about twice the weight of my Sony Cyber Shot. To quote Arnold Schwarzenegger, "Weight is a sign of reliability." I also like that the lens is recessed fairly deeply within a bezel, which should provide a lot of protection. I've seen older Olympus models with a moving lens cover, and I've seen a lot of them which are broken.... All it takes is enough brackish water or a little dirt to jamb a moving lens cover so I'm glad Nikon chose to recess the lens instead of covering it. So far I've only used it once, but I'm quite pleased at the price. I used it on an 8 mile kayak trip with class II and III rapids in 40F water without any troubles. Considering that it was quite overcast, providing poor lighting, I was impressed with the quality of the pictures it took as well (see the attached picture). I apologize for the blurry smudges, that is user error, not product fault.... I do need to remember to blow droplets off the lens before taking pictures. After the initial setup, power on to taking pictures is less than a second. This is a major improvement over all other cameras I have owned or used in the past. This means that you can conserve your batteries and not watch that bird fly away while your camera is booting up. I had noticed that reviews on this camera and similar camera have around a 10% catastrophic failure rating due to water infiltration. Considering that when they fail like this, they seem to fail within the first month of use, it makes me think either user error or damaged gasket. Something I noticed was that there is a red mark on top of the battery door that one needs to pay attention... You can actually get the door to latch while this marking is still partially exposed! You must make sure that you press the door in hard enough while you are latching it to fully obscure this marking if you want reliable waterproofing. People not doing so may account for the majority of the aforementioned 10%. The battery life is impressive. I used this camera for half of a day, taking pictures and videos for almost the entire time, and the battery indicator still showed the battery fully charged. Considering that it was only 40F outside and it was getting splashed continuously by water that was 40F (at the most), keep in mind that low temperatures decrease battery output, I consider it impressive. Before I bought this camera, I was torn between the Nikon AW130 (this model) and the Olympus TG-860. They are both comparable as far as their specifications and I had dealt with Olympus cameras in the past. The deciding factor was that I'd seen many reviews stating how horrible Olympus customer support tends to be while Nikon tends to be quite friendly. Normally, I buy products assuming the warranty is worthless, but when dealing with a $230 camera with a 10% failure rate I did take it into consideration. The real test will be when I take this camera on my annual trip to Lake Superior for kayaking, camping, and snorkeling... Bad weather, rough water, and free diving... I may post another review afterward. A word of caution to anyone wanting an indestructible camera... This thing may be a beast, but it has moving parts so it can fail. I'd seen a lot of reviews where people ONLY brought ONE CAMERA and then complained that it failed during their trip. Bring two cameras, or if you are like me, bring three or four. They don't all have to be new, top-notch cameras either. My Sony is an older 12MP model that I bought for $1, add a sandwich bag and it is waterproof enough for kayaking and maybe an accidental dip although I wouldn't intentionally submerge it. It gives me a backup if I need it and is insignificant when packed in a hold on my sea kayak.

I have been very happy with this camera. There are a few trade-offs compared to a regular point-and-shoot, but fewer than with any other ruggedized camera that I've owned. It is the same body as the AW120 with some improvements such as a little better low light performance. Pros: -- Very good picture quality. -- Excellent and fast autofocus. Auto face detection which is nice. -- Easy to use. -- Excellent low light performance. -- Very solidly built. Survived a tumble down a lava rock slope that would have broken a regular camera. -- Has a depth/altimeter gauge that is on the main display. GPS built in. -- Multiple modes (like pet mode for taking action shots of your dog) but honestly you'll leave it in automatic 90% of the time. Cons: -- To charge it you have to plug the microUSB cable (connected to the charger or computer) into the charging port in the batter compartment. The means the O-rings are sitting exposed to dust, cat fur, etc.. Since you rely on these O-rings being intact and clean to keep for the waterproof seal this isn't ideal. I ultimately ordered a separate battery charger. -- The setting on the flash is either auto or no flash (in the automatic mode). You can force the flash to fire (to fill in darker areas of the scene) in most of the other modes like portrait. -- It only comes with a regular "land" strap. If you are taking it into water of significant depth recommend you get a float strap. Comparing the AW130 to the AW120: The AW130 is a relatively minor upgrade to the AW120 (which is being discontinued). Both cameras have 16 megapixels effective resolution, 5x optical zoom, optical image stabilization, max aperture f2.8, max shutter speed of 1/4000 sec, 3” screen with the same resolution. The improvements in the AW130 are: -- Better low light performance (ISO 125-6400, compared with AW120 ISO 125-1600) -- Slightly longer battery life (370 shots vs 350) -- Timelapse recording (but when are you really going to use this)

This camera takes very good pictures. Not great but for a waterproof camera, about as good as you can get. I won't go into the benefits of a waterproof camera but for travel and boating, you need one. On a recent trip, the Nikon proved great--in the ocean and poolside. I did not have to worry about the insides getting wet. That said, I did get the aftermarket warranty to cover this camera for 3 years. after that, I will likely get the latest and greatest. PROS: -very good pics -easy to use -wifi transfer of pics worked great for my android smartphone -long lasting batteries CONS: -begs to have silicone cover (see Nikon model) -charges via usb (does not include battery charger) -wifi transfer would not work with my Apple 5C smartphone NOTE: -in humid environments like you see in the tropics, merely opening the camera will expose it to humidity. When you go to use it in cooler water, that humidity is enough to slightly cloud the lens on the inside! Worse still, this is unavoidable because of the USB charging. Even worse, small insects can get into the camera during this period. I found one on the inside of my lens. Nikon needs to provide a battery charger so you do not need to keep the camera open to the elements! OPTIONS: -I would look into the GoPro Hero series as an option. The case is great and seems smaller. Saw a lot of them while traveling and it has many mounting accessories to boot.

I purchased this camera to use on a SCUBA trip. Rated to 100 feet, this is the first camera I've seen that could make the depths I expected for the typical SCUBA diving I'm doing. Getting right to the point: I inserted memory card and battery at the dive shop, 100% dry and in normal temperature and humidity and sealed it carefully. I made my first dive to a maximum of 55 feet in 80 degree water in Tobago. Two very specific issues I needed an underwater SCUBA camera to do and this camera failed both miserably. #1) Actually go underwater to it's rated depth without issues. This camera present fogging/moisture signs on both the rear LCD display and the inside of the lens cover. As the camera is totally sealed there was no way to try to clear this or wipe it away. I put the camera in my room overnight and it cleared. I took it back out and in 3 hours (without even going underwater, simply walking around the resort and near the boat docks) it fogged both the lens and LCD display again. The camera continued to operate but, of course, photos were seriously impacted by a fogged over lens cover. This alone makes the camera useless, I don't know why it wasn't damaged internally (or perhaps it is and would soon fail even worse, I don't know because I'm returning it immediately). #2) My biggest excitement was the camera has a depth sensor and claimed it would adjust it's Automatic White Balance according to depth while using the Underwater Scene. I tried it in that mode as well as various "Auto" modes. I could find NO setting in which the White Balance underwater worked, at all! ALL my photos came out horribly blue. It was as if there was NO WB adjustment at all. I believe out of 200 photos taken I found 2 I could use. This camera is described as an underwater camera but it was incapable of taking usable photos underwater and it "leaked" (or admitted enough moisture to prevent photos from being taken). To be fair, I took photos when everything cleared up on the surface and the camera performed Average. Normal. It took normal quality photos, nothing exceptional at all. The altimeter was constantly losing it's zero requiring recalibration and using the GPS didn't help a great deal, other than to drain the battery quickly. And, while simply walking around with it in my pocket, again, the back LCD screen and front lens cover fogged over (attached photo shows the rear after being in my pocket for 15 minutes walking from my room to dinner, 75 degrees outside, 72 degrees in room - it's MUCH worse after being underwater). I cannot recommend this camera.

I have had a point and shoot digital camera since the first ones came out in the late 1990s. They have progressed from a lowly 3MP to the 16MP that is in this Nikon Coolpix AW130. Although the actual sensor is small compared with my 36MP Nikon D800e, I have found that the image quality is still excellent. I will be using this AW130 as my goto camera to take pics of engineering projects that I work on. I have used a Canon G12 for two years now to capture work pics, but I get tired of having to open and close the LCD back in order to see my capture results. The AW130 has a fixed LCD on the back which eliminates that hassle. The G12 also extends its lens from the camera body in order to capture images. The AW130 lens\zoom is all internal to the camera body. This eliminates the possibility of dust or water from getting into the lens and causing damage. I do a lot of hiking while shooting fine art pics that I sell through a gallery. Some of those locations are remote like the sand dunes in Death Valley, CA. Having a built-in compass and GPS-driven map feature will help me find my way back to my vehicle even in the dark. My wife likes that feature. I have tried the Nikon Wireless Mobile Utility (iOS) app on my iPhone5 to control the camera remotely. I like the feature as well as the ability to download images to the phone or upload images to the Internet. The feature works with my iPad as well and gives me an even larger viewing area. Great new toy opportunities. I am not keen on having a charging cord plugged into the open battery compartment, especially when I leave the camera on a countertop where it could be exposed to water or dust. Thus, I have ordered a Combo Kit Nixxell Battery (2pack) and charger for Nikon EN-EL12, MH-65. That kit will give me an external battery charger as well two spare batteries. Those could come in handy in places like Africa where there is a lot of dust and the need for multiple batteries when out on a shoot. (I use point and shoot sometimes to test composure for my larger Nikon cameras.)

First problem was that the booklet that comes with the camera is short, and leaves much out (in fact, in regard to menus and settings, leaves most info out!). After I logged into Nikon on line to register the purchase, I saw the option to download the camera manual. I figured that it was the same inadequate booklet that came with the camera, but a pleasant surprise was that it was a complete manual, detailing all the things left out in the short 29 page booklet that comes with the camera. This has solved my main initial problem! Now I have a complete manual with detailed instructions. To be fair, Nikon has a sentence in the booklet advising to download the pdf, but it's an easily missed instruction. Camera has lot's of options and flexibility, but a feature I like most is that by setting the camera at "Scene," then when I point it at what I want to shoot, it automatically changes the setting to what it thinks is appropriate. It seems to get it right most of the time, as far as I can see. I point it toward the horizon, and the setting icon automatically changes to the landscape icon, with appropriate settings. Without taking a picture, I swing the camera one way to put a leaf 3 inches in front of the lens, and then it automatically changes the icon to Macro. Same thing for pointing at a person's face, it switches to Portrait. Makes it easy to get the right mode. Pictures look great, and it's easy to use. The Action mode to shake the camera either right/left or up/down to change settings works good, but in picture-taking mode, you still need use a button. For example, you can shake it to switch to video mode, but then you still need to press the action button on the side of the camera to start/stop taking video. Overall, I'm very satisfied.

happy with this purchase, only downside is that it's bulkier than i wanted. i had previously had the sony cybershot T30 (waterproof & drop proof but sleek and small like most point & shoots) for 5yrs, but lost that and had to find a replacement. not a bad option to have the bluetooth to transfer pictures to your phone, but syncing your phone to the camera was a hassle in itself (probably "user error"). the pictures i took were descent, but you can't expect much from a point&shoot compared to a DSLR. the auto settings were great for beginners, but once you start going into the specific settings depending on your scene, they can look better. i was disappointed that when i turn off the flash, then turn off the camera, and turn it right back on, the flash is on as well -didn't save my previous setting. that gets annoying b/c i don't keep my camera on all the time, and i hate using flash, i prefer natural lighting. already took this camera to the philippines and took shots under water of the pools, in the ocean, on the beach, and no problem. just make sure you never open the battery door while the camera is still wet, and always run the camera under faucet water to wash away all the salt/sand so it won't ruin the rubber seals and deteriorate the housing. i was worried that i would scratch the front lens of the camera since there is no cover, just the glass, but the beach hadn't scratched it (the back display screen is another story -that scratches so easily, but that's w/all display screens). i heard the battery doesn't last long, but if you don't have the bluetooth on, constantly connecting/transferring pictures to your phone then the battery lasts.

So far I am very pleased with this camera. Didn't really need a waterproof camera as I already have one of those, but this looks like it might work better if I decided to use it that way, so I can't comment on how it works in the water. I needed a camera more that was shockproof since I have gone through about 3 cameras because they get dropped. So far the pictures have been clear and as far as whether its easy to use, it is a bit more technical than my others or it is just something new and there is a learning curve. In response to those who are worried about dust etc. getting into the battery compartment and compromising the waterproofness, a small brush does come with it, but having used waterproof/underwater cameras for snorkeling before, it is well documented the user needs to brush/air blow out all areas of the camera that need to be opened before taking the camera underwater. My other waterproof cameras have a rubber ring that I silicone to insure a good seal. With this camera you need to be just as conscientious especially when locking up the battery door...it is tricky to do. Keeping it out of the sand is just a "duh" for any camera. I always carry a charged battery with me so I can switch out when the battery dies, which is seems to do faster than my other cameras, so I would certainly get the additional kit that provides additional battery and charger...both car and home. Use care and I am sure there won't be any problems with this camera.

Great camera. Perfect for taking camping!

La camára fué probada en mar y alberca, así como río subterraneos, en todas se obtienen imágenes de gran calidad mientras se tenga la suficiente luz, de no ser así es muy probable que se tengan problemas y salgan las fotos borrosas. La toma de video fué en Full HD, e igual es de gran calidad. El cámara como tal es de gran calidad, se siente sólida y segura. Para actividades acuáticas es muy recomendable el comprar alguna correa que flote.

Al mes y medio de compra, se abrió el cierre de la batería en medio mar. Se oxidó por dentro.

Aunque es point and shot, puede compensarse las exposiciones algunos pasos. El diseño industrial de la cámara es exquisito. La calidad Nikon de siempre y excelente calidad de imágenes. deberían vender una funda que no sea camuflaje, porque rompe con el hermoso diseño de la cámara. Mención especial merece la rapidez con que se enlaza al dispositivo móvil y la velocidad extraordinaria de transmisión de datos de la cámara al iphone 7.

Cómoda y práctica y con la garantía Nikon. Excelente calidad de imagen.