The Stylus Epic is actually more waterproof than I would have imagined.
I had mine in my shirt pocket one day after a torrential rainfall. It
was late fall and the grid-like storm drain at the end of my driveway
had become clogged with leaves. With no where to go, water began to
build up very quickly and had already formed a huge 4 or 5" deep puddle
over the drain which extended into the street and up my driveway. It
was getting deeper by the minute and I had visions of it flowing into
the garage before long.
A bit panicky, I ran out to the drain and started tearing out wads of
leaves with my hands. It didn't take long before the water started
flowing into the drain and had actually formed a big, swirling
whirlpool. As I reached down to grab another handful of leaves the
Stylus Epic fell out of my pocket into the whirlpool and began swirling
around as well. Now more panic ensued. As long as it was in a
horizontal position it was too big to fit through the grid of the drain.
But if it got upended it would go through easily. I madly groped
around trying to catch it for what seemed like a very long time. But it
was probably only 3-4 seconds before I managed to rescue it.
Big surprise. Absolutely no water inside the film chamber and only a
couple small drops had gotten through the sliding cover and onto the
lens. I'm not sure about the battery chamber but I don't recall finding
water in there either. I left it open for several days in a warm spot
to dry out in case any water had gotten into places I couldn't see. The
camera has continued to function perfectly since then.
That Stylus, four rolls of film, a spare battery and a little fanny pack
are the only photographic gear I took on the last family outing to
Disney World.
Moose wrote:
> If you want film, compact and would be happy with a 35 mm fixed lens,
> the previous suggestion of XA or Stylus Epic sounds good to me. Both
> have fast, f2.8 lenses. The stylus isn't immersion proof, but is rain
> proof. Check out the new double zip zip lock freezer bags for water
> protection.
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