I used to work in the camera industry... its been a couple of years, so maybe take what I say as a grain of salt.
If you want it to take photos too, don't bother with the camcorders. Their sensors and lenses just aren't designed to take high quality pictures. The resolution of a high def video isn't close to the resolution of even a 2 megapixel photo.
Off the top of my mind, the top brands for waterproof cameras are Panasonic, Olympus, Fuji and Pentax. I'm not a fan of Pentax cameras, their picture quality wasn't very good compared to the competition and I had bad experiences with their build quality. Fuji is decent if you're looking for something in a lower price point. Olympus is tried and true, they've been in the waterproof camera segment for longer and imo have some of the more robust waterproof cameras. I carry an Olympus camera myself. Panasonic is relatively new compared to Olympus, but IMO have really nice picture quality, good build quality, and good video quality. However, you will pay for it, last time I saw, they weren't cheap. When my Olympus camera dies, I'll be giving Panasonic a serious look.
Another thing, keep in mind the picture quality of a waterproof point and shoot will never be as good as a dedicated point and shoot camera. They're built for robustness, not picture quality.
If you have any models in mind, post it up, I'd be happy to help you out some more. I may not be in the industry anymore, but I still have a few connections.
__________________
Humorous links removed because the best guide's feelings got hurt  Ironic?
|
Linear Mode
