Rugged Smartphone for Photos and Videos

[Klara]

Completely off-leatherwork-topic, but I am running out of forums to ask in: Does anybody have either experience with such phones, or links to websites with neutral, reasonably reliable information about smartphones that are waterproof, dustproof, shockproof (IP69K, Mil-Spec-810) especially regarding their photo and video capabilities? It's not an aspect that is emphasised in the videos I have so far seen on YouTube and of course no manufacturer writes "the camera on this model is shitty, if you want to intercut with videos from a Panasonic Lumix, buy this model instead".

And that's what I want to do: Use the films from the phone, taken on or in the water with my dog, in conjunction with clips from my other cameras. And I want a phone (and not an Olympus Toughy or waterproof Ricoh) because I don't actually have a phone and it might one day be useful to call for help (actually, it is listed as necessary safety equipment for kayaking - so far I am doing without because our lake for practicing is less dangerous than the road that leads to it).

Any and all advice is welcome! 

 

[chuck123wapati]

5 hours ago, Klara said:

Completely off-leatherwork-topic, but I am running out of forums to ask in: Does anybody have either experience with such phones, or links to websites with neutral, reasonably reliable information about smartphones that are waterproof, dustproof, shockproof (IP69K, Mil-Spec-810) especially regarding their photo and video capabilities? It's not an aspect that is emphasised in the videos I have so far seen on YouTube and of course no manufacturer writes "the camera on this model is shitty, if you want to intercut with videos from a Panasonic Lumix, buy this model instead".

And that's what I want to do: Use the films from the phone, taken on or in the water with my dog, in conjunction with clips from my other cameras. And I want a phone (and not an Olympus Toughy or waterproof Ricoh) because I don't actually have a phone and it might one day be useful to call for help (actually, it is listed as necessary safety equipment for kayaking - so far I am doing without because our lake for practicing is less dangerous than the road that leads to it).

Any and all advice is welcome! 

 

yeesh good luck, Found this info it is a start however i would be hesitant to soak a 1000 phone in the lake. ive done a lot of kayaking, my phone goes in two bright orange water proof bags that float and i don't take it out until I'm on dry land lol.

any way these are milspec and as close to water proof as you can get.  https://www.androidauthority.com/mil-std-810g-rating-1017646/

Some day they will make a camera with a phone in it.

[fredk]

You are looking for a unicorn

My #1 son goes through about 9 or 10 phones a year. He buys 2nd hand cheap ones. He breaks BMW cars and sell the parts. He has 3 yards and several workers. The mechs keep a phone on them so he can call or text them at a yard to find out if a certain part is available there. The phones get knocked about, dropped, near welding or metal cutting,  rained & snowed on, photos & videos taken, but the phones don't last very long

[fredk]

After that very negative response from me; I don't think there is any one phone which will meet your needs

I think you need to make some compromises;

Write down in order of preferences what you want. You may have to compromise on water protection. I know there are sealable cases to take smart phones under water and still be usable. You can get mixed rubber covers for phones which will protect them from drops and hard knocks. #1 uses one on a 'tablet' (?), it works well but it doesn't make it weather proof

 

[Handstitched]

2 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

Some day they will make a camera with a phone in it.

I like that  and I like your thinking. Water & electronics just simply  don't mix no matter how well they are sealed, especially if those electronics are needed to  save your life . 

Not sure if I can make any suggestions  to help  Klara  .  So what do mountaineers and ' boaties '  use to keep their life saving  electronics dry & safe ?  

HS

[chuck123wapati]

1 minute ago, Handstitched said:

I like that  and I like your thinking. Water & electronics just simply  don't mix no matter how well they are sealed, especially if those electronics are needed to  save your life . 

Not sure if I can make any suggestions  to help  Klara  .  So what do mountaineers and ' boaties '  use to keep their life saving  electronics dry & safe ?  

HS

two i repeat two regular zip lock sammich bags lol. inside a dry bag. However here there is little to no cell service in our mountains so its kind of moot to tote one along, how did we ever survive? 

[Klara]

16 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

two i repeat two regular zip lock sammich bags lol. inside a dry bag. However here there is little to no cell service in our mountains so its kind of moot to tote one along, how did we ever survive? 

That's been my line of thinking as well. Though cell service is pretty good in France, emergency services are lousy, as I experienced with broken ribs at home. So calling for help might not do much good...

As far as I know the Olympus Toughy has very good reviews. And there's other underwater cameras as well. It shouldn't be impossible to make an underwater phone. Actually, Blackview (the only Chinese manufacturer with an address in France) claim that you can use their phones for underwater photography. They claim...

18 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

i would be hesitant to soak a 1000 phone in the lake. 

I would be hesitant to spend that much in the first place (that's about what I paid to build a complete PC with UPS and monitor...) The phones I am thinking about are around € 200, but I am very aware of the problem mentioned in the article you linked: 810G is a very good idea, but it's only a manufacturer's promise, which might be worth something or not.

Which is why I really would like to see some serious tests, or experiences/reviews by people who actually used the things (instead of unboxing and playing for a few days).

[fredk]

23 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

Some day they will make a camera with a phone in it.

Actually somebody did. Canon.  Nearly 30 years ago. But it cost about £30,000, just for the main body

 

[Handstitched]

20 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

However here there is little to no cell service in our mountains so its kind of moot to tote one along, how did we ever survive? 

Sounds a bit like my area. I can see the tower from my place  a few k's down the road, however, one puff of wind, or a heavy downpour , and it goes off . All we get on our mobile phones when it goes off is, " Emergency calls only".  But....that too goes off .  Not good for our local emergency services. They do have a back up ....land lines.  

teknologee sucks !!!!  

[Burkhardt]

Don't know what the used market is in your part of the world but maybe consider a older GoPro and upload from the memory card to a not so waterproof phone.

[Klara]

I have a GoPro clone, but hardly ever use it because I don't like it's pictures. Whereas a lot of people say that smartphones make great pictures and have killed the compact camera market. So I want to try one.