Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS2 Rugged Camera: The Clumsy Photographer's Friend Could Be the Best in Class

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS2 Rugged Camera: The Clumsy Photographer's Friend Could Be the Best in Class

Rugged cameras aren't just for mountain climbers; Panasonic's excellent-looking TS2 point-and-shoot would be a good choice for sedentary folks like myself who simply drop shit all the time. It also features HD video recording and, no lie, a 'happy mode.'

Panasonic's introducing three new cameras today, the most interesting of which is the TS2, so let's start there. The TS2 is a 14.1MP update to the TS1, and in terms of ruggedness, it's waterproof to 10 meters—three times more than its predecessor—shockproof to two meters (which Panasonic oddly finds equal to ten feet—it's not, I'm pretty sure), dustproof, and able to withstand temperatures as low as 14° F (the previous was only to 32). It's got the usual array of autofocus, face recognition, image stabilizer and a 6x optical zoom, but what I really like is the 'happy mode':

Happy Mode – New Scene mode that optimizes color, saturation and brightness to make both photo and video more vivid and true to the color the users remember when they took it.

The TS2's pricing and release date are, annoyingly, still to be announced. But the camera improves the specs we found lacking in the original, so this could be the best rugged camera out there.

(Via Gizmodo: Cameras.)