Top of the line photo quality and underwater usability make the D10 a favorite in the Women’s Adventure camera test. This 12.2 megapixel camera has a traditional 3x 35-105 mm equivalent lens design and was a top performer in terms of straight-up image quality. It provided the best color and detail of all the cameras in our test—including pleasing light balance with the indoor flash. Its aqua-blue faceplate and bulbous shape hint at its other winning quality: it’s waterproof down to 33 feet—23 feet more than any other camera in the test—which also makes it the best choice for water-centric vacations.
Despite non-traditional placement, the large buttons are easy to operate and the classic Canon menu structure offers intuitive access to the most-used manual functions. On the downsides: The flash was slow and we missed shots because of the delay. Also, the movie mode seemed like an afterthought, it’s only accessible through the main menu screen and resolution is limited to 640×480 pixels.
On the plus side, the video has great color saturation and smoothness and this camera also made the best macro shot of the ones we tested. The camera’s stand-out feature is definitely its design—it’s nearly 2 inches thick. Though that feature lost it points among some Women’s Adventure testers who preferred a slim, pocket-able shape, others liked the quirky look. This camera is a great choice for high image quality in an extremely well-made, waterproof camera. $330; www.canon.com
