I’ve been wanting to get a new compact point-and-shoot camera for a while now, but every time I seem to find one I really like, there is always some absent feature that ruins it all.  To be fair, I have a pretty lengthy list of required features:

• 10+ Megapixels
• 5x Zoom (although 3x would probably suffice)
• Waterproof to 10+ feet
• Shockproof
• 720p Hidef Video Mode (30fps for fluid videos)

With kids and all the fun to be had in the summer, shockproof and waterproof are must-have features for me that severely limit my choices.  The Pentax Optio W60 was nearly a perfect contender but it was not really shockproof and the HD video mode was limited to 15fps, which looks quite choppy.

However, Pentax today announced the Optio W80, which appears to improve on the W60’s few shortcomings.  New on the W80 is a 12 Megapixel sensor, shock proof to 3.3 feet, waterproof an extra 3 feet (total 16ft), as well as 720p 30fps movie mode!  List price is $299 so I would easily expect to pick it up for $250 or less a month or two after it’s released.  I’m curious to see how it fares in the hands of early reviewers….