It took some time, but the advent of durable and waterproof digital cameras has widened the range in which you can shoot photos. With some of the models out now, you have nothing to worry about when taking your camera along for a dip in the ocean or pool.

Waterproof cameras have been around for a couple of years now, but they were always sold at a premium price. That's changed a fair bit already this year, as manufacturers are now offering compact point-and-shoot models that are cheaper - and give you better performance than ever before.

Over the course of a month, I've had the chance to try out four different waterproof cameras that are currently available in Canada. Here's my take on each one of them.

Olympus Stylus 550WP

Though Olympus has a more popular line of waterproof cameras called "Tough", those models also offer shockproof and freezeproof features as well. The Stylus 550WP isn't shock or freezeproof, but its waterproof feature set is the one thing that will matter if you're looking for a camera that can be dunked in water often.

Generally speaking, the 550WP is a pretty good camera, though it does its best work outside during the day. There are over 20 preset "scene" modes that you can make good use of, including set ones for the beach, children, underwater and sunsets. The camera can withstand depths down to 10 feet, which is reasonable considering that images might become too dark going lower than that. The 550WP also offers an image stabilization setting (the icon that shows a hand shaking), which Olympus touts, but really doesn't perform well. The reason why is because the stabilization is digital and not mechanical, so it will simply adjust the ISO and shutter speeds to try and compensate. More often than not, it doesn't perform well though.

While the camera is good underwater, and shooting in daylight and the beach modes make photos look nice, the camera's performance in other situations isn't as worthy. The built-in flash is not as strong as it could be, and the image sensor and lens seem to have issues in capturing more vibrant photos at night.

Lastly, I was annoyed by the fact that the battery indicator would tell me that I had a full charge when only 10 minutes later it would tell me that my battery life was low. I'm not sure why this kept happening, but if it is an issue that afflicts the 550WP, generally, then it's a glaring one.

The Stylus 550WP comes in aqua blue or plain black, and is currently selling for $199.99.

Canon PowerShot D10

Of the four models I looked at, the PowerShot D10 is the bulkiest of the bunch, with a form factor that is noticeably bigger than the others. Part of the reason for that is because the D10 is also freezeproof down to -14 celsius and shockproof up to 4 feet. It's also waterproof up to 33 feet as well. While this makes the camera a little less compact, the performance and image quality is impressive.

As is typical of Canon's cameras, there isn't as much variety when it comes to specialized shooting modes, but there are other neat visual features that are unique to Canon cameras. What stands out here, though, is the image quality, both underwater and above ground. There's a certain vibrancy and crispness to the images this camera shoots, and that has a lot to do with how rich the colours are. Even underwater, the D10 captured colours very well, giving life to the images. Aside from that, the range is good, no matter if you're at the beach or you're trying to shoot something at night.

Overall, the D10 is a very good camera, though I didn't really like its size. Canon made the lens bigger to give it more range, but that also means it protrudes more. And since waterproof cameras aren't supposed to have moving parts, it's a key reason why the D10 is as bulky as it is.

The PowerShot D10 comes in a silver and aqua blue combination (with other faceplate colours as well) and currently retails for $399.99.

Fuji Finepix Z33

Fuji's first true foray into waterproof digicams is the smallest and flashiest of the group. The Finepix Z33 can go to depths down to 10 feet, and is also considered "snowproof" so you can use it just as well at the beach or on skiing trips. That does give it some durability but don't expect the Z33 to take too much of a beating.

For the most part, the Z33 takes good photos in all situations. It handles high contrast settings like the beach very well, and even manages to snap good photos underwater. The built-in face detection mode helps the lens focus on faces, and in turn, makes it simple for you to remove any red-eye. The intelligent scene recognition does a decent job of changing the mode on the fly depending on what you're trying to shoot. This way, you don't have to change any settings if you want to shoot something at night or in macro. It's not 100 per cent right, but at least it doesn't get it wrong often.

What makes this camera a draw is that it's compact enough to carry with you anywhere, and it performs well in most shooting situations. It struggles with moving objects, though this doesn't seem to be as much of an issue with fish underwater.

The Finepix Z33 comes in black, blue, yellow, lime green and pink, and currently retails for $229.99.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1

Panasonic has made camcorders that are waterproof, but applying that idea to a still camera took longer. Now that it's here with the Lumix DMC-TS1 you can expect to take this down to 10 feet underwater and have it withstand drops on the ground from no more than 5 feet.

Its set of features are naturally very similar to the other three on the list, though it has some of the better elements of the others. For example, it's smaller than Canon's PowerShot D10, but more durable. It has the same type of intelligent scene recognition that Fuji's Finepix Z33 has, only it seems to be better at it. And it has optical image stabilization built-in to the lens, unlike the Olympus Stylus 550WP, which only offers digital image stabilization.

Ultimately, the strong set of features and design help the Lumix DMC-TS1 take some good photos when dunked underwater. It's also a bit faster at snapping the images as well, which can make a difference when trying to shoot someone or something underwater. It handles movement better as well, and the fact that it can take video clips in high-definition is cool, too. It even comes with an HDMI output and cable to make it easy for you to playback the clips on your HDTV.

Despite how good the Lumix DMC-TS1 performs, the price is one of its worst aspects. At $499.99, it's easily the most expensive of the bunch here, but also among the most expensive point-and-shoot cameras out there.