Photos: Rugged cameras and camcorders

Showing it's serious about the minicamcorder market, Kodak rolls out a sibling model for its nice, but somewhat clunky, Zi6, the smaller and weather resistant (IP43 certified) Zx1. It's 30 percent smaller than the Zi6, but the trade-off is a smaller 2-inch LCD.

The Panasonic SDR-SW21 is a very compact, standard-definition camcorder that records to SD/SDHC cards. Oh, and it can survive a four-foot drop, is waterproof down to 6.5 feet, and the seals are tight enough to make it dustproof, too. (For those interested in the actual tests, Panasonic goes by IEC 60529 IPX8 for water, MIL-STD-810F METHOD 516.5 for shock, and IEC 60529 IP5X for dust.)

Olympus rebranded its SW-series line of shockproof/waterproof cameras to encompass all their other rugged "proofing." Now dubbed Stylus Tough this is the top-of-the-line model, the 8000, a 12-megapixel compact camera that "can survive a 6.6-foot drop, venture 33 feet underwater, withstand 220 pounds of crushing pressure, and laugh at freezing temperatures.

Realizing that not everyone needs all the sturdiness of its SW (now Tough) series of compact cameras, Olympus launched an new waterproof-only line of cameras, headlined by the Stylus 550WP. It's a cute little 10-megapixel camera that can be submerged up to 10 feet under water and the inclusion of an underwater scene mode.

Want a little extra protection for your digital SLR? Camera Armor is adding a new weather-sealed, polycarbonate body and lens case. Dubbed the Extreme the case allows access to all buttons, wheels, zoom, and flash while shielding the camera from rain, sleet, snow, and dust. Internal rubber padding provides full mechanical shock protection. Customized to fit Nikon D40x, D40, D60, Canon XSi(450D), and XS(100D), the Extreme will arrive in Spring 2009.