Rugged cameras - WG-5 worth looking at?

Hi everyone.

I have been the owner of a Pentax WG-3 for several years, and very much enjoyed being able to take it places where a normal camera would not dare to tread. It's been to several countries, been in the sea, been camping, been to a festival, been to lots of music gigs with my partner, and generally been tossed about with little worry and no issues.

Sadly, on a recent trip to Australia with my partner, at some point it suddenly upped and died No idea what the issue is. Some lights on the case come on when the battery is inserted but the camera will not turn on or respond in any way. Given the age and the usage, I don't suppose it's anything but a write off.

Which brings me to my question. We have very much enjoyed this camera, and would like to replace it with something for equivalent use. Looking into Pentax/Ricoh it seems they have stopped producing new stills cameras in the WG line, the last release being the WG-5 in early 2015. Even these do not seem to be readily available, so I assume they are not making new stock.

Do you think it would be worth looking into getting a Ricoh WG-5 at around £250, even given it's age, or do I have to assume that my best option now would have to be looking at offerings from other manufacturers? Is there a chance that a WG-6 model is going to be released in the imminent future?

Thanks in advance, Tim.

If you would have been perfectly happy continuing to use the WG-3 then buying another WG camera would seem sensible. It will presumably last you a few years to come and you can look at the market again when it becomes necessary. I don't think we can predict that market as anything available now might be stopped by the time you need it.

john as forgot to mention that the wg was vote no1 with the gadget show and in there words was there is nothing on the market to get anywhere near the wg

Olympus do a line of tough cameras now, if you are after something current.

Thanks everyone. I was really hoping someone might have some insight as to how the WG-5, a model which is over 2 years old now, compares to the most recent ones from people like Olympus. Has there been much development in the area of rugged hand helds in the last 2 years, or does the WG-5 still compare reasonably well for performance?

My only real desires for the WG-3 were if it could have had less shutter delay and also it would have been great if it could shoot in RAW. I don't think the WG-5 would be much different, but I have no idea what other manufacturers are making these days and how they compare.

That' a bit outside our remit, but you could check out the reviews on ePHOTOzine, DPReview and other review sites. No doubt YouTube has lots of video reviews as well.

Thanks John.

Had a bit of a browse around the various review sites, and I'm sad to report that the sensible option for me appears to be an Olympus TG-4. The big difference being that it can shoot in RAW.

This saddens me for a number of reasons. That camera model is not much newer than the Ricoh WG-5 for a start, so there seems no reason that Ricoh could not have kept pace. I have really enjoyed my WG-3, and my ideal solution would have been the newest equivalent model, but I cannot ignore a better camera just because of brand loyalty. With no tough stills camera with RAW capability, and no new model (or expected release date for a new model) for over 2 years now it feels like RIcoh have ditched the rugged stills camera line and that is a pity.

Ah well. At least I won't be moving away from my Pentax DSLR!

Fair enough, if you need RAW capture then the WG series isn't it.

There are other things though, and I definitely prefer the Pentax colour balance and also the Pentax operating logic. Having a compact that shares the same ergonomics as your DSLR is actually quite useful. As with all choices, no one brand is all things to all people.

Totally agree. If they would have just updated the line to a WG-6 with RAW capability then it would have been a no brainer for me and I would have jumped on it.