Cruising with FUJIFILM FinePix XP80 Waterproof Camera Review and Giveaway

Recently I took my very first couples cruise aboard the Carnival Conquest but before I left I had booked an underwater excursion. We were excited about the Reef and Rays excursion because we were sure to see beautiful coral reef and fish and we wanted to document it for our family back home. FUJIFILM offered the FinePix XP80 Waterproof Camera to take along for a review and it couldn’t have been a better fit.

We decided to test out the FUJIFILM FinePix XP80 Waterproof Camera for the first time on our snorkeling adventure, off the coast of Grand Turk where we ported for the day on our cruise. I was worried the camera would be lost in the water but realized quickly the secure wrist strap and size of the camera made it easy to take along without concern. The current was a bit strong on this excursion which made it a little difficult to stay still for pictures; thankfully the stabilizer feature of the camera helped grab a few fun shots, like this one of me waving hello in my lovely snorkel gear.

Capture and share extreme scenes in places a tablet or smartphone can’t go and optically zoom in tight – even for movies. This is our toughest camera yet for extreme weather protection in extreme places, whether sea, sand, snow or time with kids. The FinePix XP80 rugged digital camera is waterproof to 50ft./15m, shockproof from 5.8ft./1.75m, freezeproof to 14°F/-10°C, dustproof** and features a 16.4MP CMOS sensor with a 28-140mm 5x optical zoom lens, Wi-Fi® connectivity for one touch transfer to smartphones and tablets as well as remote capture. It also shoots full HD movies at 1080P, even underwater!

I’ve owned a waterproof camera in the past and admit that I was a bit concerned that the quality on land wouldn’t be the same as underwater but I knew from my past experience with the FUJIFILM X-A2 that the quality had to be stellar. I tested this camera out in several settings, from land to sea and the quality remained the same.

On our walk along Eagle Beach, Aruba we found this little crab just hanging out waiting for the next big wave. I used the FinePix XP80 about one foot in front and took a closeup to show the kids when we went home; you can even see the little hairs on his legs.

My husband, Cory, and I took some video footage using the FinePix XP80 while we were out exploring and having fun in the water. Take a look at the video below to see how much fun we had with this little camera.

Being out in the sun and with reflection off the water, we didn’t have to worry about the glare on the screen with an Anti-Reflective Coating. It was a bit windy which you can hear in the video but we had forgotten to use the wind filter on the camera settings. Make sure to set that in the noise reduction settings before you head outside.

Cory and I had a lot of fun with this camera; it was nice to be able to document some of our activities. This camera makes it a perfect choice for an active lifestyle or for vacationers who want to document those hard to photograph destinations.

Advanced Filter Mode

Before you take the image, turn the main dial to Adv. and up will pop a series of choices. If you go through the options you will see several filters and the the colour choices, blue and green and being two. Select the colour and proceed to take your picture.

SR AUTO

Frame your shot and SR AUTO intelligently recognizes the scene and selects the ideal settings.

Check out how the focus is on me in this picture below where the foreground beverage is slightly out of focus.

Some of my favourite features of this camera:

• Underwater Macro and underwater reproduction – produce pictures like you see them with your own eyes.
• Interval Timer Shooting – perfect for time-lapse photography; take the same picture at different times of the day for a unique display.

• HD Movie – take quality action packed video footage with scene recognition and in-camera movie editing options.

• Size, safety and colour – I look for a lightweight colourful camera that I feel secure in active environments when I think about a waterproof camera. This camera has it all.

Wireless remote shooting and instant image or movie transfer

Take the XP80 everywhere your smartphone or tablet can’t go and still share just as easily! A single push of the Wi-Fi button transfers photos to your smartphone or tablet without having to enter an ID or password, allowing you to share photos with friends or upload to social media.

Remotely shooting photos from your smartphone or tablet allows you to adjust zoom settings or switch to movie recording, making it a particularly useful feature when shooting wildlife that is difficult to approach or in tough wilderness conditions.

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Enter to WIN a FUJIFILM FinePix XP80 Camera

I’m excited to announce that FUJIFILM Canada has partnered with This Lil Piglet to give away 1 FUJIFILM FinePix XP80 waterproof camera to one lucky Canadian winner! Open to Canada residents of age of the majority in their province, excluding Quebec.

It’s easy to enter, just tell me where you would like to take this camera in the comments below and fill in the form for a chance to win. Good luck!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post; I was provided product for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own.