Rugged TS3 camera has everything but machete

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FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

The good news is, your phone is now your primary camera. The bad news is, you can't get your phone wet. Or dusty. Or too cold. And you sure as heck can't drop the thing into a rocky crevasse and expect it to ever work again. Because of this, it may be time to buy a rugged camera, especially now that the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3 is on the way.

Its specs will impress everyone except that Bear Grylls guy: It's shockproof up to 6.6 feet and waterproof to 40 feet, 10 feet deeper than its predecessor. It's dustproof, and even freeze-proof down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit. It has GPS for geo-tagging images, and an altimeter, barometer and compass, mostly so you can tell your friends it has an altimeter, barometer and compass. 

Meanwhile, it's actually a nice camera. It has a 4.3X zoom lens and takes high-definition 1080p video, 12-megapixel stills and even 3-D images by choosing the best two images from a 20-shot burst. While I generally favor Canon point-and-shoots, both Panasonic and Sony also tend to perform quite well. When it comes to rugged cameras, Panasonic is the king of the jungle.

It'll be available in March, and Panasonic hasn't announced how much it will cost. We can guess, though: Its predecessor, the TS2, lists for $350, and is now selling for $300, so the TS3 can't cost too much more.