So I'm going to be in Thailand for 3 weeks this summer and I've really been wanting to grab more video while I'm on holiday so I've combined these two things and decided I'd like to record video in less forgiving environments - namely in the rain and underwater. To do this I have several choices - get a waterproof case for my digital still camera that does video, get one of the three waterproof digital cameras on the market. I read all the reviews and I just bought a Sanyo Xacti E1.

Here are the specs:

The new waterproof SANYO Xacti E1 captures stunning digital video and beautiful 6MP photos...on land and underwater!

• Waterproof digital camcorder
• 6 Megapixel still photos
• 5x Optical zoom
• 2.5-Inch LCD display
• Up to 1hr. 20min. digital video per 1GB memory card

Practically four cameras in one, the Xacti E1 will become your camera for every picture and every video, everywhere! Take still photos and video above water as well as still photos and video underwater.

Amazing image quality is what you'll get with the Xacti E1. Its advanced 6.37-megapixel CCD image sensor allows you to capture stunning still images and high-quality digital videos with full-range stereo sound (even underwater!)

Easily share your photos and video. The Xacti E1 incorporates the highly advanced AVC/H.264 video compression, giving you better video quality with a reduced file sizes.

So it takes 6 Mpixel stills and records TV quality video. Most still cameras do both of those things so you're probably wondering how I justified spending $399 instead of $30 on a waterproof baggy for it. I have a few reasons for putting out the cash 1) h.264... What can I say the videos are great quality (not perfect) and take up 1/10 the space of my mjpeg videos 2) Stereo sound.  I know the sound quality isn't going to be steller but at least it's stereo something that the digital still cameras can't do. 3) who wan'ts a bulky waterproof case around their point and shoot that makes it so large they can't get it in their pocket or a camera in a bag? The Xacti will still be small.

I guess in the past I've made compromises in order to save money and regretted it. I'll let you know what I think of it when it shows up. I should have it by Friday.