Pansonic LUMIX TS-1: I Hardly Knew Thee...

The Pansonic LUMIX TS-1 is a tough little camera - I reviewed mine here. It's dust-proof, water-proof to 10 feet, drop-proof from five feet, and an all-around sturdy camera. My wife carries it with her in the diaper bag for our son Logan, so that she always has a camera available when he does those cute toddler things. I figured it was the perfect choice because that diaper bag gets tossed around and this camera can take it. Late last week I discovered the threshold of what type of punishment that TS-1 can take though...witness the horror after the break.

The scenario? We were out of town for a funeral, and stopping for a visit at my grandma's house before starting the drive home. My wife asked me to go get the diaper bag so she could change our son before we hit the road, so I went out to our 2009 GMC Acadia to get the bag. I opened the SUV door, grabbed the bag, and closed the door in one fluid motion....

What I didn't notice was that the over-the-shoulder sling-style backpack had started to swing back toward the now-closing door...and just as the door was closing shut the upper portion of the bag - the small pouch that housed the camera - went into the path of the closing door. I heard a crunch and immediately knew what that sound meant. The TS1 no longer powers up and is completely dead. It served it's purpose that day well though - I used it just 30 minutes earlier to capture some fun videos and pictures of our family visiting the West Edmonton Mall Waterpark. TS-1, you did your job well before I killed you.

Goodbye TS-1, you'll be missed...I've decided to wait until just before I go on a vacation to Mexico in March 2011 to replace this camera. By then, a third-generation LUMIX TS series camera might be out, or perhaps something from another camera maker that rates highly.

Got any camera-destroying stories of your own? Please share!