The next best thing to having a fabulous outdoor adventure is reliving the memory of it later. Unfortunately, you can't exactly display your memory to others and, for some of us (ahem), the memory isn't always so reliable, so taking pictures of the experience is a great way to extend the fun.

Last year, I went to Africa for three weeks, which provided me the impetus to upgrade from my point-and-shoot camera to a digital SLR. I bought a Nikon D50 with two zoom lenses (18-70mm and 70-300mm) and I was pleased with some of the photos I came home with, like this one of a gemsbok (also called an "oryx"), the national animal of Namibia.

But, while I now love this camera, it has one limitation-it's not waterproof. I'm planning to do some kayaking this spring and I'd love to get some nice shots of aquatic wildlife, like otters, seals, and whales, if we're fortunate enough to encounter any. I did look into getting a waterproof casing for my D50 but they're more expensive than the camera was!

So then I started investigating waterproof point-and-shoot cameras but, during my research, I may have found something better: waterproof binoculars with a digital camera attached. From what I can tell, the camera captures the image as it's enlarged by the binoculars, giving you better telephoto capabilities than the zoom lens on most point-and-shoots, which would be great since these critter sightings are often pretty far away.

I found these Simmons Captureview Cv-4 8X30 2.0 Waterproof Binoculars that look like they would be good for my needs, but I'd love to hear from any Nomadik Fanatik readers who might have experience with these types of products. So if you'd like to weigh in on these specific binos, or suggest alternatives that you think might be a better bet for me, please feel free to post a comment here or send me an e-mail.

In the meantime, you can find me with my nifty Nikon around my neck, sneaking up on unsuspecting squirrels and hummingbirds in my backyard...

Elizabeth Kricfalusi,
Miss Adventure