Pentax has been making ruggedized compacts for some time now and they're only getting tougher. The Optio W80 can operate under 16-feet of water, regularly survive drops of 3.3-feet and brave cold as low as 14-degrees without getting all wacky. The sensor is a standard 12.1 megapixel affair and the 5x optical zoom (28-140mm equivalent) is internal, of course. The mineral crystal lens cover has been coated with a material they call Super Protect, which is supposed to hlep repel water as well as other finger-related grime. Take the jump for some more specs. If this crummy New York weather keeps hanging around, we might need to shell out the $300 bucks for one if we want to take any pictures at all outside.

From the press release:
* Coldproof design that allows the camera to be used in sub-freezing temperatures of 14 degrees Fahrenheit (-10 degrees Celsius), ideal for cold weather activities such as skiing and snowmobiling.
* 2.5 inch LCD monitor that features anti-reflective coating, making it easy to view, even in bright sunlight.
* Widescreen, HD movie capture that records resolutions up to 1280x720 pixels at full-speed 30 frames per second.
* Fast Face Detection technology that sees up to 32 faces in 0.03 seconds, with Smile Capture and Blink Detection, for perfect portrait shots.
* Pixel Track Shake Reduction (SR) that ensures sharp images in any lighting condition, without adding high ISO noise. Digital SR and Movie SR are also available.
* Close focusing, Super Macro mode that brings out the details in even the smallest subjects as close as 1 cm (less than one inch).

Order it at www.pentaxwebstore.com