Vivitar ViviCam F526 – A Review

When people are on a lookout to purchase a waterproof camera, they require something which can easily handle their vacations. It may include swimming pool or a beach, along with skiing, camping, and other outdoor activities. For these reasons, people often look for a camera that can withstand abuse. In my experience, I rented a beach house last year on twiddy rentals and I took one of these cameras to take pictures, I had no problems what so ever, my kids took lots of pictures and I didn’t have to worry about them damaging it.

But, Vivitar ViviCam F526 is not one of those cameras. It is only a poolside selfie camera. It does have front-facing LCD viewfinder which makes it apt for taking great selfies, but it really lacks other features which limit its functionality along with its usage. Here, we have discussed few of its features and characteristics.

Features –

  1. Vivitar isn’t a durable camera. It is one of the lightest cameras, and it does feel like this camera can be crushed with one hand. It is not crushproof, freezeproof, dustproof or even shockproof. It can’t handle below-freezing temperatures or withstand sudden fall to the surface. It is waterproof for up to a depth of 10 feet.
  2. This camera has 14MP CMOS image sensor which is quite low when compared to other similar point-and-shoot cameras. However, this camera does have image stabilization, but it doesn’t have any anti-motion blur which can result in blurry pictures when the subject is moving. It could be quite frustrating especially underwater where things are always in motion. In the case of images with flash, they were completely white. With flash off, it shoots few swirls of color rather than an accurate picture of the subject.

  3. This camera gas multiple white balance and comes with picture effect settings which can be turned off before you proceed to snap an image. However, you can’t add any effects or color corrections in this camera’s playback menus. It also lacks Wi-Fi connectivity along with no GPS tagging.

  4. This camera’s only good feature is its front-facing 1.8 inch LCD viewfinder. In case you like to take selfies then this camera is perfect for you. It also has a second viewfinder, but that doesn’t add up any reason to buy this camera.

Pros –

  1. It has a front-facing viewfinder which is good for taking selfies.

Cons –

  1. It isn’t dustproof, shockproof or freezeproof.
  • It lacks essential features like image stabilization, anti-motion blur and other features.

  • Conclusion

    The Vivitar ViviCam F526 is only a poolside camera which allows you to take selfies. It doesn’t have the durability and the image quality which you require for recording and capturing your underwater activities. Its only positive point is its front-facing viewfinder which is only good to take selfies. It doesn’t even have additional features such as GPS tagging or W-Fi- connectivity.