At the end of April, I made the decision that the new Pentax WG-90 was going to be my daily point-and-shoot companion. This might seem odd given that there’s a camera built right into the cell phone which I also carry with me every day, but to be honest, the phone is lacking in several important aspects which I will go over in my comparison, and as I strive to live more intentionally in each moment, I believe the phone is something I might not wish to have with me at all times anymore.

The two most obvious advantages the WG-90 have over my cell phone are the 5 times optical zoom and the stroboscopic flash. When I photographed the solar eclipse, I relied on my camera’s digital zoom for cropping which sacrificed image quality. While there are phones today that incorporate a 5 times optical zoom, they lack the stroboscopic flash which generates a brighter, cleaner burst of light than the LED commonly used on a phone camera. The stroboscopic flash works better whenever I need a “Fill” flash for daylight photos, and offers better coverage at greater distances when extra illumination is needed at night.

Comparing the size of my WG-90 to my cell phone

Ergonomics. The Pentax WG-90 is ergonomically designed to be handled and used by one hand, using my right thumb for zooming and changing the camera settings, and my right index finger for focusing and picture taking, keeping my left hand free. It has a grippy design with a wrist strap that inspires confidence, and can take a fall should I drop it. My cell phone almost always demands the use of both of my hands when using the camera, is not ergonomic at all, and if I drop it, I desparately hope that the screen doesn’t shatter, as what has happened with my past smart phones in spite of having a protective case.

Speed. Two seconds after turning on my Pentax WG-90, I can get focus and capture an image. My phone is nearly just as fast, but it needs to already be on. If it’s off, I need to wait for it to boot up, which can take quite a while; sometimes several minutes. This means my phone requires me to charge it up at least every other day, while my WG-90 could go days, weeks, or even months between charges while retaining that two second power-on-to-shoot time.

A perfect size for my pocket

Weight and size. My phone, with its protective case, weighs in at 279 grams, while my WG-90 with battery, card, and wrist strap weighs only 194 grams. With its protective case, my phone measures 176mm tall by 85mm wide by 15mm thick. While my Pentax WG-90 is a bit thicker at 26mm at its thickest, it’s significantly smaller overall measuring 124mm wide by 60mm tall, making it more pocketable. Some may argue that this additional weight and size gives my phone additional functionality that my camera does not have, but from what I can tell, this added functionality are just ways for other people to steal my attention and focus away from the moment I am in, so I really don’t see that as a benefit to me.

Waterproof, crush proof, freeze proof. While my phone has a water repellant coating, my WG-90 can actually go underwater. There are some flagship phones that can go up to 6 meters for 30 minutes, but they cost many times more than the WG-90 that can go down to 14 meters with no time limit. Add in the fact that it fits comfortably in the pocket of my swim trunks and can be used easily with one hand, I know which one I would rather go swimming with. I know which one is more likely to survive in the long run.

A collage of images taken with my WG-90

So this is it; my camera of choice to keep on me during life’s adventures. Above is a collage of some of the images I have taken so far. Each image was edited in camera, and the collage itself was also edited in camera. I reduced it in size and quality for publishing to the web on this server, so what you see here was done entirely in camera.