Cheap, robust digital cameras ... which is best?

I live and work in Mozambique and wish to send teams into the wilderness of

northern Mozambique with cheap but robust digital cameras. The cameras will be

exposed to moisture, dust, rough treatment and it'll be fairly hot. Does anyone

have any recommendations for which might be best? They do not need to be of the

highest resolutions (>3 megapixels would be ample). All suggestions and

assistance will be greatly appreciated! Thanks

Olympus and Pentax offer models that are weather sealed or waterproof. I'm not familiar with Olympus, but the Pentax models are 33WR, 43WR, WP, and WPi.

 

Ability to withstand rough treatment is much harder to gauge. I don't know of any cameras that advertise their ability to withstand rough treatment--that's just asking for warranty claims.

If you can find one look for a Konica-Minolta DG-4W. It was built for use in the construction industry and is designed to resist knocks, dust and water.

 

Finding them may not be easy though. The Pentax models (like the 33WR) may be much easier to get hold of.

and of course the combination of cheap and robust is very likely to avoid you (especially with new units, if you can find someone with a few boxes of discontinued models you could get lucky).

thanks for these very useful guides ....