As you gear up for the heat, there are three things you'll need to tackle the dog days in style: a sleek, solid watch to handle any activity; a new pair of shades to deal with all sorts of conditions; and, of course, a world-class camera to help you remember every second. Here are the indispensable tools of summer.


1. ENDURANCE ATHLETE
Finally a camera as durable as your outdoor gear: The Olympus Stylus 720 SW can survive a five-foot drop, a torrential rainstorm, and immersion in ten feet (three meters) of water. Its sturdy metal body isn't the lightest, but it protects the 7.1-megapixel sensor and 2.5-inch LCD. Coolest feature? An extreme-low-light mode that's ideal for campfire scenes.

Olympus Stylus 720 SW, $400; www.olympus.com
 
2. TRAVEL PARTNER
A camera is only as good as its lens, and few lenses are sharper than Leica's. It makes sense then that the 8.4-megapixel Leica D-Lux 2 creates truly fantastic images—especially in the RAW format, which will make pros and archivists happy. Its native aspect ratio is a widescreen-friendly 16:9, but it has traditional 4:3 too. One beef: There's no built-in lens cap.

Leica D-LUX 2, $795; www.leica-camera.com
 
3. ACTION PHOTOGRAPHER
Taking the image stabilization that revolutionized professional lenses and incorporating it into point-and-shoots, the Canon PowerShot SD700 IS has upped the ante. No longer are low light and fast-paced conditions a photog's nightmare. Want more? The video function is flexible with capture quality of up to 60 frames a second, and the new ISO 800 setting allows faster shutter speeds for grabbing action. Its six-megapixel sensor isn't cutting-edge, but that's about the only part of the SD700 IS that hasn't been maxed.

Canon POWERSHOT SD700 IS, $500; www.canon.com
 
4. DO-IT-ALL SHOOTER
There are many reasons why the Nikon Coolpix S6 is our new favorite all-purpose camera: Its bright, three-inch screen has 20 percent more real estate than comparable models; the shirt-pocket-friendly silhouette is slimmer than a third-generation iPod; a six-megapixel sensor produces clean prints up to 16x20; and Wi-Fi allows for easy wireless transfer to your desktop. All that, and you can create in-camera slide shows set to your choice of music. The only thing keeping the S6 from point-and-shoot perfection is its lack of an optical viewfinder.

Nikon Coolpix S6, $450; www.nikonusa.com



Pick up the June/July 2006 issue for 50 top adventures in the national parks; how to move to Montana; the best ten-day Brazil vacation; 11 instant weekend escapes; and new watches, cameras, and sunglasses for summer.









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