Five top gadgets for summer holidays: from Nikon cameras to Sony projectors

WHETHER you’re chilling by the pool or having a beach adventure, these great gadgets will enable you to make the most of summer.

The Sony Mobile Projector is just the thing for movie nights on your camping trip.

Nikon KeyMission 80

Nikon / 4/5 / $450 / nikon.com.au

The Nikon KeyMission 80 is a rugged camera that can clip on a backpack or fit in your pocket.

When so many action cameras are almost clones, this “lifelogging” camera that looks like a small digital voice recorder stands out as something truly different. Clip it on your backpack or pop it in your pocket, this offers the convenience of one-handed use with a 12.4-megapixel main camera with a 80-degree view and 4.9-megapixel selfie shooter plus the SnapBridge app that automatically transfers your photos to your phone. There’s a 1.7-inch touchscreen and it’s waterproof to 1m. It’s certainly not the toughest of tough cameras but at just 74g it’s delightfully compact and convenient for those who just want to snap the shot and keep going.

Parrot Swing

Parrot / 4/5 / $197 / harveynorman.com.au

The Parrot Swing minidrone is easy to fly.

If you haven’t tried to fly a drone in a while, you might be pleasingly surprised by (a) their price, and (b) how easy they are to fly. The Parrot Swing launches and lands with the press of just one button, and it flies with a stability you might not expect of such a delicate creation. The quadcopter comes with a Flypad remote control, can fly in two different modes, with one hitting speeds of up to 30km/h, and you can control it with a phone. Its battery will only deliver eight minutes of flight time on a single charge, and it is on the noisy side, but this mini drone could deliver a lot of fun in short bursts.

Polk Boom Bit

Polk / 4/5 / $60 / boommovement.com.au

Polk Boom Bit is a wearable speaker that is water resistant.

From mountain biking to sea kayaking, there are plenty of places where a small portable speaker is a better option than using earphones. This tiny Bluetooth speaker has an IPX7 waterproof rating and clips on your clothes or bag, allowing you to listen to music and take hands-free calls. It plugs straight into a USB charger with no cable needed and has three hours of battery life at full power.

Sony Mobile projector MP-CL1A

Sony / 4/5 / $749 / sony.com.au

The Sony Mobile Projector has a two-hour battery life and is small enough to fit in your hand.

Sony has taken last year’s pocket-sized projector and added some new features, including the ability to connect to speakers via Bluetooth. This tiny projector is still small enough to take anywhere, from the boardroom to a camping trip, and projects a 40-inch image at 1.15m. It has a two-hour battery life, so you will want to connect it to a battery pack or power if you’re watching a movie. For the size, it’s a terrific gadget although frustrating that while you can wirelessly connect an Android smartphone to it if you want to project a movie from your iPhone or iPad you’ll need an HDMI cord and an Apple adaptor.

LifeProof for iPhone 7 Plus

LifeProof / 4.5/5 / $130 / lifeproof.com

The Lifeproof Fre for iPhone 7 Plus will protect your iPhone from sand and surf.

A water resistance rating protects your iPhone 7 Plus from the odd splash and accidental dunking but that doesn’t mean you should take it for a dip at the beach. If you’re heading to the surf this summer, the LifeProof case will protect your phone from drops of up to 2m, keep sand out of the ports, and will let you snap images underwater without worrying about salt water on your shiny smartphone. The design of the LifeProof case has had the odd minor tweak over the years but the essentials have been the same since people began using a LifeProof case to protect