(Credit: Liquid Image)

Underwater cameras are nothing new. Many cameras can accept waterproof casings for wet shooting, and the Olympus Stylus 790SW and Pentax Optio W30 can take a solid dunking without any armor. Still, until now I haven't seen an underwater camera you can strap to your face.

Liquid Image has revealed the Underwater Digital Camera Mask, a strange hybrid of bulky swim goggles and a waterproof point-and-shoot camera. It comes in 3- and 5-megapixel flavors, both offering 16 MB of onboard memory and 18-25 fps variable rate VGA video. It runs on two AAA batteries, and accepts microSD memory cards for additional space (and since 16 megabytes will only hold 30 or so photos, you'll need it). 

The mask uses a silicone skirt and tempered glass lenses to help keep the water out of your eyes while you swim and shoot. Its displays and controls are extremely simple, consisting of a small LCD screen and two buttons. Of course, if you're enjoying a swim you might not want to fiddle with a lot of buttons, and the goggle-mounted shutter button lets you pretend to be Cyclops from the X-Men, which I think is a pretty significant bonus.

Liquid Image officially launches the Underwater Digital Camera Mask next week at CES in Las Vegas, though it won't start shipping until March. The 3-megapixel model will retail for about $80, while the 5-megapixel mask will go for $100.