Best Digital Camera for the Blanca?

[AaronB]

I read the discussion for the "Best camera for Denali" and do you think the same of the Blanca? I want something small compact that takes regular battery's and isn't too expensive. I want to be able to take those panoramic shots too.

[Dannible]

Pentax makes some good waterproof/strong cameras that take AAs and are pretty cheap. I have one (43wr) that is a few years old now that I am a big fan of because I don't have to worry about it when it gets soaked or dropped a few feet. You can even wash it off in a stream or lake if it somehow gets dirty. The only bad thing about them in my opinion is that they only have automatic exposure, but that doesn't matter for most people.

[wfinley]

I have the Pentax W10 - I've used it in temps of up to -25 for 6 days straight and the battery never went below 2 bars (out of 3). This past fall we carried it for a month in Nepal and only went through 2 batteries.

 

The panoramic shots are all in the software; blow your cash on Photoshop and they blend together perfectly.

[Ade]

That's what I thought I needed for the Blanca too. But I actually used a Nikon D40 for most of the pictures I took. In Peru you're rarely out of Huaraz for weeks on end so I just took two batteries and a charged with me. Never even needed the second battery. I had a Canon A640 as a backup which sort of meets some of your requirements but is a bit bulky.

 

Pictures here:

 

http://www.ademiller.com/blogs/climbing/2007/09/peru-picture-gallery-part-ii.html