camera question

[needtoclimb]

Need a new camera for climbing/mountaineering/skiing, etc. Any suggestions?

 

The Olympus Stylus Tough looks nice and rugged, as well as small and light. Anyone use one who can give me real feedback?

 

Thanks

[Water]

having used a semi bulky canon A series for a while now and looking to do something in one direction or another (dSLR bulk/weight/cost) or go towards pocket-sized and maxed out for robust'ness, outdoors ease/highest pocket-quality image...

 

Came out with Panasonic TS2 series seeming supreme for small outdoors camera..

 

I think it is competitive with that stylus tough.. but my research left me on the TS2 for that type of camera.

 

ended up going for a bridge camera (panasonic FZ-100) to see if it is feasible to move towards dslr. comparatively cheap to see if dSLR is way for me. but i'd love to have a TS2 in hand none the less.. ...

Edited December 7, 2010 by Water

[jon]

Do some searching, there are tons of recent threads about this.

 

Stay away from the Olympus Tough, besides it using it's own proprietary memory format the shutter lag is awful as well as the white balance.

 

Here are a couple good resources for researching as well

http://www.bythom.com/nikon.htm

http://dpreview.com

[G-spotter]

The tough CAN take good pictures but it's a fucking battle to get it to do it. You have to shoot about 100 pictures to get 5 good ones.

 

It IS tough though. I took mine (Tough 8000) canyoneering and it survived a few cliff jumps and swims through pools no problem. Hangs off my neck while climbing and I don't have to worry about knocking it against rock.

[ericb]

I've got a small Canon Powershot that I like - takes good pictures (don't recall the model number). One important aspect that I like is that it takes AA batteries, along with my headlamp and some other gadgets which eliminates the need for spares. The AA lithiums are light and pretty resistant to being drained in the cold.

Edited December 7, 2010 by ericb

[jon]

True, ours has survived falling in the ocean and on rocks, and it has been fun to take underwater pictures. It's just a trade-off. Dru is right, you CAN take awesome pictures with it, it's just a battle.

[olyclimber]

Canon s95.

 

I have the s90 which is the previous model. it takes great photos, is compact, has manual settings and shoots in RAW if you care about those things. S95 adds HD video over the model I have.

[mccallboater]

A while ago I posted pictures I recovered from a Canon Powershot 850 that I found halfway up Slick Rock in McCall this summer, hoping to find the owner. No luck. The camera still works fine after falling around 400 vertical feet and bouncing probably a dozen times down the 75 degree face, coming to a stop on a ledge. It was inside a thin leather case. The last picture was the summit shot.

 

It takes pretty good pictures too, but I like my Canon G9, so the 850 sits at home most of the time. 1/2 the weight of the G9 though and simpler to operate for the technically challenged. I haven't tried the 850 in really cold temps, but the G9 works fine at 0 F. Both have an optical viewfinder, a boon on bright snowy days.

[Le Piston]

Another vote for the Canon Powershots, though it really depends on what features you like. I have the Canon A1100 IS. Like ericb, I love the light weight, AA batteries, optical viewfinder, and good picture quality (12.1 MP). I can easily take pictures with it one handed. Good luck finding your perfect climbing/skiing camera!

[OldManRock]

If you can find one (try Google) as they don't make them any more is the Canon A710 IS or Canon A720 IS - They are lightweight

7-1/2 pixels, 6 optical telephoto, image stabilzer, easy to use, and I dropped it into a moat at the start of the East Buttress route on Mt Washington, and it stills works fine.

[Le Piston]

Try Amazon.com...that's where I got my Canon (at a very good price too!)