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Hey There,
I just lost my Cannon Digital Elph while in the back country. It has been such a good camera for so long but now it is time for a new one. Does anyone have any good suggestions on good climbing cameras? I'm looking for something waterproof, quick to turn on and shoot, good video/sound, shock resistant/proof, cheap, and all of that other good stuff. Those features may not be all available but what are your experiences with your point and shoots? What do you like most about your camera? What do you like least about it? Are you using it for landscapes or portraits? How does it preform in cold, wind, rain, altitude, or any other extreme conditions? Anyway thanks for your input and opinions.
Happy Trails

I use this camera


It's the Canon PowerShot D10 Waterproof Camera. It looks a bit funny (to me, at least) but it takes good pictures, clear video (not HD), is easy to use, and durable (waterproof and shockproof). Do some research on it...but for my money....I'm glad I put it here

Cheers!

The upcoming Panasonic TS3 should be on your shortlist, depending upon how much you want to spend. I normally shoot with a D300, but have been very impressed with the ergonomics and function of Panasonic's P&S. Their automatic mode works very well. The other nice thing is the Panasonic has a true wide angle of 28mm, which makes pics in the mountains substantially better. Full HD video as well. Release date is March, with price announced real soon here.
You could also pick up a TS2 cheap since it's the old model and is being closed out now. It's also a great little camera.
I don't like the Olympus Tough series- I own one and gave a newer iteration to somebody as a gift, but the menu system sucks and the image quality falls behind other offerings these days. For awhile, they were the only ones, but now competition is strong. I've heard good things about the new Casios, but haven't seen them in hand to judge.

Stay away from Panasonic:
I Purchased the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1 on 02/3/10 along with the Panasonic marine camera case. One of the main reasons for purchasing the Lumix DMC-TS1 was the "waterproof" camera itself. I thought in the seemingly rare case that the marine housing were to leak the camera itself would be "waterproof". I thought I had a good back up plan. However on a shore dive (only the third vacation of using the Panasonic camera and housing), the housing leaked allowing water in the case. The shore dive was fairly shallow, no greater than 30 feet.
When I returned to the resort from the dive, I quickly removed the camera from the housing that was 1/2 full of water. I rinsed the camera off with tap water to rid the salt water. I let the camera air out for 24 hours before reassessing. I expected the camera to turn on, when it failed to turn on I was shocked. This is the first time the camera ever came in contact with water and it was while it was in the marine housing. My brother has a Canon that accidently got wet when his housing leaked and it still works, and it is not advertised as being a "waterproof" camera.
So I have two failed pieces of equipment from Panasonic each costing over $200 dollars. It happens to be 3 weeks over the year warranty . I have the wonderful opportunity of mailing in the defective equipment ( at my cost) and for $45 I can have their technician look at it. After it has been assessed , a repair fee will be given and thankfully I can apply the $45 dollars to the repair fee.
I have a Sealife camera and marine casing that has never leaked over the years of use. If you are planning on taking pictures while diving, you might want to consider other cameras.

I've owned several of the Olympus tough series cameras. (725 and 1030)

Finally got fed up with mediocre image quality. Got a Panasonic TS1. Same toughness, better image quality.