SummitPost.org

Has to be:

Small and pretty user friendly and fit in jacket.

Would love to get some of everybody's advice.

I have been using GoPro HD Camera for the past year, and while the videos are great, the photos are not so much.

It does though shoot great vids. up in the mountains.

Thanks.

Canon Power Shot Elph 300 HS, girlfiend just bought one, pretty cheap really really nice pictures!!!!!!!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Canon-Power ... 2317d41e76


going up on Ebay right now!

You can't go wrong with the Canon Powershot. You can get one with a significant zoom that will still fit in your jacket.

Apparently that model doesn't come much any manual shutter, aperture settings etc. (from what I've seen on dpreview). So really it depends what you want to do with it.

I guess it depends on how much money you want to spend and how much you tinker around with your images in post.
If you are just a casual shooter then I would recommend the Canon Powershot SX150 IS. It's a great camera that i just purchased for my wife. 14MP & 12x optical zoom. (Don't get caught up in the digital zoom hype!)
If you are like me and like to edit your photos in Photoshop or Lightroom and want a small camera that will shoot RAW files then I would recommend the Canon Powershot S100. 12MP and 5x zoom.
It doesn't have near the zoom range as the SX150 but I tend to find myself shooting more wide angle shots then telephoto anyway so I don't miss the reach.
It's smaller then the SX150 and easily fits in a shirt pocket.
Another really GREAT feature of the S100 is that it has GPS tagging built-in. You can turn it on or off and also have it set to just tag the location in your photos or actually log your entire route.
The downside is that it's very expensive! $429.

Here's a link to a side-by-side comparison of the two.
http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/side-by-side?products=canon_s100&products=canon_sx150is

I have the Panasonic LX3, which is old now. It's small and takes great pictures. It has auto or manual features and can shoot in RAW. Not much zoom, but out in the mountains I didn't need it. All my pics on SP were shot with it.

There's also the FujiFilm x100. This from dpreview:

Yet despite all of its manifest flaws, the X100 is a camera that's become a firm favorite in the dpreview offices. Its drop-dead gorgeous looks and excellent build make it a camera that begs you to pick it up and take it out with you, and the image quality it returns at the end of the day is nothing short of superb. And this ultimately is the key to its attraction - it just takes wonderful pictures, time after time.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/FujifilmX100/

Note: no zoom, but I think it would take great pics in the mountains. It's expensive though for a small camera.

For a long time I used Canon SX100.
And today I have advanced version of same series, SX130.... Simple, small and makes for that kind of camera, really good photos!

I like my Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4. It has a Leica 10 X optical lens that takes pretty sharp photos. The camera is a bit larger than some of the small Cannons and what not, but I have fumbly hands and I like the way it handles.

Canon S95.

Very small, excellent image quality, and because it has been replaced by the S100, you can find them on sale right now if you look.