Camera

[Camel2012]

There are some good suggestions on here, and i went through the same debate for my 2012 hike.
First off, the cannon, Olympus, Nikon, and pentax are all great cameras on the trail.

I debated over these, but ended up taking the Fujitsu xps20. What made up my mind was price.
I decided carrying one of the more expensive cameras on the trail was not a hassle i wanted. The xps20 cost me right at $120, is 14mp, waterproof, shock, dust proof, and took great pics. I just carried it in my hip pocket of my pack, and was never worried about breaking it. It took good underwater photos too.
Just saying, figure out what works for you, and what your comfortable carrying, because honestly all the name brand waterproof cameras are great for the trail.

The gopro is great too for doing timelapse, and it has a lot of attachments to attach it to your poles, chest, or helmet.

A camera that works for one hiker, isn't always the best for another. Decide what is most important to you.

[NaturalHiker]

Definitely! and i want to thank all of you for the suggestions so i have somewhere to start my research!

[swjohnsey]

If you want to take excellent pictures and you are willin' to do your part and put out a little cash the Canon S95/S100 is an option.

[Franco]

A camera that's tough and can take a beating would be nice.

Take a look at the Pana TS4
(the newer version of the TS3 see here :http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q311...mpactgrouptest)

[Mike2012]

Not a "ULer" but pretty satisfied with my Fuji XP
My canon took better pics but I have some solid ones on this fuji. Test out the video quality before you are in the field so you don't have to figure out how to tweak it on the fly.

[NaturalHiker]

I like the AW100 and the PentaxWG2, but the canon powershot camera's just look like they have so many more feature's. What manual control's will i need to take cool nighttime photo's? I want to be able to have long exposure time so i can take photo's of the sky and star's at night, and take other cool photo's such as light-trails/etc.

[NaturalHiker]

Man yeah, after researching the Powershot S-series camera's for a bit im impressed. They also seem like a good camera for me to learn with since you can do manual controls. I'd love to get into photography a bit, always interested me. The powershot s series is lightweight and compact, so i'll just have to find a good case for it rather than go with a weatherproof camera, and make sure that i dont drop it. Looking at the S95, S100, and S110, thanks swjohnsey.

[Sarcasm the elf]

I have had excellent luck with my Olympus Stylus Tough point and shoot (mine is an older "6000" model). I've had it for two or three years and it has taken a beating both on the trail and while traveling without any problems. On the trail it lives in my hip belt pocket and has been repeatedly dropped, exposed to sustained rain and cold, and generally abused, but still works like a champ. It takes decent photos for a small light camera. I do wish it had less of those "automatic" settings, but it seems like all similar cameras have those now and with a bit of practice I am able to navigate the many superfluous menus to take photos rather quickly.

Edit:
Forgot to add: If you are looking for a camera specifically for hiking and backpacking I would highly advise that you do limit your search to cameras that are designed to be water and shock resistant. Several of my friends have had good cameras destroyed while hiking, and even if you take the best care, it sucks when you want to take a photo but can't because it's raining and your camera isn't waterproof.

[NaturalHiker]

ya man that is a sweet camera, i like how tough it is for the same price as the powershot s series im looking at, i just dont think it has the photo quality or as flexible controls as the powershot, and i could learn photography basic's by manually using a camera for a bit, although i do wish the powershot had some sort of weatherproof feature but it has none at all. Im thinking a small waterproof sack + shock absorbing skin/case to put around it might be enough, although i wont be able to shoot underwater or shot's in heavy rain or dust situations. It's a trade off im willing to take.

[NaturalHiker]

although crap i want the GPS feature. Super cool you can go back and look at the path of photo's you've taken, and know exactly where each photo was taken.

[NaturalHiker]

Been doing more research into camera's and my specific needs, surprised nobody mentioned the Olympus Tough TG-1 IHS.
Great rugged camera with some manual controls, gps, awesome features, and nearly indestructible.
This is probably going to be the point & shoot choice for my thru in 2013.

Also going to pick up a Go Pro Hero 3 Black Edition for shooting video & other activities as soon as its available.
This is one badass little piece of equipment, and might just take the place on my thru instead of the Olympus TG.

Both start at only 399$

[Franco]

You need to pick the type of photos you like.The Go Pro relies a lot on the "special effect" appeal; that is extra-wide shots and in particular with video, action shots.
The Olympus TG and Pana TS4 are both better than average "tough" cameras that can take low light shots, better for composition as well as some more conventional portrait type shots, stuff that the Go Pro can't do.
So , in my mind, one would compliment not take the place of the other.
Of course most would have to choose.

[OzJacko]

Been doing more research into camera's and my specific needs, surprised nobody mentioned the Olympus Tough TG-1 IHS.
Great rugged camera with some manual controls, gps, awesome features, and nearly indestructible.
This is probably going to be the point & shoot choice for my thru in 2013.

Also going to pick up a Go Pro Hero 3 Black Edition for shooting video & other activities as soon as its available.
This is one badass little piece of equipment, and might just take the place on my thru instead of the Olympus TG.

Both start at only 399$

My link was to the TG1.
Of all the tough waterproof type cameras it's optics got the best reviews when I was doing comparisons on a dedicated camera site - comments like
the only one you can make out individual hairs in an animals fur" have sold me on it. Also works better in low light (like a hut).

[tarantolk]

I've got the pentax wg-2.. Can take one hell of a beating!

[trapper]

also have this camera takes a beating...battery last a very long time but you have to carry a charger

I have a Nikon AW100 and love it. Waterproof, Freeze Proof, Shock Proof, ect. And has built in GPS which is real nice when downloading your pics. It syncs with Google Maps. The camera comes with a 40.5 MM filter adapter. Awesome for polarized and UV filters. I use a 32 gb class 10 sd card. Also have a small gorrila tri pod. I have used many different cameras like this , but this has been the absolute best for me... good luck.