UKC

No, not me, a camera.

I've had a wee lumix for a while now but I think it's been dropped off one cliff too many.

Looking for something small, light and really robust that I can carry on winter routes without worrying about damaging it. 

Any suggestions?

Ta.

In reply to DaveHK:

No specific model to recommend, but I bought a camera from Oxfam in Keswick for £20 (Canon powershot something) I have a camera already but thought for £20 it really won't bother me if it gets dropped / soaked so it's ideal for taking up routes. Might be worth a similar approach? 

In reply to DaveHK:

I had a Lumix which I loved. When it decided to retire from taking photos I bought an Olympus Tough. Mine was a TG4 but there are later models available now. Tough by name, tough by nature, it's done lots of hills in horrible conditions, been paddleboarding and may have qualified as an swiftwater rescue technician as it did most of the course with me including lots of swimming around and dunkings in swift water. I haven't dropped it down a gully, but it's had a few tumbles and it's suffered no ill effects whatsoever.

Takes some pretty good photos too and does RAW and JPEG options if you want to get fancy. I don't!

Does your phone in a rugged case not fill this criteria? Imo, any decent phone nowadays out performs the average point and shoot in regards to being able to just point and shoot and have something decent looking be produced. They have really impressive post processing. 

I've got my DSLR for cragging, but if I'm ever doing multis or anything like that, it's my phone that goes up with me. I generally don't want to be faffing. Just frame the shot, take the shot, and let the phone do all the processing needed to make the picture look good. 

In reply to DaveHK:

I'd go 2nd hand for something like this Canon G11...

https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/product/canon-powershot-g11/sku-1654284

Optical viewfinder and proper buttons are so much better gloved/outdoors than a touchscreen.

In reply to GripsterMoustache:

My current phone has a crap camera. I'd like something that can take photos of suitable quality for guidebook topos as I'm working on one just now. I've got a decent bigger camera but I don't like climbing with it clipped to my harness as it's bulky and feels fragile.

In reply to GripsterMoustache:

I've always wondered about the wisdom of using phones on routes, all the phones I've had are slippery as a bar of soap and I'm always dropping them. At least you can tether a compact camera and they are easier to use one handed. Am I missing something or am I just a klutz?

In reply to nikoid:

Nah, you're kinda right. But you can get very rugged cases for most popular phone models now which make them a fair bit bulkier (easier to hold), and have somewhere to tie a wrist strap. 

In reply to GripsterMoustache:

True - I have a tough, weatherproof phone with a lanyard for other reasons - but a nice big 'shoot!' button is still much easier to use than a touchscreen. Apart from anything else I've always found that since the touchscreen covers the whole side of the phone, you're forced to hold it by the narrow edge (however bulky the phone) and you're still likely to trigger some unwanted function via the screen. They're really not designed to be used one-handed.

In reply to DaveHK:

I have many wee compacts over the years, some now lie in the scree below a crag.

I suppose if it is just catching the moment or you want a quality image from an all singing and dancing camera? I have used various Canon compacts for years, just upgraded to a G7 Mk 3 after killing my Mk2, it takes great photos including RAW images which I like. Drawback is the lens does come external to the camera body which can let moisture in. Majority of compacts are like this so if you can deal with that it's not an issue.

The other option is a Tough camera, I have trialed many at work (offshore environment) and the only one that really works ie. reasonable photos is an Olympus Tough, currently the Tough 6. I have used these for years both for work and play and they are great wee cameras, cost wise you can pick up a new one under £400, second hand a lot cheaper.

In reply to craig h: I have an Olympus TG 6. It’s the best waterproof compact you can get, I use it a lot for sea kayaking when it often gets immersed in sea water. However it’s not very good compared to a reasonable digital compact like my Canon TG 15. The sensor on the TG 6 is very small and hence so are the pixels which limits dynamic range, although you can compensate a little by RAW processing. The lens coating on the TG 6 is not too good, lots of flare when shooting into the light.

In reply to DaveHK:

As a modest winter climber and not very experienced photographer, my key features are a viewfinder and a half-decent grip and control layout so that one-handed operation is easy. Depending on conditions, weather-proofing can be more important and a I've not found anything that has both.

If the weather is half-decent, I have a Lumix LX100 - an LX100-II or TZ100 would be a better / more modern choice. If the weather is so bad that I think it might kill my LX100, then I have an Olympus TG4 but that has no viewfinder and a much smaller sensor. I've misjudged that a few times and the LX100 has spent the night on a radiator with the battery and SD card out and all the doors open. Either way, have it on accessory cord attached to the camera pouch, with that attached to a chest strap.

In reply to kevin stephens:

As a Tough camera goes it's the best, have used most including industrial intrinsically safe ones. 

It's all a compromise, buy something which will take better images but prone to moisture ingress and an external lens, or go with essentially a bomb proof camera. All depends if you want to just capture the day or get magazine quality images and renew the camera potentially more often.

In reply to NathanP:

Same here. I have a Lumix LX100 which is just brilliant, but as you say, it's had to be resurrected several times and will probably drown one of these days. I also have a very old Olympus 790 Tough. Tough it certainly is but image quality is nothing to write home about. The new Toughs are much better but still don't match a premium compact image-wise.

In reply to DaveHK:

I have an Olympus Tough, it’s great. I used it for a number of the shots in the Culm and Baggy guide including, I think, some of the topos, I also used my Cannon DSLR for a lot of the topo shots. However most of the best action photos were taken by James Mann with his very expensive cameras!

In reply to Welsh Kate:

Another vote for Olympus Tough. I' ve had a TG4   for the past 6 years. Very robust and performs well  in very low temperatures. I think current model is TG6. Lasts a long time between battery charges as well .Has survived a few drops on rocky ground