UKC

Can anyone reccommend a good/ simple to use compact for alpine climbing.
Good quality sensor and wide angle lens are a must as well as simplicity in use. I currently have a Canon Ixus 870IS but not particularly impressed with some of the results even after three or four years use. This might be down to my ineptitude in photography but I don't find the array of controls and menus particularly easy to navigate when trying to push on in doing a route. I'm shortly going on a trip to the greater ranges and want to be confident I can get good results.

In reply to steveB: What is your budget? Makes it a bit easier to recommend something

In reply to steveB:

I got a Canon S100 last December (after a lot of research) as a skiing/ski-touring camera. Pretty much the smallest quality camera you can buy. I've had great pictures from it. It's started me off with an interest in proper photography as it has a lot of DSLR type features but is also great as a "Point and Shoot" if that is all you want. The GF got v jealous so had to buy here the latest S110 for her birthday - got it for £220 I think at procamerashop.co.uk. She is now totally psyched on it too!

http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/canon_powershot_s110_review/

The general consensus seems to be that the Sony Rx100 is the best compact camera about but is a little bigger and almost twice as much

http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/sony_cybershot_dsc_rx100_review/

In reply to mudmonkey5:

Ha ha, this is almost the same here, although I had an S95 and bought the other half an S100.

Her Canon DSLR (not sure of the model) hasn't been used much since I bought her that, maybe for a few pictures of the Nordlys, but not much else.
She's delighted with the S100, its used all the time, good wee camera.

In reply to TOS:

People! This is a word for what we cal "The Northern Lights". It's not something rude! I checked..

In reply to steveB:

Im currently liking the Fuji X20 as it has the most glove friendly buttons, robust, easy to turn on by turning lens and a viewfinder.

In reply to steveB:

In the same vein; anyone got any views on the waterproof shockproof stuff to use whilst climbing ie panasonic lumix FT-5, Nikon AW110, Olympus tough etc?

In reply to steveB: I now have a Ricoh GR (fixed 28mm lens) which i would thoroughly recommend. I now use it more than my DSLR kit. A few mixed samples can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/99252000@N04/sets/72157634832206926/

In reply to RJL: At the risk of repeating the standard Flickr comments - Nice pics!

In reply to steveB:
Like radson, robust build, glove friendly buttons, one-handed operation and a viewfinder - in addition to the standard optical and electronic things, obviously - would be important criteria for me.

If I were buying now, I'd be looking at one of Fuji X series cameras; they've got plenty of fans on here, and there's some interesting comparisons between Fujis and Sonys a google away. I probably wouldn't be buying an X20, personally, because when I tried it, I thought the swivel on/off mechanism would be a nuisance in the hills. One other potential problem could be short battery life.

In reply to steveB:

After numerous cameras getting a beating, I now have an Olympus tough 720. Takes knocks, can get soaked, an its blue so you see it in the snow easy. Pics are not DSLR quality or Sony compact quality, but pretty good none the less.

In reply to Solaris:

After fumbling with the minute controls on other cameras I eventually got a Canon G11. It has old style "proper" controls, has a proper viewfinder but also has a rear LCD screen, a flash hotshoe (you can use remote flash with the camera), you can save shots in RAW format (I've been able to rescue badly exposed shots) as well as JPEG, good battery life.

Downsides? It's quite big for a "compact". It's not cheap.

ALC

In reply to a lakeland climber:

Ha! I've got a G10. It was my first (and so far, only) digital camera, and I bought it for pretty much the same reasons as you. iirc, I took a pair of gloves into the shop for a final test before finally buying it, but it was the first feel of the controls and the solidity of the camera in my hand that started my love affair with the thing.

I was going to suggest a G15 as worth considering to the OP... If s/he's on a limited budget a 2nd hand G series Canon Powershot would certainly be worth looking at.

In reply to Dave 88:

After 4 happy years with a Olympus mju 720 (all my gallery is with it,) it gave up and I replaced it with the one that topped the reviews, the Panasonic FT-3. It is still good, the video is much better. I picked it up for 150 off ebay too.

In reply to Solaris:

g16 has just been announced so I expect the g15 to fall in price quite quickly

In reply to steveB: Andy Kirkpatrick reviews the Panasonic DMC-FT one from last year, and I have an FT1. I like it, but it doesn't do Aperture priority. I have some pics in my gallery taken with it.