UKC

Hi all,

Does anybody have any recommendations for a camera for winter/ alpine climbing. I currently have a canon s90 for rock but I find the small flush on/off switch to fiddly for gloves when it's really cold and minging.
Ideally I'd like the following

1 easy to switch on with gloves, probably with a switch rather than a button
2 small enough to get into most breast pockets on a mid layer
3 optical viewfinder
4 easy to use one handed with a good program or scene mode for snow
5 good optical quality or at least better than a smart phone

I know I should perhaps put more effort into photography but if 1 and 2 above are satisfied it will massively increase my photographic opportunities.
Any advice will be greatly received

In reply to alfmeister:

I like my ancient Olympus Mju (now called Tough) but it has no viewfinder, a dim screen and most of my shots are Photoshopped to make up for my poor photography! Would be very interested in any replies to this topic.

In reply to alfmeister:

Ive used a Canon G16 for a few years for that purpose. Somewhat chunkier than your S90, with a wider zoom range and an optical viewfinder. I quite like it. Photo quality is pretty good and its easy to switch on and use one handed. However I suspect its got a similar on off switch to your S90, although can't recall having any problems with it myself.

Lee

In reply to alfmeister:
I have used a canon g 1x (mark 1). It can fit into a (big) pocket but it is a chunky camera. IQ is very good as it has a big sensor. It is not a 'tough' camera - most/all of which have small sensors and rubbish IQ in my experience, I have tried about 4 - but it is very robust and built like a brick. You can get a third party automatic lens cap thing for it so it can be used one handed. I put a blob of sugru on the shutter button to make it easy to use with gloves, I also fashioned a grip with sugru for the same reasons. I attached a bit of cord to it and would have it round my neck and inside my jacket when on a route. If I ever do any winter climbing again it would be my go to camera. It is also available at a decent price second hand.
Ps it does have a viewfinder but I didn't often find it that useful on a route.

In reply to alfmeister:

I've used the S90 and the G9X and I would agree that the buttons are too small and recessed for use with gloves on. And liner gloves or thin powerstretch don't provide enough grip with metal-finish cameras, so you have to guarantee the wrist loop is being used. I would therefore recommend some thin gloves with silicon grip on the fingers and palms, if you end up having to use another one of the non-waterproof compacts, which are pretty hopeless outdoors...

For one-handed use, I imagine scenes with snow would require a very intelligent 'snow-setting'. I usually need two hands to access the camera and turn it on, and then to switch to the scene setting? Water-resistant zippers and even chest pockets on a midlayer can be such a pain to open singe-handedly anyway.

I find it easy to use the above cameras on Programme and move the front faux aperture ring to adjust exposure compensation when there's a lot of snow or backlighting. I suppose setting it up for spot metering and focus would be the simplest one-handed method, especially if your free hand is going to be shading the front of the lens. The touch-screen on the G9X can lead to mistakes, though it is handy if the camera is refusing to focus on your chosen subject or you want to quickly go through the settings; I also like the flash mechanism on this camera - it's mechanically switched up or down.

For a water-resistant camera bag, I find the Crumpler Muffin Top ones are good enough and simple to attach to a hip belt or with the shoulder strap. I haven't seen a good waterproof compact camera bag since Ortlieb discontinued the Snap series.

Jon