This Camera must exist?!

[+johnvanderlip]

I've been looking all over the net trying to find a camera that would be good to throw in a bag and bring along geocaching while leaving the more fragile camera at home.

 

I would like something shock resistant, water resistant and takes AA batteries like my GPS so I don't have to worry about charging another type of battery.

 

Some of the carabiner cameras look cool but the image quality wouldn't be there. The new Kodak EasyShare sport almost fits the bill but it isn't rugged, just waterproof. All the others I've seen are expensive and use proprietary batteries.

 

Oh yeah, I want to spend less than $100.

 

Any Ideas? I'm not against used or refurbished.

[eaparks]

I have been looking for one with the exact same requirements. After studying about them for a while I have pretty much narrowed it down to the Fuji Finepix XP10. Waterproof - 3 meter; shockproof - 1 meter, dustproof, operates down to 14 deg. F., 5x optical zoom + 6x digital. The only thing I don't like is that is takes a Fuji proprietary battery that has a short charge life so most users say to carry a spare battery, at least they are inexpensive. Factory refurbished can be bought for less than $100 with factory warranty.

 

Maybe someone can point me in a another direction for another contender.

Edited May 13, 2011 by eaparks

[nightcaching]

I basically had the same idea how a camera should be - I didn't find anything and just skipped the ruggedised part: So I went for a Canon PowerShot. After breaking three of those I decided that I just swallow the bitter pill of an additional battery type and got for a Canon PowerShot D10

 

Heaps better now

[+CacheFreakTim]

Im a fan of anything in the Canon A series. The only thing Im not sure about is water resistant but they are very good cameras and not expensive.

[MtnHermit]

Since no one has suggested a camera to meet all your wants, I'll suggest another.

 

I'm quite fond of my Garmin Nuvi 295W, think NuviFone sans cell phone.

 

I use it with a tough cell phone case ($3 on eBay) and a neck lanyard as it is neither shock or water proof.

 

It has a 3MP camera and it will geotag photos and like any Nuvi has CityNav to guide you with turn-by-turn.

 

I paid $80 on Amazon in late-Dec. YMMV

[Grasscatcher]

Isn't the obvious answer the camera on the Oregon 550?

[+splashy]

Right and be amazed about the nice pictures it makes.

[+CacheFreakTim]

Another camera I forgot about is the Canon D10. My uncle picked one up because he hunts and is always banging it around while traveling to the hunting sites. It is waterproof and shockproof (meaning it is designed to take a fall.) It has Canons DIGIC 4 processor and takes great pics. They are so good he got a picture of a turkey he shot blown up to a 13x9 and it looks amazing....like it was shot by a professional.

[+Chrysalides]

I'm quite fond of my Garmin Nuvi 295W, think NuviFone sans cell phone.

 

I use it with a tough cell phone case ($3 on eBay) and a neck lanyard as it is neither shock or water proof.

Do you have a link to the case?

[+G & C]

Isn't the obvious answer the camera on the Oregon 550?

 

What he said. It's an awesome feature, and a decent camera all in all. I can't say how many times I've dropped mine, and I know it's been underwater a few times, and it still GPSs me around, takes pictures, and geotags them as well. I'm really happy with it.

[MtnHermit]

I'm quite fond of my Garmin Nuvi 295W, think NuviFone sans cell phone.

 

I use it with a tough cell phone case ($3 on eBay) and a neck lanyard as it is neither shock or water proof.

Do you have a link to the case?

Leather-Case-Pouch-Belt-Clip-Garmin-Nuvifone-G60

 

I question if it's leather, how about leatherette.

[39_Steps]

I've been looking all over the net trying to find a camera that would be good to throw in a bag and bring along geocaching while leaving the more fragile camera at home.

 

I would like something shock resistant, water resistant and takes AA batteries like my GPS so I don't have to worry about charging another type of battery.

 

Some of the carabiner cameras look cool but the image quality wouldn't be there. The new Kodak EasyShare sport almost fits the bill but it isn't rugged, just waterproof. All the others I've seen are expensive and use proprietary batteries.

 

Oh yeah, I want to spend less than $100.

 

Any Ideas? I'm not against used or refurbished.

I have a 2011 Canon Powershot A1200 camera. It uses alkaline or rechargeable NiMH AA cells, like the older A series Canons. It is not waterproof. It is hard to hold still for an indoor picture in poor light, although it works OK on a tripod. (I put it on a tripod yesterday with a moderate amount of light after first reaking this thread). It takes great pictures outdoors and has one feature that older users will appreciate: An optical viewfinder so that the user can get a general idea of the picture framing.

[+Chrysalides]

Leather-Case-Pouch-Belt-Clip-Garmin-Nuvifone-G60

 

I question if it's leather, how about leatherette.

Thanks! I've been looking for a more fitting case than the one that Amazon gave free, but haven't found one at such a low price. Wrong search term on eBay

[+Chrysalides]

It takes great pictures outdoors and has one feature that older users will appreciate: An optical viewfinder so that the user can get a general idea of the picture framing.

Actually I find that aging eyes find LCD easier to focus on than viewfinders. Viewfinders are great when the light causes the LCD to be washed out though - providing the framing is accurate.

[+bcblues]

We have a couple FujiFilm X Series cameras for work. They are waterproof, shockproof, and freezeproof. I have the XP10 now, and although it is listed as having more megapixels than the previous model (z33wp, I think), I think the older model actually took better pictures. I have taken some really great photos with both cameras. I have taken pictures underwater, in sub-zero (F) temps, and have generally used and abused the cameras terribly. Multiple drops onto pavement, gravel, rocks, etc. Nothing seems to phase it. The only failure I had with the XP10 was on a truly frigid day (-20 F) the pictures I took were all blurry. Lighting was pretty poor that evening too, so that may have been a contributing factor. Overall, I am impressed with the little FujiFilm waterproof cameras.

Edited May 14, 2011 by bcblues

[39_Steps]

I've been looking all over the net trying to find a camera that would be good to throw in a bag and bring along geocaching while leaving the more fragile camera at home.

 

I would like something shock resistant, water resistant and takes AA batteries like my GPS so I don't have to worry about charging another type of battery.

 

Some of the carabiner cameras look cool but the image quality wouldn't be there. The new Kodak EasyShare sport almost fits the bill but it isn't rugged, just waterproof. All the others I've seen are expensive and use proprietary batteries.

 

Oh yeah, I want to spend less than $100.

 

Any Ideas? I'm not against used or refurbished.

I have a 2011 Canon Powershot A1200 camera. It uses alkaline or rechargeable NiMH AA cells, like the older A series Canons. It is not waterproof. It is hard to hold still for an indoor picture in poor light, although it works OK on a tripod. (I put it on a tripod yesterday with a moderate amount of light after first reading this thread). It takes great pictures outdoors and has one feature that older users will appreciate: An optical viewfinder so that the user can get a general idea of the picture framing.

 

Edit: The Canon A1200 does take closeup handheld pictures indoors as well or better than the other A models I have used. I read the manual and discovered that I had face detection, blink, and possibly half-press focus motor servo features in non-optimal settings for handheld closeups of my keyboard and mouse with a 100 watt daylight equivalent fluorescent bulb in a reflector. It seems that the camera may have been waiting for the mouse to smile while I was trying to focus and and depress the shutter. Too many features for me to grasp intuitively.

[+TomToad]

I know this is out of your budget, but I saw a demonstration of this camera http://gopro.com/ at the surf expo and I was highly impressed. It is actually a video camera, but at 1080p, you can pull some very impressive still frames. There are also many different kits to allow you to mount the camera on just about anything. They also have a 3D kit which allows you to film 3D if you have a 3D TV.