Ultralight camera found!

[Bruce Wright]

Dan W. at B&H Photo was kind enough to research lightweight cameras for me. He found:

1. Canon Powershot A2300 Digital Camera (3.8 0z.)
2. Nikon Coolpix S3300 Digital Camera (4.5 oz.)
3. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W690 Digital Camera (5.0 oz.)

I vote for the Canon Powershot!

[Franco Darioli]

If you go to http://www.dpreview.com/ and click on "cameras" in the top bar, then "camera feature search" then activate "advanced feature search'
you can then specify what feature you are after and the job is done for you…
Franco

[Charles P]

Did he recommend one over the other for taking better pics? Better battery life would be another factor for me.

[Bruce Wright]

I just asked him for good (pictures) reliable and lightweight cameras. I know nothing about their battery life.

[Jared King]

Thanks for looking into that! I've been wanting to get a camera to take on trips, but it's hard to find weight info, and for me, weight is more important than a lot of other features. Like you, I just want a decent picture.

Do you know if that's the weight with or without batteries?

If it's w/o, any idea of what the weight with battereies is?

[drowning in spam]

I know the Canon website shows the weight of their AA batteries with and without the batteries, although your batteries may weigh more or less than their batteries. There's no point of posting the without-battery weight for cameras that use proprietary lithium ion batteries.

[Mike M]

those are pretty light, be interesting to compare the specs to my current camera, discontinued Olympus FE360 3.8 oz w/ battery- I picked up uber cheap, they had one left at an Office Max and wanted it gone, made them a lowball offer and they took it- has been a great camera and the pictures aren't half bad

would like to pick up a lightweight waterproof camera one of these days (they seem to be getting smaller and lighter w/ each year)

[Curry]

Thanks,

I've been camera shopping as well.

BTW – the weights you list are WITHOUT batteries or memory card. For example, the total weight for the Canon is 4.41 ounces.

Susan

[Anonymous]

"would like to pick up a lightweight waterproof camera one of these days (they seem to be getting smaller and lighter w/ each year)"

Me, too. Check out the Sony Cyber shot DSC-TX20, new for this year, or even the TX10, which is last year's model and can be found cheaper as they draw down their inventory. Panasonic has one that is supposed to be slightly better, but I can't remember its model number off the top of my head. The Sony is under 5 oz, battery included. the Panasonic is slightly heavier.

[Mike M]

Tom- thanks, I'll check those out- would be very nice not to worry about rain/snow, not looking for anything to take pics underwater- just survive typical backpacking weather :)

Mike

[Anonymous]

"not looking for anything to take pics underwater- just survive typical backpacking weather :)"

The one downside to the TX10/20 is that its touch screen doesn't function well when wet. The workaround is to wipe it dry before changing settings, etc. Not a problem for me because I do most of my trips in the Sierra, but your weather is wetter. Don't know if that's a show stopper for you, but I thought you should know.

[Mike M]

I have no experience w/ a touch screen, it does look like it's quite a bit lighter than most of it's competitors (maybe because it is touch screen???)

I see a few of the all weather cameras have gps's in them- interesting :)

[Anonymous]

"I see a few of the all weather cameras have gps's in them- interesting :)"

Yeah, it's a candy shop out there. Sony, Panasonic, Nikon, and Olympus all have entries in the rugged camera field. Good luck, and maybe let me know what you come up with. I'm still struggling to make a choice. I lean toward toward the Sony because of its lightness, but the touch screen bugs me a little.

[Mike M]

don't know if this sheds any more light on the subject, but here's a site that ranks some of the current contenders (w/ their justifications)

http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/search/all-weather

[Anonymous]

"but here's a site that ranks some of the current contenders (w/ their justifications)"

That is a very useful site. Thanks, Mike. Looks like it's going to save me a lot of time.

[Steve B]

One thing a lot of small cameras are missing (the newer ones) is an optical viewfinder. While it doesn't give the best representation of the field of view of the picture, it does save battery life tremendously. The older Cannon Powershot cameras not only have optical viewfinders, take good pictures, and can run CHDK to expand the capabilities of the camera.

Steve

[drowning in spam]

There are still new Powershots that have viewfinders. They're the ones that I mentioned earlier that have AA batteries. I used an older one, and the quality was great, but I can't speak as to the quality of the new models. CHDK is awesome.

[Franco Darioli]

If you followed the suggestion I posted above and selected 'Viewfinder type" in the advanced search section , for the "compact" type you will find that from the listed 307 cameras only 8 have an optical viewfinder, however there are 8 with an optical viewfinder…
Franco
No I don't work for DPReview…
BTW, occasionally some of those specs are wrong, still they help you speeding up comparison searches.

[J-L]

The Sony DSCW570 is another lightweight point and shoot option: 4.1 oz with batteries.

[Eric W. Kratzer]

I was shopping for a lighter weight camera today and discovered the recommended powershot on sale for $72.99 at B&H through Feb 2, 2013. I'm only saving myself about 3oz with this purchase, but its too good to pass up…

[Mark Ries]

I bought this cannon last summer 4.4 oz w/o batteries or memory card 6.1 oz with 2 standard AA alkaline and card. it does have a veiwfinder, 16 megapixels, 5X optical zoom. If you turn the screen off you get much better battery life

[Brian Lindahl]

I've had the Sony DSC-TX5 for several years now and really like it. 5.1oz after battery and memory card. The newer models are the DSC-TX10 and DSC-TX20.

I've beaten the snot out of that thing and it's still ticking along several years later. Sand, water and rocks – no problem, even in harsh desert climates and rough and tumble adventures like canyoneering. It's been scraped/smashed against rock walls, tossed down 15'+ downclimbs (in the pack), and doused while swimming through sandy pools (where sand will get everywhere).

[Eric Blumensaadt]

I bought an Olympus TG 1 camera last spring for its waterproof (to 30 ft.) and rugged constructions and mainly for its F 2 lens low light capabilities.

Some carry heavy SLRs and multiple lenses for the best photos.

Some carry UL cameras for the low weight.

I carry a compromise weight with the option of adding on proprietary filters and
lenses to this unique point-and-shoot camera.

[Jacob Smith]

Keep in mind touch screens won't work if you're wearing gloves. Something to keep in mind if you're out in winter.

[Ian]

I thought I would throw this into the mix as it compares well with the Canon Powershot A2300 Digital Camera.

I bought this camera last year with an extended warranty. The retractable dust cover doohickey failed within the first month. Returned it to the store and exchanged it for another one on warranty and no problems in the last six months.

Canon PowerShot Elph 520HS
Best Buy price (as of 1/26/13): $164 ~ $94 more than Canon Powershot A2300 Digital Camera
12x optical
Can't remember how fast burst mode is but it's stupid fast ~ 7-10 shots per second. My Nikon D5000 DSLR is only in the neighborhood of 3 sps which has been fine for me up to this point.
Video 1080p

Camera with battery and wrist strap 5.4oz
Battery charger 2.5 oz

I take fewer than 50 pictures per day and was still on the original Canon NB-9L battery at the end of a three day hike. I suspect two batteries would get me through a couple weeks ok at the same rate but I haven't field tested it in those conditions yet. Important to pack the pastic terminal cover for the back up battery to prevent discharge.

I bought the Wasabi NB-9L battery as a back-up. It's advertised to last twice as long as the Canon battery but I haven't tracked the performance enough to confirm this.

Overall pretty happy with this camera even with the dust cover snafu and is my go-to camera for trips where I don't want to carry my DSLR. Pictures have been a 5/5 (by point and click standards).

It is difficult to tell what the weight penalty is over the Canon Powershot A2300 Digital Camera without knowing the weight of the A2300 battery and charger but it is in the same ballpark. It is more than twice the cost but I was willing to pay more for the extra features.

Specs per BB where I bought it: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Canon+-+PowerShot+ELPH+520+HS+10.1-Megapixel+Digital+Camera+-+Black/4810843.p?id=1218532171799&skuId=4810843&st=elph%20520&cp=1&lp=1#tab=specifications

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