Point and shoot cheap camera

What is your budget?

I presume you want a camera with quality between your phone and a full DSLR camera. Check out Nikon’s Coolpix series. Some less than $300.

Thanks , really was thinking the lightest weight for maybe a hundred bucks

Go to B&H Photo, and follow the menus, Photography/ then Point and Shoot Cameras. Once you are in Point and Shoot Cameras, enter your price range in the filter menu on the left of the page.

For example: Canon PowerShot ELPH 180 Digital Camera for $119

You would probably need a 2nd charged battery for the JMT. Not sure you will find a camera that charges with USB in that price range (except for your smartphone that is).

Cheers

Back in the 2008/9 era I had a lot of trouble with low-end point-and-shoot cameras failing to function above 10 or 11,000 feet. They’d just not work. I went through two or three of them. Hopefully they are better now. I think my Sony point-and-shoot did okay on a trip we did to Thousand Island/Marie Lakes area in 2017. Hopefully someone can give some better information.

@ Diane:
Did these cameras fail to focus (meaning the shutter would not release when you pressed the shutter button) or just stop working LCD and all?

You could look at something like this :

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/802097281-USE/panasonic_dmc_ts30r_lumix_dmc_ts30_digital_camera.html

Witha a 9 (SH condition) with B&H it means that you will not be able to tell it is SH or VERY close to it (from personal experience with 2 cameras from them)

Works down to 14f , has weather and shock protection , comes with a nice 25mm equivalent wide angle (to 100mm tele). The 8sec exposure is good enogh for moonlit shots.

My experience was that the camera would begin to open up, then go “Nope” and close back up again and say “battery exhausted” even if it was warm, even if the battery was new and charged. Once below 10K feet, it would miraculously work again. I had this happen with 2 or 3 different cameras, different brands. I am thinking maybe they are better made now. My Sony point and shoot doesn’t have that problem, but I’d say if you can afford better than a $100, maybe get a $300 point and shoot. I think that’s what I have, a $300 camera. My Sony has other problems, though. Weird spots on the lens that won’t go away, don’t clean off and cause weird flares in certain light conditions. Other than that, it’s a good camera.

For a Grand Canyon rafting trip in 2009 (before you always had your phone with you and the phones became more waterproof), I researched very robust small cameras.  I got a pocket-sized Canon that was waterproof to 3m, drop proof to 1m, small, compact, had a zoom and had lots of options / modes.  I threaded the wrist strap into my PFD strap and kept it my chest pocket so it was secure during the white water.

What I found and what I suspect is still the case, is that extra batteries retail for $19.95, $24.95 or $29.95, or are online from B&H for a fair discount.  Or you could get them straight from Shanghai off of eBay (if you plan 2-3 weeks in advance) for $1.62 each with free shipping.  Look at the battery pack for the part number or google “battery for Canon X123” and then search on eBay for that battery.

A few very new cameras (my wife has gotten a few high-end DSLRs over the years) won’t have extra batteries available that way for a while, but after they’ve been out for a while, they will.  I’d check for the availability and price of extra batteries as part of my selection process for the camera.

For a JMT or any 2-3 week trip, you definitely want to just take 2 or 3 or 4 extra batteries rather than a charger to charge one or two batteries.  The batteries will be smaller and weigh less than the charger and already be charged.  Even for thru hikers, I’ve proposed you could just toss a charged one into every resupply mailer.

Diane: We sold high-end sunglasses in the backpacking store (great margin on those things!) and HAD to have a dollr-bill-sized piece of chamois leather to clean the smudges and greasy fingerprints off the lenses after people had handled them.  I think I know what you mean – some coated lenses can be almost impossible to remove smudges from.  But the chamois leather works.  We sold them next to the sunglasses display.

Every few years, I’ll buy a chamois sold in the auto-part store for wiping down your fancy car and cut it into 3″ x 6″ pieces as stocking stuffers for friends who wear glasses.

If you’re not planning on making large prints after your trip, why not just use your cell (smart) phone? Any recent gen phone will mostly likely work quite well to document your trip. And, if you’re already carrying the phone with you, that’s just one less thing to carry.

In good sunlit shots with a relatively new mobile phone, you will be hard pressed to see any difference in photo quality between it and a cheaper point and shoot.

Agree with Cameron. Particularly if you have a modicum of stability to help you (eg a mini tripod…tons out there to choose from…just google… many DIY).