Any camera suggestions?

[Cottontail]

Does anyone have a suggestion for a good camera to take hiking with you that won't break the bank? There's a lot of wildlife in my area, but with my current camera there's about a three second lag between pushing the button and it actually taking the picture, and by then the fox or deer is gone.

[Grandpa]

Most of my pics were taken with a cheap digital. See my critters album in OBC

[IndianaHiker]

I just recently got a Sony Cyber Shot. Haven't used it to much but it shots pretty quick and has a 10x zoom. Would rather use my DSLR but the thing is so big and heavy to take backpacking.

[Lamebeaver]

Here is my criteria for a backpacking camera:

1. Small and lightweight
2. Must have a manual viewfinder
3. Able to take AA batteries (lithium)
4. Minimum 3x optical zoom

I'm not even going to mention megapixels, as you pretty can't buy a camera under 5 and that's plenty. Stabilization is nice, larger optical zoom is nice, but lacking a viewfinder, as many point and shoot cameras do nowadays make action shots very difficult.

[ejdixon]

Originally Posted by Cottontail

Does anyone have a suggestion for a good camera to take hiking with you that won't break the bank? There's a lot of wildlife in my area, but with my current camera there's about a three second lag between pushing the button and it actually taking the picture, and by then the fox or deer is gone.

Most point-and-shoot cameras I know have that lag. How much is your budget? I recently got a Canon 500D for about $500. It's got a continuous shot feature, meaning that for as long as you keep your finger down on the shutter button, it will keep on taking pictures without the three-second lag. You can get a rebel T3, which is about $300.

[JimBob]

I think you can get a really good digital camera from $120-$200 that will do what you want it to. Just make sure it's a newer technology with a lithium batter because regular batteries are a pain in the butt and they die so fast.

[firedancer]

Originally Posted by Cottontail

Does anyone have a suggestion for a good camera to take hiking with you that won't break the bank?

How big is the bank? Cameras run the gamut - I've got a decent $99 waterproof camera for kayaking and a $600 SLR for everything else. Both are cheap in their relative categories.

[Pathfinder]

I have a canon digital that is just great for taking pictures while hiking. It is small and compact, and it doesn't run of batteries very quickly like so many digital cameras do.

[Theosus]

There are still a few point/shoots around that run AAs. The lithium packs are nice for short trips...my wife has a coolpix s3100 that went an entire Disney vacation on one charge. But unless you have a spare, when you run out you're done. Taking a few extra sets of AA lithium batteries would be cheap and you can find AAs anywhere. Forget using rechargeable AAs in a camera.
A three second lag is awful. I have an older canon a620 with almost no lag. But you have to prefocus it (push to the first stop until it beeps and focuses) and then push all the way down. It you just push it all the way without pre focusing, there is a worse lag.

[Newanderthal]

Best Buy is now carrying some point and shoots that are waterproof.