Hallo folks, I'm looking to upgrade to a new camera and need a little professional advice. Could you recommend some specific camera models considering the following?

MY IDEAL CAMERA WOULD BE:
tiny, digital, 5x+ optical zoom, 5+ megapixel, image stabilization (anti-shake), weather resistant, LCD (with on/off) plus an optical viewfinder, fast startup, panoramic-mode or wide angle, and as many "manual" adjustments on settings as I can get (vs. "only" auto)

I'm a long distance backpacker who wants something small (i.e. light & convenient), hence the weather resistance and optical viewfinder (for saving battery life) and wide-angle/panoramic (for landscapes). In addition to carrying it on the trail, I travel a lot and need a camera I can take with me everywhere "just for life." I have too many expensive hobbies already and don't want to accumulate gear for another (i.e. photography lenses and bodies and tripods and such) so I'm thinking point-and-shoot. I've used a Canon Powershot S330 for years and have been very happy with it, but I really would like more resolution and a higher optical zoom in my new camera.

At first blush, I'm thinking that the 5x+ optical (in a point-and-shoot) and weather resistance (in ANY camera) will be the hardest to meet . . . ? Unless you know of THE perfect camera to fit all these criteria, I'm willing to drop the weather resistance as I can store it in a waterproof bag. But after living with a 3x optical for too long, I really really have my heart set on being able to go a little further when zooming in on animals and such.

If (by some chance) there are actually cameras that meet most or all of this criteria, I have no problem paying for one. But, and I suspect most people would agree, I do have a problem paying a lot for one that either doesn't meet my most important criteria, or simply isn't a very good quality product.

Many thanks in advance for your suggestions!

H

THat's a tall order, pardner!

Olympus is known for their splash/water resistance, but the only one with the zoom and IS is the new Stylus 750. It's weather resistant at least so a good possibility. Unfortunately the wide end is only 36mm, but it does go out to 180mm.
http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_s...sp?product=1266

The Pana LX1/LX2 have the 28 mm wide, but only reach to something like 112mm on the tele end. At least they offer some manual adjustment... but aren't weatherproof like the OLY.

Finally, the top Canon models in both the A and S series are interesting: A710 has IS 35-210mm zoom, manual capabilities, etc. The SD700 is obviously tinier, with a 35-140mm lens and less manual adjustability. And the brand spanking new G7 has 35-210 IS. While the Canons aren't weatherproof, you can usually find underwater cases for them, which might be handy in extreme weather.

Ricoh 500G is knockabout-able and waterproof, as is my very discontinued but fantastic cult-classic Olympus C-5050... I'm turning into a peculiar afficiando of earlier cameras, but I can't think of any modern digicam that comes close to the Oly C-5050, Nikon Coolpix 5400, Canon G5 trinity of tank-build... As far as I know, telephoto attachments are available for all three.

I've just come back from a few days of hiking in the Yorkshire Moors. I took: a digital SLR, two lenses and a flash - weighing in at about 4.5kg... (And, no, I don't work out!) One of the lenses was an ultrawide-angle zoom, which I thought would be the most frequently used - but my 50-200mm telephoto (the 35mm equiv. of a 100-400mm) turned out to be the one that was on my camera for most of the day...

For the kind of hiking-shooting I do, I reckon fast aperture telephotos are essential, as I'm always spotting something in the distance that needs isolating - wildlife, a patch of sunlight, an interesting tree, etc.... And, sadly, these are still the exclusive (heavy) territory of SLRs.

What would I do if I was you? I'd consider:

1.) a relatively cheap superzoom compact and get a good padded, waterproof case for it.

2.) a small digicam AND a second-hand 35mm SLR (maybe a Nikon FM2 or something smaller - and less sturdy but cheap to replace) with a small telephoto prime (typically these are going to be substantially smaller than their digital counterparts and, on a budget, far better built)

3.) An older, larger digicam and accessories

3.) A pro dSLR outfit of whatever size and a sore back in the evenings...

(Apologies for the dodgy colours - had to downgrade quality to make them fit the 150k limit...)

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There's always the new Leica V-Lux... smaller than it looks...

Of course you might buy one of these, as you mentioned you don't mind paying

http://www.2dayblog.com/blog/2006/0...digital-camera/

Don't press the red button! argh!