I am looking at getting a new point and shoot camera and was wondering what everybody has or what they recommend. I am an outdoors person so the camera needs to be waterproof and durable. I would like to be able to shoot video and still pictures with it but primarily stills. Another must is that it needs to work well in black out conditions. I do a lot of cave exploration and the camera needs to take good photos where light is minimal. I have heard of Nokia making a good camera but it is new and there aren't many reviews. What cameras do you use or recommend.
Canon brand cameras are pretty good. What type you get depends on your budget and how good of quality you need, but as far as brand goes you can't go wrong with canon.
I have both Nikon and Canon. I can tell you that canon colors are definitely much better. The reds look more natural. In some ways Nikon is easy to operate but for quality I would say canon.
If you're looking for a professional camera then by all means look at spending $400 to get a Canon EOS DSLR. These are fantastic cameras and I work around them all the time. If you're looking for something semi-professional, consider a FujiFilm camera. They do an excellent job at close-ups, zooms and indoor. It's best to avoid an Olympus. I own one and unless you know how to specifically use this camera then you won't get a good shot.
If you are looking at getting a point and shoot I would look into getting the Olympus camera which is shockproof and waterproof. I actually have this camera and it is pretty amazing. I have taken it underwater and have dropped it from 2 stories before and it is still as good as new. Sure, you may have to pay a hefty cost upfront for the camera, but it is better than replacing a cheap point and cheap every year or so. I try to look at it that way. It is a much better idea to go with a heavy duty camera that is going to last than one that isn't even worth the upfront money that you pay for it.
I really like the Canon S100, and would highly recommend it. It's a little pricier than most of the other point and shoot cameras, but it is well worth it. The sensor inside of it is larger than what you typically see in most point and shoots, as a result it performs very well in low light conditions. Many photographers carry one of these along as a backup along with their full fledged SLR's because the image quality on it is that good. The camera body is very slim and minimalistic, but the camera itself packs a bunch of manual features that you would generally only find in a SLR. It's also made out of a magnesium alloy, rather than plastic, making it more durable. It even shoots stereo sound with video, my Canon 60D SLR doesn't even shoot stereo. If you want to get even more creative, there is a freeware app for the camera itself called CHDK which adds some additional features to the camera, such as shooting a series of images for focus stacking.
I agree with andrew320 in that you should avoid the Olympus brand of cameras. I've owned two and had nothing but problems with both of them. Not only were the cameras problematic, but their customer service was seriously pathetic. I now own a Nikon and I'm happy with it. In fact, we have 3 in our household and I haven't heard a complaint from anyone.
