Need some advice: Digital Camera for outdoor stuff.

[buck]

Well my girlfriend needs a new digi camera for the snowboarding/surfing season that is now upon us. Something that can deal with windy beach days, and blustery mountain shots.

We are looking for one that is not *too* delicate, point and shoot, decent zoom, and can also work for the random wedding pics.

The few working search results weren't as helpful for me as i hoped. I was looking at the canon A540 but some folks had some words about the zoom and focus. I dont mind spending more to cut out the blurry photos.
Thanks for any and all comments.

 

[chimmytime]

Well just to start off digicams and surf/snowboard don't really mix well, so just be ready to take the hit if the camera breaks. I would personally recommend some ultra compact camera so that if you do fall you're not going to hurt yourself, worry about the camera later. My bother in-law hurt himself bad trying to protect the camera in his pocket when he fell. So most ultra compacts only have a 3x digital zoom, but its actually better because you should avoid using zoom when trying to capture high speed action anyways.

Personally i don't surf too much, but i have done my share of snowboarding with a camera. I've personally used a fuji 1.3mp camera, a minolta g400, and a canon rebel xt and they've all done quite well for me. My sister has used a range of canon S series camera from the 110 - SD400 now, and she's had fine results. So personally it hasn't really mattered what camera you use, its more about the photographer.

minolta g400 pic1
pic2

rebel xt
pic3

fuji 1.3mp
pic4

 

[Vette73]

I just got a Kodak C875. Pretty small, not ultra,has a 5X optical zoom and 8Mp quality.

Not a expert on digital cameras but it works well and can be had around the $220 mark. Says I can get 900 pictures with a 2gig media card in it.

 

[vi edit]

S2IS

 

[buck]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
S2IS

I wish that were in my price range.

 

[keeleysam]

Originally posted by: buck

Originally posted by: vi_edit
S2IS

I wish that were in my price range.

Text

It's only like $30 more, and it's definitely worth it if you're going to use it a lot.

 

[RossMAN]

Canon PowerShot A530 for $119.20 with free shipping from Dell.com

 

[buck]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
Canon PowerShot A530 for $119.20 with free shipping from Dell.com

Thanks Rossman!