BootsnAll Travel Community

Alright folkz - I want to pickup a new camera before our big trip and have done some prelim. research. I'd like to keep cost <~$500 and size is a consideration as I'll be travelling with this puppy and I like being able to slip it in a pocket or such.

Other elements important to the SunBear:
Takes AA Batteries (not a decision criteria, but it's SO much easier when travelling)
Has Optical Viewfinder (it's so nice not to have to rely on an LCD when the sun is shining)
Takes a SD Card (would be nice as they're cheaper than some alternatives)
Size - smaller the better

What are your thoughts on these various cameras? Any ones I should avoid - any ones stand out of the pack - any that I should look at that aren't on this list?

Canon PowerShot A640
Canon PowerShot G7
Leica DLUX-3
Sony DSC-N2
One of the new updated Panasonic Lumix cameras (I've got one now and am partial to them, but also excited to try something new

I have not shot any of these cameras, so I can't give specific advice. I do have the Powershot A710, though, and love it.

I hestitate to ever recommend Sony's after my own (albeit possibly isolated) experience. I also had an old Sony DSC-W1, and had horrible luck with it. First I had corrosion in or around the lens elements, which caused massive streaks across all pictures taken in daylight. It was still under warranty (I'd only had the thing for two months), but Sony refused to fix it. Next the telescoping lens jammed/broke. Sony did fix that.

My personal experience is that Canons are great, but if size is a concern, you might consider their Digital Elph line. Much smaller, though they have a few less features.

Also, I'm sure that Leica is nice, but I have doubts that you could get it for under $500. Let me know if you do!

Thanks for the advice. I had heard much the same about Sony's so dropped them out of the consideration early.

Ended up getting a Canon G7. It was a bit more than I wanted to spend, but all in all, it's an amazing machine. I realize it doesn't have .RAW and some other features, but truthfully, I wouldn't have used them anyways. So it should be a great thing to get.

What suprised me most was how cheap Flash SD cards are these days! I got 8 1GB SD Cards each for $7!!! That is INSANE. Got so many so that on my RTW trip I don't even have to clear cards, just can keep 'em on there!