Yeah, smart phones are handy and the latest iPhones and Samsungs offer outstanding image quality. And the ergonomics are still awful. I've lost count of the number of times I've fumbled my iPhone trying to take snapshots one-handed. It's an ergonomic mess. I'd never use my iPhone for snapshots while riding, such as casual group rides. I always use a P&S and decent ergonomics for one-handed snaps -- and with better image stabilization than smart phones offer.

Check out the Olympus Tough Cams. For the past couple of weeks I've been using a friend's iHS TG-630 to see if I'd be interested in something to replace my Ricoh GRD4 and GX100 and Nikon V1 compact digital cameras.

The Olympus Tough Cam form factor is definitely what I was looking for -- flat, something I can stuff in a jersey pocket or baggy shorts pocket without worrying. No external telescoping lens -- it's all sealed behind a glas shield. Shockproof, weatherproof. Excellent sensor based image stabilization, including in video mode. Nearly perfect.

Nearly.

The TG-630 is perfect for my friend because she's not going to edit or adjust her photos, beyond what's available in those DIY kiosks at Walmart. It shoots JPEGs only and they do stand up to quite a bit of manipulation below ISO 400. I've tweaked a few landscape photos in Lightroom to squeeze out the dynamic range and white balance I preferred, and the JPEGs held up well enough for 8x10 or so prints. Pretty good for a teensy sensor P&S. And most Olympus digicams produce excellent JPEGs right out of the camera without any tweaking.

But I can see why my friend was baffled by some features on the TG-630. It's really feature overkill for snapshooters who take only a few photos a year. And while the little joystick type selector/controller seemed intuitive to me, she didn't care for it. She'd have been happy with just the basic auto-everything program mode, video and and easier way to turn flash on and off. But for even a casual shutterbug the controls and features are easy to grasp -- I didn't even need to refer to the manual for 95% of the operations.

I'm a photo wonk and would prefer raw files, so I'll probably look at one of the higher end Olympus Tough Cams that can record raw. Maybe the TG-4. I don't need 4k video capability and don't have the computer set up for it anyway, so I'd skip the TG-5.

I might also check Olympus for refurbs of discontinued models or unsold new/old stock. The camera will get beaten up anyway so I'm not picky about pristine condition of a new camera.

Also, check out the Flipbac rubber stick-on finger grips for improving the feel of most P&S cameras. I've used one on my Nikon V1 for five years. Huge improvement. I have another Flipbac ready to go on the next P&S I get for bicycling. They use sturdy 3M adhesive that's very secure, yet supposedly removable and movable. I've never tried to reuse one.