Ok so search didn't yield much. What cameras are you guys sporting on your rides. I already have a larger Canon S3, but I need a small P&S for rides that can endure being in my trunk bag. Not looking to spend too much, $200 max. Suggestions please and thanks in advance!

Canon Digital Elph. I use an SD780. Tiny and easy to use.

As a shutterbug, I'll say it has two drawbacks, speed and low light.

Most digital cameras have a noticeable shutter lag. I've seen better than the Canon but not in such a compact package.

And such a small lens does not let a lot of light in so the aperture can't deliver a much depth of focus or fast shutter speeds in overcast conditions.

I tote a SONY Cybershot DSC W170 with a 2g card in it. It shoots still, vid and burst which shoots 10 frames in a second as still images. Good for still, vid and stop action progressive. About the size of a biz card an inch thick. Rugged, too. Got a little poly cloth belt bag for it, about the size of an older cell phone case. I carry it in a fanny pack with a phone, wallet/ID, and keys. A tad over 2 bills.

Features to look for are high ISO speed and iimage stabilisation. I use Fuji A-170 doesnt have stabilisation, but is good in low light. It was cheap enough that I dont worry about dropping it. I carry it in a bento box on the front of the frame. I dont bother with zoom while riding but crop when editing.

The Canon s90.

- Best low light performance you can find on a pocketable camera by a decent margin.
- Related, the lens goes to F2.0!
- A larger than typical sensor - I think it's the largest sensor you can get in a pocketable camera
- Did I mention it fits in your pocket? lol
- Full manual control (and RAW)

It's only big drawback vs similar cameras is that it's auto mode often seems to choose to low of a shutter speed in bad lighting. But if you use shutter priority mode, it's the best pocketable camera for low light that you can currently get.

Go Pro Hero. Google it and read up on it,great little camera. Its even water proof,so can use it underwater. Can mount on helmets anything. People i know mount it on radio control boats,cars and buggies etc.,it works real well and very small.

I destroyed a Nikon Coolpix by carrying it in my jersey pocket. Current pocket camera is a Fuji Finepix WP (waterproof.) Seems to work fine, rechargeable built-in battery, big display. This winter I also picked up a Tachyon XC Micro helmet cam. Not too sure about it yet. Picture quality is great but it eats batteries and sound sucks. No, I take that back. Sound goes way beyond sucking. It's so bad, they shouldn't have even bothered trying to include it.

I use an older Casio Exlim EX-S600 it does the job I bought it for. I wear it on a lanyard around my neck for quick grabs for photo ops. It can be operated one handed pretty easily. I like it because it will fit in a shirt pocket. It is not as weather proof as I would like, but I haven't had any issues with it yet. For something like a tour I would want a camera with a replaceable battery, preferably something that uses AA or AAA.

Aaron

Look for Canon models with the IS on the end. Their image stabilization is pretty good, I have mine on the handlebar and can take pictures while riding and most come out fine, seldom do i get a blur. 1100IS is the one I have, uses AA's so I can carry a spare pair of AA's for either camera of my garmin Etrex.

Canon A590IS isn't tiny or too big. Nor too expensive.



Hilly Hundred 2008

To be fair, you can buy a spare lith-ion camera battery for popular cameras for $5-$10 on amazon nowadays. They're 2 small you could carry 2 and still use less space than 2 AA's.

I was going to suggest the new Panasonic/Olympus Micro 4:3 cameras, and then I saw your $200 target budget. In that range you're looking at the consumer point and shoots. One factor you should consider is the startup speed. Often when you're on the bike and see something you want to photograph, you don't want to have to wait 5 seconds for the camera to power on.

But you can't share that spare with a GPS, or radio,or anything else. I have about 10 gadgets that all use AA's so I can have just a handful of spares and only one charger. If i bought all lithium ion devices I'd need 10 chargers and 10 different spare batteries. And then would need to replace those batteries every 3-4 years, NiMH AA's last 10 or more, I have some I bought in 1999 that just dropped below 80% capacity and are now in use in kids toys.

I carry a Pentax Optio W80.

Inexpensive, waterproof, reasonably fast, decent low-light performance, small enough to fit easily in a jersey pocket. I carry mine commuting, it lives in my right jersey pocket, still works fine after being dropped from handlebar height to the pavement more than once.

...I'm crazy.

I pack my D70 around.

Although I do compromise and use only a 50mm f1.8 lens.

I don't own a compact camera...

That's not that crazy--all those plastic-bodied cameras are still pretty lightweight. I ride with a steel-bodied Nikon F2 and two lenses in a Lowepro slingpack. With a light meter. Sometimes I swap one lens for the flash, depending on where I'm headed (the pack only has three compartments).

What's really crazy is that I've been eying bigger packs that could hold my Speed Graphic.

what about this guy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBtqpmPA7vw

?