Camera Recommedation
 

My 13 year old son and I will be riding our bikes across the country next summer and I will be needing a compact camera that uses AA batteries so I won't need to carry a charger. This will be a once in a lifetime experience so I want to be sure it is high res. and shoots HD video if possible. A fairly large zoom would also be great!
Any recommendations?
Thanks in advance!

In April of 2010 I purchased the Canon Powershot SX20 IS.
It takes 4 AA batteries. 12.1 megapixels, 20 x wide angle zoom, built in flash. It shoots movies. I put in a 16 gig memory card and hardly scratched the capacity with 500 + pictures at maximum density.

It is too big to slip into a pocket, but I had no problem carrying it around my neck in an aftermarket soft case. For a bike trip this summer, I carried it in my handlebar bag without its own case.

It was just excellent for a 8 week trip to Spain. Camera technology is advancing so fast that this particular model is already out of date, but Canon will have something similar no doubt.

Canon is a very good company.

I would also consider a point and shoot that your son can carry in his pocket. Encourage him to take his own pictures and create his own record of the trip.

Fuji HS20.

Some AA cameras will take more shots with rechargeable AAs than with alkalines. It might be a good idea to check on this before deciding on a specific camera, if you will be using alkalines.

Any camera that uses stock off the shelf batteries and is compact enough to carry where it can be instantly accessed. I go against my own advice and carry a Casio Exlim which uses a proprietary battery, but is small enough to fit in my shirt pocket. I wear a neck lanyard with the camera on it. I have gotten many a quick picture while my touring buddies were still trying to get to their cameras. I also second the suggestion to let your son have his own camera to take pictures with.

I have used Canon, Fujifilm and Casio cameras and all have done very well for me.

Aaron :)

I was in the same boat as you when I road across Asia last summer. I needed something that used AAs because I would be away from wall sockets for long periods of time in Tibet and the western deserts. I ended up with the Canon SX130. It takes 2AAs and fits in a loose pants or jacket pocket. Canon makes a slightly smaller AA battery camera but there is no long range zoom or HD video.

The SX130 is really nice, HD video, x14 zoom, 12.1 meg, $160 at walmart.com right now. They are also selling the SX150 pretty cheap for the holidays which is the exact same camera but a year newer with an additional few megapixels of resolution, which is unnecessary if you ask me. You can take a look at my journal on CGOAB for a ton of example photos. The ones from Tibet and Nepal are my favorite.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/thecyclingvagabond

I can vouch for the Canon SX130 IS also. It's compact, picture quality is good especially for the price range. I use rechargeables but in the field I keep an extra set on hand in case I need them. It is not one of those little thin cameras, it looks and feels more like a small 35mm film camera of years past. I spent a bit of time comparing features, prices and brands and this is the one I decided on, the final influence was the reputation of quality from Canon. I'm an old 35mm film camera hobbyist.

While looking for the ideal cam for your ride, don't forget the one in your cell phone. Most likely 95% of the pictures you'll be taking will be of the "fun" 4x6 sort, not potential wall hangers. CPs are usually adequate for this. I call it my 'instant post card,' sending the pics home to family, either to their phones or their email address. When I do spot something I think I might want to enlarge, I switch to my hi res point/shoot.

When you do get the hi res cam, do a few comparison shots with it vs your cp cam to check out my claim.

My phone actually has an 8 megapixel camera. I found it to be more than sufficient for taking quality photos.

What Cyclebum wrote is a good summation. As to camera phones and their capacity in mega-pixels...that is all well and good but don't forget the lens being used. Camera phones have a small lens the size of a pea compared to actual cameras that have not only much larger lenses but also greater light gathering capability and higher focal lengths. Essentially you get more parameters to play with using an actual camera.

But again, what Cyclebum wrote is a good rule of thumb.

I agree that the Canon SX130 and SX150 are good cameras, and they seem to be the winners at their price points.

If you are willing to spend extra for the Fuji, you will get many extra features, including much more powerful zoom, and increased opportunities for creative shots. It is a more advanced camera.

You could try both, and let your son use one of them. Amazon.com has some great prices right now.

After looking for a new camera for several weeks, I am fairly certain the the Canon SX130/150 are about the only P and S cameras that accept AA batteries. I also read on several sites that they are battery eaters and it isn't uncommon to go through a set of AAs in a day. DW99 and Zeppinger, what was your experience in that regard? If it weren't for that issue, I definitely would have bought one. I hate throwing away batteries anyway but the added cost of all of those AAs bothered me as well.

I wouldn't rule out a camera with a rechargeable battery since some models can really take a lot of photos on a single charge and finding the occasional outlet is not a big deal while touring (in the US). I had a Casio Exilim FH100 that took great pictures and they say the battery was good for about 500 shots. Casio seems to be the leader when it comes to battery life at least from what I read. I used it on a 2 week tour and I hardly made dent in battery life and I was really trying to by reviewing photos etc.. since I wanted to see what I could get a away with.

If you are committed to AAs, then your options are really limited. I would say go with two batteries and a charger and you would be good to go. Since they are small, make it three if you really don't want to worry.

Having said that, I really miss my Canon A610. Metal body, four AAs and a swivel screen. It was a great camera. You can still find them on amazon sometime but they will really cost a person.

Duracell offers a high speed battery charger (and sells the rechargeable batteries - AA & AAA). It will charge 4 batteries in about 15 minutes or so (they get hot so there's a fan on the charger). I got mine for around $20 dollars a few years ago at Best Buy. The whole setup weighs about 8 oz. I think. If you don't have a lot of other electronics this might work in place of buying disposable batteries.

You can also buy pre-charged rechargeable AAs and use them right out of the package.

The Fuji HS20 is good for over 1000 pictures on one set of Eneloop batteries. You can find three classes of Eneloops on Amazon.com. The latest, highest capacity Eneloops would give you even more pictures on one set (I believe it was the standard, lower capacity Eneloops that gave 1000+ pictures).

You could also use alkaline or lithium non-rechargeables when or if necessary.

Also, many stores (I've seen them at Staples, Radio Shack, supermarkets, Walmart, Kmart, hardware stores, pharmacies, and elsewhere) now sell the pre-charged rechargeables.

Depending on how much you shoot, you might not have to buy many (or even any) extra sets, especially if you start out with a set of high capacity cells and a camera that is good for so many shots per set.

Personally, I'd drop the requirement for AA batteries. If you buy commonly-available alkaline batteries, it's easy to go through a couple of sets per day! Sure you can find them anywhere, but you'll end up carrying multiple sets of batteries, which ends up being a bulky proposition. It's also (potentially) very wasteful.

A camera with a proprietary lithium-ion battery pack will probably only need to be charged once a week. If you're concerned about running the battery dry, buy the camera early and experiment with it. If you find the battery running dry too early buy an extra battery pack. Proprietary battery packs, in my experience, are small, light, and hold quite a bit of energy. The chargers for my Canon batteries aren't much larger than the battery pack itself.

Honestly going with a camera with its own special charger isn't going to add a lot of weight and space, but it will save you some decent cash in the long run. Even carrying an extra set of batteries for the camera is adding up weight/space, close to the chargers weight. AA based P&S cameras are pretty bad on batteries overall, not to mention the models are really nothing....

Don't know if this is worth commenting on or not if the OP already owns one.... Some DSLR can take AA batteries using a grip.

I like my Canon powershot,takes great pictures,could teach a monkey how to use the menu,take 2 AA batts,will take about 500 pics during the day,not so good when the flash must be used.

If your going to be taking pictures while riding at night,or howling at the moon capturing wildlife around camp .......AA format is not so great.

I'd second the thought about not basing your camera choice on the batteries it uses. Buy the camera that meets your photographic needs. We carry 2 batteries for each camera. We took a total over 9000 pictures on a 3 month tour this summer in Europe, and did not have battery recharging problems. It was definitely more of a challenge there than we found in our trip trip across the U.S. I do use AA's in my GPS, and with hard use they last about 3 days. I spent a lot on GPS batteries and found myself carrying 2-3 extra sets. Just like the in U. S., they are more expensive in small towns/stores. I was actually glad our cameras did not take AA batteries, because of my experience trying to keep the GPS in batteries . I almost bought the Canon X 130 just for that reason (it took AA's), but opted for the G-12 instead. The Canon charger plugs directly in the electrical socket- no cord to carry, and with extra battery probably about the same as 4-AA's. If you take many pictures, the spare battery will pay for itself compared to AA's. If you do go with the AA camera use lithium batteries. BD (Before Digital), my SLR's used AA's and I'd still have to carry a bunch of lithium batteries. They did last a lot longer, but cost about twice as much. Think about getting your son the same camera, If you go for rechargeable batteries. Then you only need one charger.

Not quite. My curiosity got the best of me so I weighed them-- 4-AA's weigh 3.5 ounces, Canon G-12 battery and charger weigh 4.8 ounces. I'll carry the extra 1.3 ounces.

I was in the same boat as you, looking at a AA camera option. I didn't want to be stranded with a dead propriatary battery in the middle of nowhere. Then talked to the pros at National Camera Exchange who showed me a lot of choices. Ended up getting an Olympus TG-310 that I'm very satisfied with. Shockproof and waterproof and very small. Takes fabulous pictures. Bought three extra batteries at 13 bucks apiece. (Overkill). One battery will take between 200 - 300 pictures. Less with the flash.
I found it less headache than AA's.

The camera comes with some no-name, half charged batteries that are responsible for the roomer that the camera uses too many of them. Those included batteries will only last 50-100 shots. However, I bought some regular Nickel rechargeable AAs and usually get near 500 shots depending on how much I am looking at photos or shooting at night. Overall, the batteries lasted a long time. I was constantly showing locals my photos and never worried about running out of power.

Some people object to AAs because they think that an extra set of batteries is dead weight. However, I have are my electronic purchases so that every single thing in my kit runs on the same batteries and I only need to carry a single charger. So, my head light, tail light, camera, iPod, and Kindle can all be powered by AAs in the field. The secret it to take what is called an "emergency" usb charger. It weighs almost nothing and takes 2AAs and allows you to charge anything with a USB. I can charge my iPod 2-3 times from dead on a set of AAs. I haven't had the need to charge the kindle this way yet but I sure it will come up eventually. So, extra batteries that are interchangeable start saving me a lot of weight. If I ever REALLLY needed power and was totally out of extras I could always cannibalize my head or tail light, which I hardly ever use on tour, ect. I think it works great.

P.S.
While on my ride today, I was thinking about cameras-again!

You might also want to consider how the instruction manual for the camera you purchase is formatted. The Canon X130 and the G-12 's operating manuals come on CDs. Unless you are a lot better than I am at remembering all XXX pages, having something to download it to on the trip is nice. This summer I thought I downloaded the G-12's manual to our netbook. That was until I accidentally changed the language over to arabic. It took me half a day to figure out how to fix it because I created the folder, but forgot to download the manual. Fortunately, the operating manuals can be obtained online if you can get an internet connection

I use these.

http://www.amazon.com/Sanyo-Eneloop-...d_bxgy_e_img_b

Aroundoz, I read those reports on SX130 eating up batteries, and was watching for that, it has not been a problem for me. I have not used mine nearly as much as Zeppinger, as evidenced by his "Crazy Guy" post, I defer to him, his opinion should be solid.

Thanks for reading Aroundoz. The camera is not perfect as evidence from its slow flash recharge and sometimes noisy imagise in low light. However, based on the OPs critieria, takes AAs, is compact, long zoom, HD video, I would say its a good choice and I really like mine. In fact, while I dropped it several times along the ride with it continueing to work, I eventually dropped it again at home and it died. More my fault than the faulty of the camera but I bought another SX130, even though the newer sx150 is now out, because I liked it so much and there are very few AA battery cameras on the market right now.

Here is a link to my CGOAB journal with lots of example photos. I liked the pictures from Tibet and Nepal the best so you can skip to those if you would like: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/thecyclingvagabond

Here are some pictures that I happen to have uploaded on BF before as examples since you seem to be interested in this camera in particular.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=231302http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=231303

Santa recently brought me a Canon D10, waterproof to 33 feet and shockproof to some degree. Buy a decent memory card and a second battery and you're set for touring. I really got tired of replacing batteries in my Canon Powershot.

I would also second or third or fourth the recommendation of not worrying about AAs. Especially as you will be in the U.S, people will be generally be open to you using an outlet in stores or restaurants etc to recharge a battery. The idea of having more than one battery is a very good one, and non-brand batteries can be had for quite cheaply often and will work well.
also, great idea for having two cameras if possible,and to have the same battery/charger. (just dont forget it plugged into the laundrymat wall in Somewhere, USA.)