Hi,

i broke my last compact camera in Laos last year when it turned it self on in my pocket and the zoom lens extended and then broke, so i'm looking for a new camera and i have a few thinks that i would like to have;

1, internal zoom lens
2, the ability to charge on a USB lead or use normal replaceable batteries, want to reduce the amount of charging equipment carried
3, not too expensive:-)

any tips or recommends most welcome?

thanks damo

Look at Nikon Coolpix with L in the model number. They use AA batteries.

iPhone

The point and shoot camera is a dieing breed. Just about any smart phone will document a journey and do it well. Least for net posting and 4x6 prints.(A basic photo editor like Picassa advised.) I do take a simple point/shoot for that very rare scene that might become a wall hanger.

Check out pawn shops for a point/shoot bargain. If they accept your first offer, you paid too much.

+1

This absolutely describes a used iPhone.
I took a digitial camera with me on my last tour and rarely used it once; the iphone was always at hand, and frankly took better pictures. Over the years my wife has had an iPhone 2, 4, and 5. ALL of the 8 1/2 X 10 photos framed and displayed in our house were taken with an iphone. Apple really does a good job with their camera phones.

Plus you have access to all of the other Apps.

I just got a ZTE Flash smartphone. I'm not interested in using it as a cell phone so I haven't activated it on that service. These phones cost about $100. I got mine at Kroger, they sell them through the iwireless (Sprint) program. This phone has a 12mp camera which I was quite interested in. Also has a good GPS, mp3 player, wifi, and any other apps I want to load. That's a heck of a lot of useful features for a $100 device, even if I don't use it as a phone. (I can make calls on wifi with my google voice number). And it's not so expensive that I'd hesitate to take it anywhere.

I have a Dropbox account. It's easy to set the phone up so that after you take pictures and then get back on wifi it will automatically upload the pictures to Dropbox. I can also direct those photo uploads to a google or yahoo account.

smartphones don't have internal zoom though, only digital zoom as far as I know, a tiny lens with poor aperture, hence they perform bad at low light with or without 'flash', overall sharpness is a bit so-so, an out of focus picture stays out of focus regardless of how many megapixels you have, plus there's that annoying delay between clicking for capture and it actually taking the photo, plus you can't really 'control' much nor shoot in RAW

that said I can perfectly understand if people are happy with the results, it depends what you expect from a camera really
personally I've always found the Canon Powershot G series to have good price/value ratio for a compact

it's the old jack of all trades, master of none thing with the phones

I like our Canon Powershot ELPH 300 about 170USD one of the most compact around with a nice wide angle lense.... way smaller than an iphone :-)

I would also recommend:

4, a viewfinder

At least if you plan to shoot outside and want your photos to be well-composed and/or in focus. In my experience, most LCDs are difficult or impossible to see outdoors. It's one of the reasons I avoid using a cellphone or many newer point-and-shoots as my primary camera.

Again?

Seems unlikely. Sales of low-end point-and-shoot cameras are down, almost certainly hurt by smartphone cameras, but sales of high-end point-and-shoots and detachable-lens cameras are rising (according to one study I read). This makes sense to me: several of my friends have gotten interested in photography via the camera (and apps) in their smartphone, then upgraded to micro four-thirds or full-sized SLRs once they discovered the limitations in the phone's camera.

I would agree with this. I find it hard to frame a photo in bright light without a viewfinder. The other advantage of the viewfinder is that it takes less power than using the display, if you use your camera a lot, it conserves the power.

I also like using disposable batteries, because if my camera runs out of power I can change batteries and won't miss any shots

As for cameras that meet your criteria, I would look at Nikon AW 110 or 120, Olympus Tough cameras. typically the waterproof, shockproof cameras have an internal zoom lens. I don't know about usb charging. And not too expensive in comparison to my digital SLR camera or the Nikon AW1 which is on my wish list.

I've been using a FUJIFILM XP50 for over a year now.
Been replaced by the latest model XP60. I think I paid
$150 at Costco. Waterproof; used it to take underwater
videos in Aruba. Survived 100F temps with high humidtiy
in China. Performed well in subfreezing temps in Philly.

1. Internal zoom.
2. Uses a small battery cradle to charge,
just a little bit bigger than the battery.
The prongs flip in and out. No cables.
3. Looks like the replacement(XP60)
can be had for less than $150.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9AqW...6zPoymgKaIoDLA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZvkg...6zPoymgKaIoDLA

More and more choices all the time now.
Its a great time to have an interest in photography

I think I would rather have a camera that I could use as a phone then the other way around.That would play big with us AARPS

If only Apple had made this version of the iPhone 5:

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Galaxy...ywords=SM-C101

i've been thinking about this myself... my DSLR is just more than I want to carry, both for weight and for security... on a solo trip I'd consider it but I'd expect to spend a lot of time off the bike snapping away.

I think this is an interesting compromise between a nice point and shoot vs a phone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K3bbW8RXN8
but it's apparently fairly slow to get set to work and obviously a little clunky to setup... but it's a neat phone camera option

in the end... as someone else mentioned point and shoots are cheap and easy to find at garage sales and pawn shops... they just aren't worth anything anymore... you can even pick up "rugged" water proof/drop proof models fairly inexpensively... if I plan on taking shots while you are moving i'd much rather the possibility of dropping a cheap point and shoot vs a $600+ phone