What camera for snowboarding?

[onesickpuppy]

Chaps,

I'm going snowboarding in Austria in December and would like your ideas on a relatively inexpensive, but decent compact camera. I have a Nikon D40 (which I love) and an old Olympus 7.1 megapixel 'indestructable' compact which takes ste photos. I am by no means a good photographer, but I can play around with settings on the DSLR to adjust DoF, shutter speed etc. I also have an iPhone which can take a decent(ish) pic in ideal conditions.

The D40 is too big/heavy to take, the Olympus is too ste and the iPhone is no use for most conditions. Any suggestions for a decent 'allrounder' for under say £200? It will be used both on the slopes and apres ski . Video capability isn't really required as that is something the iPhone does do well.

[GetCarter]

At last an easy one.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-PowerShot-Digital-Se...

This camera is ALWAYS in my pocket.

[onesickpuppy]

Looks good, cheers for that! Off to the Big Apple in October so I'll see if I can get a cheap deal.

[Craikeybaby]

GetCarter said:

At last an easy one.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-PowerShot-Digital-Se...

This camera is ALWAYS in my pocket.

^ What he said I've given up taking my SLR kit up the hill with me, as it's too bulky, my S90 just slips into a pocket and still takes decent pictures. iPhone is a bit of a faff as you need to take gloves off.

[GetCarter]

Taken 10 mins ago with said P&S

[anonymous-user]

Craikeybaby said:

iPhone is a bit of a faff as you need to take gloves off.

http://uk.thenorthface.com/tnf-uk-en/etip-gloves.html

[anonymous-user]

GetCarter said:

Taken 10 mins ago with said P&S

I've seen a few of your S95 shots over the last year or so and they always look really good I must say.

But... can you give some more detail on how you are getting the best out of it please?

Do you just hop out of the car and squeeze of a few shots in Auto, or are you using tripods and having a good old fiddle with the settings in P or Manual for example?

[GetCarter]

NinjaPower said:

GetCarter said:

Taken 10 mins ago with said P&S

I've seen a few of your S95 shots over the last year or so and they always look really good I must say.

But... can you give some more detail on how you are getting the best out of it please?

Do you just hop out of the car and squeeze of a few shots in Auto, or are you using tripods and having a good old fiddle with the settings in P or Manual for example?

Always in P with the S95 unless I'm messing with depth of field. First up, I exposure bracket 3 shots every time I take a photo. (it's in a menu somewhere on the S95) This takes the camera's best guess, but then takes one overexposed, then one under. I OFTEN use the shot that the camera thought was an underexposure, as it's quite easy to gain brightness, but impossible to rescue blown highlights. I then upload to PC and nearly always alter the curves to create an 'S' shape (adding highlight and shadow - really helps define clouds and give depth to photos). Takes about 10 secs. If you can't be arsed with curves, every bit of photo software has a 'change highlight/shadow' function - you can do it that way (though it's more of a blunt instrument).

Shot above done exactly as detailed.

Hardly ever use tripods these days.

ETA that most of these 'snaps' are used for my Twitter feed and uploaded to the Torridon website, and most of the people viewing are not looking for high art, just an idea of what's going on with the weather etc. If I'm out doing 'grown up' togging, I'll take the D3 and D800 and all the fancy kit.

Edited by GetCarter on Tuesday 18th September 13:50

[anonymous-user]

GetCarter said:

Always in P with the S95 unless I'm messing with depth of field. First up, I exposure bracket 3 shots every time I take a photo. (it's in a menu somewhere on the S95) This takes the camera's best guess, but then takes one overexposed, then one under. I OFTEN use the shot that the camera thought was an underexposure, as it's quite easy to gain brightness, but impossible to rescue blown highlights. I then upload to PC and nearly always alter the curves to create an 'S' shape (adding highlight and shadow - really helps define clouds and give depth to photos). Takes about 10 secs. If you can't be arsed with curves, every bit of photo software has a 'change highlight/shadow' function - you can do it that way (though it's more of a blunt instrument).

Shot above done exactly as detailed.

Hardly ever use tripods these days.

ETA that most of these 'snaps' are used for my Twitter feed and uploaded to the Torridon website, and most of the people visiting are not looking for high art, just an idea of what's going on with the weather etc. If I'm out doing 'grown up' togging, I'll take the D3 and D800 and all the fancy kit.

Edited by GetCarter on Tuesday 18th September 13:49

Ah excellent, thanks for that

[onesickpuppy]

GetCarter said:

Taken 10 mins ago with said P&S

Love that!

[LongQ]

onesickpuppy said:

Looks good, cheers for that! Off to the Big Apple in October so I'll see if I can get a cheap deal.

They are about as cheaap as you are likely to get here at the moment. In fact since Canon have just announced the S110 you might even find the S100 (which was the update for the S95 less than a year ago) close to your budget. New S95 stock may be a bit scarce these days, probably more so in NY. However if you can find one - terrfic value.

Someone here recent bought one used for well within your budget.

I've got an S90 - same as the S95 but without the higher video spec. Probably almost throwaway prices these days I would guess even though they are built to last and offer great image quality.

[anonymous-user]

onesickpuppy said:

Looks good, cheers for that! Off to the Big Apple in October so I'll see if I can get a cheap deal.

Having just spent 3 weeks in the US I can assure you it simply isn't any cheaper over here at the moment.

While I was there I browsed places like Best Buy, Target etc and cameras, headphones, memory cards and suchlike were as near as damnit the same price once you converted from $ to £.

I remember being a teenager in the 90's when you came back from America loaded with Oakley sunglasses, Sony Walkmans and Nike trainers.... Not any more!

There are minor savings to be made as the item gets proportionally more expensive, if you were buying a Nikon D800 for example.

Just shop around online here and get it in time for your holiday is my advice

[RobDickinson]

I take my s95 in my pocket too, sometimes take the dSLR up but then I'm confident I can get down without destroying it.

[anonymous-user]

I have to admit that I do take my DSLR when I go skiing... I tend not to bother with taking a compact camera with me as the two Sony's I have are old and ste now...
One day I'll get round to buying a Canon S95 or I rather like the look of the FuJi X10 these days...

I generally ski with a Lowepro 100AW Slingshot bag on my back which contains my D7000, sunglasses, wallet, chapstick, bottle of water, and a few other skiing related bits and pieces. I find it very small and light and doesn't get in the way at all.