Looking for a small, rugged, 5x zoom camera

[LoneWolf121188]

I've got an Olympus C-7000 zoom and I love it, but our family is looking at getting another camera. Here's what I need:


Small. Thickness is the main concern.
Rugged. One of the Olympus SW's (waterproof, shockproof, dustproof) would be ideal, but doesn't have to be that extreme.
5x zoom. No less.
Nice screen. Doesn't have to be big, just high resolution and high refresh rate.
Good low-light pictures.


A full manual mode would be nice too, but not really required. I'd rather avoid cameras that have like 22 presets and no manual mode. Also, I don't really care how new it is. I really only need like 5.5MP, anything more is overkill. The 7.1MP on my C-7000 is nice, but not necessary. I'll sacrifice MP for size and durability.

[LoneWolf121188]

Bump.

[thideras]

Well...I personally have the Canon A620. 4x zoom...but why do you need 5x? Also, if you are looking for a thin camera, you give up optical zoom...

I don't think this one is waterproof...but I am very careful with my equipment.

Screen...its not huge, but it is very nice.

It is a 7mp, kinda makes up for not having 5x...

This camera is pretty nice for how much you can get it for...oh and manual mode.

[JamesXP]

By the thickness thinness,

Do you mean like super thin, normal, or thick as in DSLR thick?

[Hazaro]

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canona620/


105 x 66 x 49 mm
(4.1 x 2.6 x 1.9 in)

[LoneWolf121188]

:o By the thickness thinness,

Do you mean like super thin, normal, or thick as in DSLR thick?
Well, my C-7000 is about 1.7in thick and its a little big...lets say 1.4-1.5in max?

I don't think this one is waterproof...but I am very careful with my equipment.
I'm not. :shrug: Just a fact of life. I like my equipment to be able to keep a beating and keep on functioning normally. My C-7000 has done this surprisingly well...

I just like having the zoom. I suppose a high MP count can make up for it, but I hate cropping pictures in order to fake a zoom...

[LoneWolf121188]

What if I were to change my requirements to the following:



Ultra-compact form factor
5x zoom
7 MP
Sharp, high refresh-rate screen
Good night performance

What would you recommend then?

[batboy]

My recommendation is the Canon PowerShot A710 IS. It's not waterproof or completely shockproof (but it's not fragile either). It has everything else you are looking for: like 6X optical zoom, 7 MP, high ISO setting for low light, a night setting, manual setting, it's fairly small, nice LCD, and best of all, it has image stabilization. I have last year's model (A700) and love it.

[JCLW]

Or a Canon SD series if you want something smaller then the A series. The SD850 has 4x optical zoom.

But the A series are more rugged.