Tough Camera?

[Pancake]

I will be going for Basic in a new months so wont have time for researching stuff then, also probs wont have as much expendable cash after flights etc.

So photography guys, whats a decent tought camera that can take a beating?

EDIT: Here is a list of what i need

Tough
Smallish
Under £250
Not Sony (This is not just because i dont like them, everything Sony i have had has broken and has not been reliable at all)
Take AA battery's, Chances are it will be hard to charge it up all the time

[kalniel]

Budget? DSLR or compact point and shoot?

[Pancake]

Probs should have put that in the OP, anything up to £250 MAX

Dont need a DSLR, small as possible is also good. not really that bothered about cray-cray megapixels or super quality either

[kalniel]

http://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/equ...test-2011.html

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q311...mpactgrouptest

http://www.lenstip.com/index.php?art=128

[Pancake]

They all seem to take battery packs that need charging, know of any that take AA;s and thats still fairly decent?

I am utterly useless when it comes to cameras, i also updated the OP for anyone who is interested

[kalniel]

Small and takes AAs are mutually exclusive, thus they've kind of been dropped in favour of battery packs for some time now. Try looking for older reviews from a few years back - might have time to look some more for you tomorrow.

[Pancake]

Damn! Do you think i would be best off buying 2 or 3 cheapy cameras? im not too bothered if they all end up broken. The picture quality cant be THAT BAD right? my phone takes decent pics to my standard

[kalniel]

Damn! Do you think i would be best off buying 2 or 3 cheapy cameras? im not too bothered if they all end up broken. The picture quality cant be THAT BAD right? my phone takes decent pics to my standard

Old cameras don't suddenly take worse pictures unless they're broken; I've still got my very first digital camera - a canon A70 - and photos from that camera are still the ones that are framed and hanging up around the house, so yes: trawl ebay and pick up a bunch of cheapy cameras, especially ones that were good in their day but have been superseded. (The A70 takes AA's too - but it's not an especially tough camera, and is quite bulky and heavy by today's compact standards).

£20 will get you an even better A85: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Canon-Powe...item41635549f4

Couple of quid for an A70:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Canon-Powe...item2c63a41a34

[Pancake]

Thanks for all the help! I think i will get that/something very similar

[g8ina]

Sony DSC-P73 and P93 are pretty solid. P73 is 4MP, P93 is 5MP, with 3x optical zoom, takes 2x AA and Memory Stick cards.

Ive done loads of infrared conversions on these are they are nicely built, solid aluminium shells.

Usually loads in ebay.

[rhossydd]

Don't get hung up on the AA thing.
Digital cameras can be heavy on batteries and disposables won't last long.
Modern LiIon batteries are far more suited to the sort of current load and can last a very long time, maybe a week of average use before they need to see a charger. They also hold their charge well so a spare won't go flat either. You can often pick up a non-OEM one on eBay for less than a set of AAs too.
Have a look at dpreview.com reviews q311waterproof compact group test there are a few there that fit in your budget.

[Pancake]

Don't get hung up on the AA thing.
Digital cameras can be heavy on batteries and disposables won't last long.
Modern LiIon batteries are far more suited to the sort of current load and can last a very long time, maybe a week of average use before they need to see a charger. They also hold their charge well so a spare won't go flat either. You can often pick up a non-OEM one on eBay for less than a set of AAs too.
Have a look at dpreview.com reviews q311waterproof compact group test there are a few there that fit in your budget.

Yeah but i can take a butload of AA's with me, and get them sent and they will have them at PX etc etc

Talked to a few guys who deployed to Afghan about everything, asked about cameras too and they said as long as you have a pouch to keep it clean a regular one should be fine

[g8ina]

what res are you hoping for ?

[Pancake]

Anything really, not overly bothered about quality

[TheAnimus]

Hmm the AA thing would be expensive, how about something which can charge via USB?

That way you can use something like this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...ls_o00_s00_i00

This would let you re-charge it a fair few times. AAs just aren't suited to cameras thanks to the fact its a size, rather than chemical requirement.

I have the old olympus which can charge this way, I believe the newer one can too, so check that.

I'd have also thought your not there on a photo holiday, so having something you can easily re-charge, or hell, even just buying 20+ batteries on ebay and charging them in 10s, posting for charging if need be heh!

In a nutshell, no to AA, yes to tough.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

This camera uses AA batteries:

http://www.dpreview.com/products/nik...ts/nikon_cps30

However,it uses a small 1/3" CCD. OTH,it costs around £85 from Amazon.