I have the Lumix GF1 which is a micro 4/3
It takes good photo’s. I am beginning to get good action shots. But there’s a lot to learn.
However, it’s small, and I do always take it, which is the key to getting good photos, doh!
I haven’t used a viewfinder up til now. I have the EVF(electronic viewfinder) but it didn’t fit in my camera bag, so I haven’t used it so far.

Must have 1/1000 second exposure or shorter if your target is shifting
Viewfinder is a plus: unless you’re lucky you won’t get as good results as the guy with the viewfinder.

I have the small zoom lens. I do consider getting a big camera Cannon 7D but it would probably get left at home too much.

The Sony NEX-5n is worth a look. It takes great photos—but is a bit bulky when using the 18-55 mm lens.

Has anyone tried the Nikon AW100 while splitboarding?

I’m surprised nobody has mentioned the Sony Cybsershot DSC RX100. Where weight, size and image quality all matter, this camera is in a league of its own. (It crushes the Canon S100.) It’s tiny, extremely well made and sturdy, has excellent Zeiss glass, is loaded with features (including sweep panorama), and, amazingly, has a 1″, 20 MP sensor. For anyone other than pro or very enthusiastic am photographers, its image quality in my opinion moots arguments for lugging heavier and bulkier DSLR or mirror-less systems into the backcountry (my DSLR will be staying home from now on for human-powered ascents). Three downsides are that it does not have a georeferencing ability (which earlier Cybershots did and which is a nice for mapping terrain photos), it is not waterproof and it is not cheap ($650). That said, I recently got one and I am so impressed with it, and I feel that it is so perfectly suited to backcountry photography (splitboarding, bike touring, backpacking, etc), that I think it was still, at that price, an excellent value.

Check it: http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2012/07/26/the-sony-rx100-digital-camera-review/

Barrows – Yes, the camera uses Sony’s “WhiteMagic” RGBW technology which as I understand it adds a white dot to each pixel in the algorithm upstream of the LCD display; this allows for a ~200% brighter display image in “outdoor” viewing mode using the same power as a conventional display.

See: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201108/11-086E/index.html

I’ve used it directly lit under the bright mid-day Arizona sun (worked fine), but have yet to use it in snow-reflected sun at elevation. I’ll report back when I do. I can say with certainty that it is far brighter and clearer than any other LCD display I’ve used in the direct sun. I can also say with certainty as any photographer knows that it simply won’t replace the functionality of a viewfinder (no LCD ever will). But over the years I’ve gotten pretty good at composing in snow without a viewfinder and only a LCD (rough views, hand shading, jacket-shade chimping and correction), so for me this only improves matters.

I miss film too, especially taking it all the way through dark room sessions… But that nostalgia still doesn’t reach my appreciation for bottomless memory cards and image processing programs.

Method – sweet shot! Being in the southern hemisphere’s snow, can you tell us whether the display is bright enough for snow-reflected sun?

Scralph,

Is this straight off the camera?

Sorry, I should have made it clear that the tilt/shift effect was added in photoshop, the original image is below. The camera does have some good “creative” modes such as a “faux” tilt-shift effect, but in this case the in-camera version would have put the blur where I didn’t want it, so I added it in post-processing. Some of this in camera effects are quite cool, although possibly more relevant to general photography than stuff you are likely to snap splitting. It’s got an HDR mode with quite a bit of control possible.

I wont try and do a full review (check out dpreview or other sites for this) but I can give some information that is of relevance specifically for us snow action junkies!

Firstly, As Taylor asked:

can you tell us whether the display is bright enough for snow-reflected sun?

Yes, the display is much brighter than any other compact camera I’ve used, that whole “extra white pixel” stuff seems to be true. Initially, I was concerned that I might’ve bought the wrong camera, as I’m sure anyone who’s looked at it is aware, it doesn’t have a viewfinder. From that perspective I’m very happy with it.

The f-stop range at 1x zoom is f/1.8- f/11. At 3.6x zoom its f4.9-f/11. You can get some quite nice background bokeh/blur at longer zooms, although nothing approaching dslr levels. Here’s an example (sorry about my ugly noggin!!!)

It’s best not to compare f-stops with those on your dslr as I don’t find them comparable.

It’s got a pseudo action autofocus setting where you can pick a point in the view finder, then say “focus on that point” then recompose and it will keep the focussing there while you recompose. I’ve only tried that in a static situation I.e. portrait. Not sure how it would go in a dynamic situation E.g. Moving splitboarder. In that situation I would be more inclined to choose a “middle of the road” aperture setting that still gives me a fast shutter speed, reasonable DOF and Sharpness.

It’s got 2 high frame rate drive modes. The fastest Mode is super fast (for a compact!) but it focus and exposes only the first frame and then uses that exposure and focus setting for every frame you take in that “push”. Suitable for a side on shot where theres not much change in exposure or distance to the subject. The other mode resets focus and exposure for every frame, and consequently is slower.

If you use the flash you’ll have to get used to shooting one handed as it pops up right where you put your left finger.

I like the fact I can shoot it like a dslr, aperture priority, exposure compensation etc and it’s got some cool filters (nothing you couldn’t do in photoshop though). Overall, it’s not a dslr replacement, but on longer trips (e.g. Hut overnighters or camping) where weights a factor, it’s a good substitute and of course I still take it when I lug my dslr for those “unplanned” shots where you don’t have time to get your dslr out.

Happy to answer any other questions.

Method: Wow, if I am actually going to be able to see the screen in full sun in snow, I am close to sold on the RX100. With a 1″ sensor/20 MP and an 100mm equivalent zoom, there is plenty of reach for action shots, considering all the resolution, a little cropping to get a closer perspective will be fine for everything but large display prints.
One question: I do not have a problem with the continuous mode having fixed focus and exposure, as I tend to take three to four frame bursts when shooting riding shots using AP and manual focus, I am assuming that it will do this at full resolution settings and capturing RAW and JPEGs. What FPS is the continuous mode, and does it slow down when capturing RAW? And, say I shoot a four frame burst, and then want to shoot another burst, with a good SDHC card, approximately how fast is it ready to shoot another burst?
As long as I can see the screen, I can compose fine without a viewfinder… kinda like a miniature view camera… Too bad they do not make a snap on screen shade for these cameras though… it would not take much to make the screens way more visible in bright conditions.

What FPS is the continuous mode, etc etc

Just tried out the various continuous shooting modes with the following results:

JPEG:

The frame rate (fps) seemed to be pretty much consistent, regardless of the quality selected (There’s a a few settings for JPEG, one is for FINE or STD, the other is for 20, 10 or 5 megapixels), this would suggest, initially anyway, that the memory card and buffer are NOT the limiting factors when it comes to how many frames/sec it can capture.

Over a 5 second period using continuous shooting (i.e. refocuses and re-exposes each frame, I was using aperture priority), I generally got between 11-13 shots i.e. a little over 2 fps.

I was able to reel off 36 frames in one go (only stopped cuz it was taking ages to go thru and delete them!) with no noticeable slowdown in the frame rate.

Changing to “speed priority” i.e. focus and expose on 1st frame only, I generally got around 20-22 frames in the 5 sec period (4 fps) with the majority of the 20 in the first 2 secs, then the frame rate slowed down.

RAW:

I haven’t really shot RAW with this camera. With my DSLR, depending on the situation, I use RAW quite a bit. First thing I notice is that adobe camera raw didn’t play ball with these files, although I have an older version (4.7), maybe they work with a newer version. Sony seemed to have a RAW converter on their website, which I haven’t downloaded yet.

Anyway, over 5 secs with RAW I was able to get, on average, 9 frames over 5 seconds (only slightly slower than JPEG), using continuous shooting. In one burst, after about 8 secs the frame rate dropped to about 1 fps (buffer full most likely).

The RAW files are DSLR big, 20MB on average.

It’s also got a RAW+JPEG mode.

I used a pretty high spec SD card (sandisk extreme pro), class 10, 95MB/s transfer rate.

I tend to take three to four frame bursts when shooting riding shots using AP and manual focus

Seems like it will fit your needs pretty well. I haven’t played ’round with manual focus though.

In terms of how quickly the camera “recovers” after a continuous burst, it’s virtually instantaneous. Release the shutter, half press again and she’s ready to go.

I have an Olympus Stylus Tough and it’s pretty good. It’s waterproof and shockproof as well as filled with many features. It’s small and light, almost unnoticeable on tours and has a hd video feature. I’ve taken a 15′ lead fall on it while climbing and it still is flawless, so yeah, it seems TOUGH!