Favorite point-and-shoot camera for the mountains?

Canon s100 here (see also newer s110, s95, s90 etc) and happy with it though it just developed the dreaded "lens error" and is on its way back to canon for repairs (this shouldn't effect newer models).

Fast 24 mm equivalent wide angle lens and a sensor that does better than many compacts, especially in low light. My previous camera was an sd800 and the s100 has much better image and video quality.

There is shutter lag but you can take good action shots using the "high speed burst" scene mode (10 frames in 1 second) and shooting a little wide (so you don't cut off limbs and so the lens is faster) then cropping. Example my wife shot of me attached.

Not the cheapest camera but if you wait for the anual refresh (they have done this for at least the last 4 years) in the early fall and buy last years model it can be had in the ~$250 range.

I posted a full review with lots of sample photos on the hillmap blog:
blog.hillmap.com/2012/12/the-best-camera...bing-skiing-and.html

Great topic.

Here's one to steer clear of. I am not impressed with the picture quality (poor auto focus and pics have a yellowish hue):

Casio Exilim EX-G1

Disclaimer, I am a hack photographer and really lean on "point and shoot" simplicity. Maybe someone who has a clue about photography would have better luck.

PS, knitvt-- this one is for sale cheap. Send me a PM (how can you resist after this rave review?) 

PS, knitvt-- this one is for sale cheap. Send me a PM (how can you resist after this rave review?) 

Haha!  It's hard, but I think I'll manage somehow.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and suggestions so far!  This is all great, and giving me lots of things to think about.  Keep them coming.

I think the biggest question will be whether to go with a non-waterproof camera with better image quality and higher levels of shooting control (it would be ideal to have manual shutter speed control) versus something waterproof, but compromise on image quality to some degree, and most likely also on the more advanced controls.  As a DSLR user, I've always lamented not being able to easily adjust shutter speed on my ski-trip friendly point-and-shoot.  But I do pull my point-and-shoot out in the snow (and it has certainly accidentally been dropped in the snow!), so for something new, it seems that waterproof may win out.

I did run across the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS4, waterproof and with shutter and aperture control, but worry given that I've seen a number of not-so-ideal reviews about its quality, and the image quality seems just so-so.  The deliberation continues...

FWIW my Lumix Lx3 has landed in the snow and has been fine (I do wipe it off right away, but it certainly gets wet on the surface from this trick!), despite not being "waterproof." I'd only go for waterproof if I were choosing a camera for watersports.

My sd800 spent half an hour in the skycomish and my sister in laws s95 got dropped in a canal. Both were fine after being allowed to dry out (remove the battery, leave somewhere warm and don't attempt to turn the camera on until you are sure it is dry inside to avoid shorting the circuit board).

My s100 has also seen its share of snow, sweat and rain been whipped off and kept shooting just fine (except for the lens error issue which is a known issue that canon will fix for free and that has apparently been fixed in the s110 and later s100's). If it is actively raining heavily I keep it in a ziplock when not in use but most of the time it just lives in one of my less sweaty pockets or in a case on a shoulder strap if it isn't too cold.

The dual control wheels are great for adjusting shutter speed/aperture etc and you can even do pretty well with thin gloves on. The built in neutral density filter is also nice for really bright conditions and creative depth of field shots.

Several of my friends bought s100s last fall and it seems the best deals (mid 200's) on the s100 last year were some amazon etc lightening sales in mid november-december about a month after the s110 release at photokina and then prices went up again as they sold off stock so perfect timing if you don't need it till next winter. I generally feel that canon's have proven weather resistant and durable enough, and can be had affordably enough that the photos are worth the small risk of eventually killing the camera...if prices go down enough this fall I may even pick up a s110 so my wife and I don't have to hand the camera back and forth and have a spare for long trips.

It does eat batteries (especially shooting videos on cold days or using the gps which is why that feature was removed from the s110) but I bought some generic spares off amazon that work great.

Great topic... I've been agonizing over this one over the past few months and have been falling back to my cell phone for now as it takes pretty decent pix.

Lou at wildsnow.com recommends the A1400 , which is not a bad choice due to its small size, decent optical zoom (5x), use of AA batteries and optical viewfinder (good for swift action shot framing and bright light situations where the display may not be bright enough). Oh, and the price is about $90 on-line. Now, everything has its drawbacks (especially for $90 in a small package), in this case it's mainly the lack of manual settings. But one can get by with some of the creative presets, P setting, etc. If you read the article by Lou, you can scroll down to the comments where other folks list the cameras they use and why so you can score a few ideas there.

It's hard to go down to P&S from a digital SLR but I got fed up with the bulk and weight. Perhaps the Canon G series would be a good bridge camera solution but fair warning - it's still one of the heavier and more expensive ones (~$500). But for those looking for good quality optics and SLR-like feel, that may be an option.
Frankly, I think I'll try out the A1400 as for $90 one cannot go wrong... can be handed down to the kids later on ; -)

Keep the ideas coming, folks.