I used to carry a small Olympus camera, it was ok except the card size was only 2gig and it did not have a wide angle lens. Most these small cameras seem designed by Marketing, not by the photographic engineers. More and more zoom - 12x, 16x. Marketing hype. My suggestion, get one with a wide angle lens that zooms.
Let's face it, unless you are into birding or shooting surfing from the shore, you are like most people, taking pix of family and friends, scenery and buildings. That is me to a 'T'. So I bought a Canon with a wide angle zoom a couple of years ago and could not be happier. Got 2 32gig cards and two extra batteries, and two small neoprene slip cases and put the accessories in the second case. Both cases fit in a seat bag and offer some padding/protection. I've been on 4 MTB vacations with the Canon in my seatbag and it's none the worse for wear.
The wide angle is great for pictures inside buildings and scenic shots and I still have some zoom for close up photos. Image quality is great and it's light weight and easy to slip in a purse too. While it does not match my DSLR in quality I'm not lugging a monster around so it's a good trade off.
For videos while I am riding I use a GoPro HD. It can also be set to take stills at intervals, but its fixed wide lens makes it less than ideal as an off the bike camera. So I've been taking both on my bike-ations and end up with lots of great shots and videos. I've even used the GoPro in the waterproof case, in the hotel pool.
Tzvia- rollin' slow...
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