Canon SX260 worth the money

I do alot of back country mtn biking so I need a compact camera. Any suggestions?

I have the SX260HS. This is a shot from a Cubs game in June, Rizzo getting a hit. I am sitting about 30 feet out past 3rd base, up in the second tier of lower deck seating at Wrigley Field. ISO is 400, 1/1000 and f/6.8, if you can't see the EXIF. All in all, I am happy with this camera. Optical zoom is HUGE. Digital zoom is a lot more, but IQ is terrible. If you need the shot.... Noise is well controlled up through ISO 800, for a P&S. It sure isn't a 60D, though. It will shoot 10 fps burst for 10 frames, nice.

Complaints. It struggles a LOT to focus in mediocre light at max optical zoom. Wide aperture is only f/3.5. That is pretty slow at 25mm. DOF is not an issue on this size sensor, but shutter speed can be. A few times I wanted more shutter speed and the aperture just isn't there; ISO is the only answer. And the pop-up flash hits my left index finger that I am using to hold the camera. I will learn to keep out of the way.

The SX260HS is a nice little pocket camera and pocketability was my main selection criterion. The only other choice was the S100. I am still going back and forth about adding that to my gear. It offers a 40% larger sensor, and f/2 lens, ISO 6400 and raw. The drawback for me and what pushed me to the SX260 was the zoom range.

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I have its predecessor, the SX230, and like it a lot. It's a versatile little camera with nice IQ, and the zoom is pretty good. The manual controls are great.

While I love my SX230, it has one big drawback - the lens cover is so thin that it gets bent all the time and won't open all the way anymore. I always have to adjust it with a knife. If you plan on not pampering your SX260, I would at least always have it in a protective pouch. I used to carry mine in the outside pocket of my cargo pants and the result is not pretty - still works though

If you need the extra large zoom, then yes, it's good.
Another excellent alternative is the Panasonic ZS20.
If you don't need the zoom, the S100 is much better.
If you don't need the zoom but the S100 is too much,
then you can get the excellent Nikon P310.

-eyalg

Thanks guys, I bought the SX260 so far it's been great.