Not a camera person but i am considering a digital to take on fishing/hunting trips has to be rugged & clear?

must be fairly small and affordable

I'd go with one of the waterproof cameras.
Check out the little Pentax W10. It's relatively inexpensive, rugged and has terrific image quality. perfect for the outdoors, and not having to worry about the weather/water is a bit plus.

It can be had for the low $200's. Buydig.com is a reputable retailer and has them for a great price.


Pentax has just announced the follow-on version, the W20. It's bumped it up another megapixel to 7- but who really cares. i think you get a bigger LCD- that's always nice. Not available yet- but soon.

If you really are not a camera person per se, why not just buy waterproof disposable cameras. That're only about $9.00 and if you loose it while you are out, you're not out a lot of money.

These days the compact cameras are very small and handy. Unless and until you immerse the cameras in water, it won't create problems. Even in such situation, just remove the batteries and keep the water that might have seeped in to dry. Keep it for about 2 days to dry. Then try to power it on. This worked for a friend of mine, who had put the camera in washing machine.

Canon is the leader but you can have a look in a store near to you to check which is affordable.