Years ago, I had an electronic Nikon 35mm, I think it was the N70, and was hiking on a hot and humid creek in the North Cascades. Stopped to take a closeup. The sweat ran down my arm, down my index finger and into the gap between the camerabody and shutter button. Zap! That was that.

I took it to the repairman that fixed the Herald photographers' cameras and he said to pitch it. Being a cheapskate/packrat, I stored it away. I bought an old, heavy-metal Nikkormat, the antithesis of ultralight. A year and a half later I turned that N70 on and it worked. Like Trailrunner noted, it finally dried out. I used it for a year before it gave up the ghost.

Back to the original post: I've still got to say that if you want a digital camera with creative options -- a digital SLR -- then the Canon XTi -- now being replaced by the XSi -- is still one of the best options.

It's not a pro camera -- but look at the size and weights of those pro cameras, especially Canon's! I have a friend who moved up to a Canon pro camera and said she has to do arm exercises so she can hold it up.

The XTi /XSi are small and light. You can get an 8gb card and have enough image storage for the trip. A couple spare battery packs and you're set. So for bp'ing, when you want more than a PnS, this is still a great middle ground.