help me buy a Point and Shoot camera

<p>must be:</p>

<p>- superlight and small (ultra compact)<br /> - have manual or preset focus ability<br /> - little or no shutter lag!<br /> - can be film or digital (preferrably digital)<br /> - lens can be fixed normal or short zoom<br /> - good IQ<br>

- would like options from all price ranges</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Ricoh GRD3 -</p>

<p>small<br>

preset focus distances can be set<br>

snap focus (instant)<br>

digital<br>

fixed 28mm<br>

excellent iq<br>

expensive (but you get a lot for your money)</p>

 

<p> <br>

It seems that the Canon compacts get generally better reviews than the Canon range but this may be more about splitting hairs. I have bought the Canon S90 and am very happy with it - it has the same sensor as the G11, shoots in RAW and a neat front ring that you can use to set aperture, ISO or focussing depending on the function setting. The picture quality is good enough for my needs. It is also what I would call a genuine 'pocketable' camera. At the same price range is the Lumix LX3.<br>

Slightly more expensive (and larger) is the G11 itself.</p>

 

<p>I should have written:<br>

"It seems that the Canon compacts get generally better reviews than the <strong>Nikon </strong>range..."</p>

<p>The S90 also have a decent zoom range.</p>

<p>i am looking for something with little or no shutterlag... what about the casio cameras shutterlag compensation feature?</p>

<p> </p>

<p>The Olympus Stylus Epic Zoom line of compact all-weather 35mm P&S are pretty good (imho). They will fit in a travel bag or coat pocket. When you get the pics processed you can always get a Picture CD with the 4x6 prints, and that will give you Jpeg copies of the images.</p>

Joseph, the Casio FH100 is a good camera (dpreview gold award) and has High Speed Best Shot to reduce shutter lag. However it is very far from meeting your criteria of manual/preset focus and normal/short zoom. The Panasonic LX5 (new) has less shutter lag than the Canon S90, but both are around 1/3 to 1/2 second. The G11 and LX3 are worse. I am not familiar with the GRD3. The Fuji F300EXR (new) has shutter lag around 1/10 second but, like the FH100, is very far from meeting your criteria.

<p>Can't say enough about the LX-3... Prices may be coming down now that the LX-5 was announced. That is one camera purchase I've never regretted.</p>

<p>There is a feature comparision buying guide at DPR. Use it and read the reviews...Neither the LX3/LX5 nor the G11 is an ultra compact to some, as much as I like them. And not all compact has the same sensor size...</p>

<p>Ricoh GX100. With the optional EVF.</p>

<p>Canon G series aren't really compact.</p>

<p>I second the Canon S90...little beauty.</p>