What's the best ultra compact 5 megapixel (or more) digital camera that I can get?

antifuse — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 04:07:24 -0800

UltraCompactDigicamFilter: What's the best ultra compact 5 megapixel (or more) digital camera that I can get? I'm in the market for an ultra-compact digicam. From looking at Amazon (where I'll be buying, thanks to some Christmas gift cards), I figure I'm looking in the £200 range, give or take. I know it's been previously discussed, but the last one I could find was way back in May (specifically asking about compacts) and the market is drastically different now. Here's what I'm looking for:

Ultra small - I'm talking card camera styles here

Big LCD - the standard appears to be 2.5" on the newer cameras

Good(ish) low light performance - I'm guessing lots of my pictures will be taken indoors, hanging out with friends

Still able to take good outdoors/landscape pictures - I want to be able to snap away when I'm out for a walk and that perfect picture presents itself

Decent lens quality - don't want the lens to be complete crap either.

Fast performance - shutter lag, AF, and off-to-picture time

Battery life - I'd like it to be reasonably decent

Video mode - 640x480 required, 30fps a nice-to-have

Sexiness - much as I hate to admit it, the sexiness factor is definitely important.

So far, my contenders are the Nikon Coolpix S1, Canon Ixus 55 (SD450 in N.A.), Sony DSC-T5, Casio Exilim EX-S500, Fuji Finepix Z1, and the Kodak EasyShare v550. Does anyone have any experience with any of these cameras? Any suggestions on brands to avoid at all cost? Any clear winners out of that list? They are all approximately the same size, have approximately the same specs (more or less), and are approximately the same prices. I've got a quick specs comparison up for anyone who might be interested in what I've researched so far... So - any ultracompact officianados out there?

Best Fast and Ultra-Compact Digital Camera as of May, 2005

rafibodill — Tue, 03 May 2005 10:07:53 -0800

Looking for an extremely fast and ulta compact digital camera for my traveling. I want to take as much photos as I can, I do not intend on printing them. I want a camera that could be slipped inside my pocket and be turned on quickly, to shoot a picture fast when I see something I want to remember. The price range can be anywhere up to $500, small, and minimal lag for on-the-road shooting. I went to "Wolf Camera" to see some cameras hands-on. I tested the Sony DSC-T3 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX7, they were pretty fast and compact, I really like the image stabilizer on the DMC-FX7, but I didn't like the lens movement on power on/off, therefore the Sony DSC-T3 power on/off speed seem better, although for action photos the DMC-FX7 will probably do a better job.
Are there any other cameras I should consider? Please help me make the best choice.

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What's the best ultra compact 5 megapixel (or more) digital camera that I can get?

Best Fast and Ultra-Compact Digital Camera as of May, 2005