What Camera To Choose

[taxexile]

i already have a mid size digital camera , but it is not convenient to carry it around all the time.

but i do like to have a camera handy at all times when i'm out , and seeing as i cant get this camera into my pocket , photography has taken a back seat lately and there have been many occasions when i wished i had brought the damned thing along.

i would like to buy a pocketable ( thin) camera , that has a rapid start up and focusing time , with easy menus and if possible a minimum 24mm wide angle lens , although i will probably have to settle for a 28mm.

maximum zoom need not be more than 150mm.

other features that i would like are an electronic viewfinder , easily accessible ISO /exposure compensation / shutter speed control and a reputation for low noise.

i dont need billions of pixels , this camera would be for quickly snapped street shots and family/friends pictures more than carefully thought out landscapes , hence the instant start up time , and it doesnt have to be a "top" brand.

to recap , the priorities in order of importance are.

1. small thin pocketable.

2. "instant" start up.

3. wide (as possible) angle lens.

4. ease of changing settings / menus , esp shutter speed. when in a semi manual mode.

5. viewfinder.

6. B15000-ish max

if anyone has , or can recommend such a camera , then i would be grateful to hear about it.

[Nordlys]

if possible a minimum 24mm wide angle lens , although i will probably have to settle for a 28mm.

maximum zoom need not be more than 150mm.

Ricoh Caplio GX100

I don't think there exists one compact digital that satisfies all your needs. But AFAIK this is the only compact with a zoom that starts from 24mm on wide side, but only up to 72mm on tele side (but then that's the zoom range of my usual lens mounted on my dSLR). It's also one of the few (if not the only P&S) to come with electric view finder, although it is an optional accessory you clip on the hot shoe. And with EVF it costs more than 20,000 Baht. It's also one of the few compact to come with RAW mode, although it takes about 5 seconds to write RAW image into the memory card.

a reputation for low noise.

That's something you shouldn't ask of a high-pixel, small sensor digital camera. After all there no longer exists any such thing as "prosumer" digital camera, only P&S or dSLR.

[kash]

just bought a canon 960is to keep in the pocket, its great in all aspects, and not too bad at 13k THB