Anyone know of digital P&S with this feature set:

[AndrewCassino]

Almost any P&S introduced in the past year or so has vastly improved shutter lag. IMHO Sony actually led the way out of the dark ages on that one. My DSC-W1 is two years old now and noticeably more responsive than my Canon 10D was. Even compared to my 5D it does not feel sluggish. One thing to keep mind about shutter lag with P&S cameras is it will always seem to be horrible if you use the red-eye reduction in flash shots!

I am beginning to rethink the need for RAW conversion in a P&S. I think if you can get a P&S camera with good noise performance (and good control over how much noise reduction gets applied to the JPG file), it's close enough. I have been amazed what I can do to the JPG files from my little Sony when I give them careful treatment with a good noise reduction program like Neat Image. If I nail the exposure (easy to do with the live histogram) and use the least amount of JPG compression, really outstanding results can be had.

Andrew

[diglloyd]

Originally Posted by J Rabin

Can anyone recommend a digital point & shoot for non-SLR moments with the following feature set?
1. Raw Capture Option
2. Optical Viewfinder or at least a hi resolution electronic VF
3. Live histogram Option
4. Image Stabilization
5. Hot Shoe
6. Lens with decent zoom range, OK optically, and manual zoom
7. Full Manual Control Option
8. Decent ISO 200 & 400 (for a P&S)
9. Rugged case, not a toy.
9. Size not important.

I want something for kayaking and bicycle trips. For 18 years I lugged my Oly OM-1, then OM-4. Rugged. Vibration proof. great optics. discreet size.

Hmmm....same desire I have.......the new Leica M8 with the collapsing 50mm lens and the 28mm/f2.8? No image stabilization, but no mirror slap either, and more mass steadies things. You didn't rule out cost or weight

[Tony_Gamble]

"Any P&S's out there, in the smaller sizes, that have little lag time?"

Ricoh GRD.

But, as Andrew posted above, most p&s released in 2006 are OK. But don't be tempted to save money buying a model that is much older without testing it.

Tony

[Michael (Bald Studio)]

Originally Posted by ChrisPerry

Tagging...
Any P&S's out there, in the smaller sizes, that have little lag time? I don't need to shoot sports or anything, but some seem to take several seconds to do their thing and IMO, that's unacceptable.

I had the same complaint; ironically, when I upgraded to the 30D two weeks ago, I also decided to buy a SD 700 IS. I'm still into the first few hundred shots with it, but so far:
- fast start-up
- minimal shutter lag (it's not the 30D, but it's the nicest P&S I've used)
- good image quality
- small

I found that I wanted a camera with me for the times I didn't have the dSLR. So far, I think I made a good choice.

[Walter_Rowe]

I also purchased the SD 700 IS. The flash isn't very powerful, but it takes good images and the IS definitely improves image quality when you hold down the shutter button long enough for it to do its work. My only complaint with the SD 700 IS is that it doesn't capture in raw format. So I keep my Canon PowerShot G5 just for that.

[J Rabin]

Thanks for suggestions so far folks.
I should have added shutter lag and cost as factors in my orginal post, but can't see how to edit a post. None are perfect. Suggestions so far include:

Panasonic LX-2. This has many of the features, EXCEPT hot shoe, mechanical wide zoom range, and poor ISO noise of a chip that has reached too far with Mp. I think the poor ISO 400 noise kills spending $500 on an otherwise nice P&S.

The Ricoh GR-D. The fixed focal length lens is a deal breaker. Nice controls, but this is really just another digital P&S rangefinder wannabe with mediocre noise performance. I need a zoom.

The Leica digital M8. Yeh. Uh-huh. I'm gonna do this for knock about? Haha.

Canon G6. This camera had everything in a P&S except the stabilization. They put stabilization in the G7, live histogram, optical viewfinder, RAW. Wow. Wonderful feature set, handling, functionality. Then they took out the RAW to market segment dSLRs from P&S. Crappo.
Seems like the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-V3 was another balanced camera not made anymore.
The Canon S70 seems nice for a pocket camera. Raw. Decent lens. But no wide range zoom and no stabilization. I'm seeing used for $200 on fleaBay though.

Sony DSC-R1. A beautiful camera. No stabilization. Since it weighs a Kilo, what's the point? I can just buy a used Canon dSLR Rebel body, put on a consumer 18-200mm lens, and do the same thing?
That Sony H5 looks like a Canon S3 IS wannabe, and does not do RAW.

Oly SP-500UZ. Just another super zoom. It has RAW, but no stabilization. In my 50-year old hands, at the long end, I need stabilization.

Fujifilm FinePix S6500fd. This newer camera appears to have most of the list, except for stabilization. I can't find much about it.

All leads me back to:
1. the 3 year old Konica-Minolta A2. It was a P&S digicam engineered way ahead of its time. Had they stayed in business, and got a chip and processing with improved ISO noise processing, this would have been nice.
2. Forgeting RAW criteria, and getting a Canon G7 or S3 IS. But, I've been hooked on RAW since 2004.
3. Buying a used dSLR body, one of the plasticy ones like a dRebel, and putting a $300 lens on it.

Keep the options coming.

[Tony_Gamble]

Jack,

When I think of what my local dealer offered me for my 350D and 17-85 IS in exchange for a new Panny L1 you'd surely be best served by buying something like this second hand.

The money was a joke.......

Surely the 400D will prompt a few people to want to sell their 350D's ? OK they might want to keep their Canon lens, but at least you are on the way.

Rgds

Tony
London UK