what's good on the market right now?

[Sarasocke]

I am constantly seeing things when I'm out and about and wishing I had a small compact in my pocket.

I read up on the Leica V-Lux 20 which seems a perfect little camera, but is almost identical to the Panasonic TZ-10 and is 270 euros more expensive. the Panasonic is on offer at the moment at Amazon.
I had a look at the Nikon Coolpix P7000, which would have the advantage of RAW and higher quality at ISO but the auto focus is apparently rubbish.

Any thoughts?

[jinky]

With their joint development agreement you`1ll probably find the Leica is virtually the same as the Panasonic and just charging extra for the badge! I bought one of the older Panasonics TZ5 I think and rarely use it as it is rubbish at higher isos and does not shoot raw. If buying again I`d want raw facility and would look at the best iso performance but as you say delay in autofocusing is a key feature.

[SimonW]

Take a good look at the Canon Powershot s95.

(I'm told that's what I'm getting for Christmas!)

Simon

[Hinfrance]

Be interesting to see what you get - I will be looking for a new compact at some point - my old E900 is a bit battered to put it mildly, but at least it has a viewfinder and shoots RAW.

[Sarasocke]

hmmm ... thanks Simon, I've had a look and it seems OK.

I think it's a mistake to try to compare a compact to a DSLR. I don't really expect to be using it often in low light conditions, if I know I'm going to need this then the D700 would go along with me. If the camera does work well at high ISOs then all the better - in the comments in Amazon for the Canon someone has said that the picture quality is really not good above 400 ISO, which is something I would expect from a compact.
What is good is the possibility to shoot in RAW.

[SimonW]

If you already have a decent DSLR, then the most important feature of a compact must be how easy it is to carry about with you ALL the time.  (Either instead of the SLR or as a back-up for it.) After that you can choose between quality/cost depending on what else you might spend your money on. A photo with some noise is certainly better than no photo at all.

Simon

[SimonW]

Sarasoke,

To see all about the Canon s95 and a couple of rivals read this report:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/q42010highendcompactgroup/

(I've always found DPR useful and accurate.)

Simon

[bones615]

I have been loking at bridge cameras for taking abroad & found this site useful for reviews http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews_fujifilm_finepix_s100fs_5.php

There are hundreds of options, most dont rate the iso ability above 400 due to the smaller sensor. my want list includes raw, good zoom, image stabilization, the raw part is hardest to find in my price range. Panasonics look good, fuji in the right price range but no raw on most models.

Simon

[Sarasocke]

Thanks for the input guys! I decided to go for the Panasonic TZ-10, which was basically the first one I thought of 

A bridge camera would have been too big for what I wanted, this one is small enough to keep in my pocket. I should arrive any day now!