I need a new digi-cam, a small one. Should have at least 4 million mega-pixels, and have a fast recycling time. Which one should I get? A decent preview screen is also nice. Ive been looking around in CNet but was not impressed by anything. Im flexible with the budget.

Any good tips....? Thanks.

Did you look at the Kyocera SL400R? (If you haven't, then I'll make my sales pitch )

I have the SL300R (3.2 MP, previous model in the same series).

FewMiles..

WHY do you need 4Mp? I still use a 2Mp very small Minolta and am more than happy with it. It makes perfect shots and has excellent battery life. More mp=less photos on the storage and worse battery life.

You are better off getting an affordable 2 or 3 mp camera and spending what you save on a decent case, storage cards and batteries.

IMHO.

I would go for the Pentax Optio S4i if I had to get such a digicam today, eventually a Casio Exilim EX-Z40 (I have the older EX-Z4, whose shortcomings the EX-Z40 all but corrected). The made-in-Japan Casio has better build quality IMHO, but the Pentax is slightly lighter, smaller, and has a few more manual controls. Those cameras are extremely responsive and have great battery life, especially the Casio.

The 'folded lens' designs (with a vertically mounted internal zoom and a prism) have compromised image quality, despite their obvious packaging advantages.

The major manufacturers' normal designs (not utilizing either a folded lens nor Pentax' sliding lens) have either a fixed focal lens or are considerably bulkier. I am fond of Canon's Ixus line and its superior image quality, but the Optio S/Exilim EX-Z form factor make them a no-brainer as take-everywhere cameras.

Keep in mind the ultra-compacts all have lousy flashes, and that the small 4MP sensors do exhibit higher noise than equivalent size lesser sensors, which is especially noticeable in dark conditions. Those two factors make the ultra-compact 4MP less useful in evening social gatherings, which is exactly where they would seem to be perfect. I use a bulkier Ixus for such events.

Canon S410 or S500. I have the previous generation S400 and love it. The best thing about it is its form factor, which motivates me to take it along on my trips as it is so light and fits nicely in my pocket.

See a comprehensive review here.

I recently purchased a Canon Powershot A80 4 megapixels. The cost of storage is cheap. I purchased a 256 meg unit for it and it holds a couple hundred images at max resolution. Battery life is acceptable.

Buy the 4 megapixel one.

If snapshots to bring back the memories is what you want,then 2 or 3 megapixels is probably enough.

If you like to play with the images and particularly to crop your shots by taking just one part of the image and enlarging that, then more megapixels means better quality ... and the difference becomes obvious very quickly.

In the end, it depends entirely on what balance of quality and size of camera suits your taste and needs.

Minolta Dimage Xg/Xt: small, fast, very reasonable priced. However, only 3 mp.

I have the Pentax Optio.
I like it a lot.
But as was noted the flash is poor and pretty much guarantees 'red-eye' (so you don't have to fly to get it)..
Also note that their marketing gimmick is that it fits in an Altoids tin....it does, very nicely, BUT you can't close the tin......by about 2mm

Some great info and points. Maybe I dont need the 4 megapixels.... Im looking for cool design, and slim pocket fit. The Casio models dont look bad....

I must say I surprised myself by buying a Casio camera, something I would never have considered doing in the past. The factors which convinced me to give it a try:

- decent reviews
- Pentax lens
- very good build quality, an important point for me. My benchmark in the category are the various Canon Ixus models, and the Exilim is on par.
- size. It easily fits in a jeans or shirt pocket while in its pouch, something I cannot say about my Ixus (in part because of the bulk of the spare battery, which is twice as thick as the Exilim's EX-Z's while hardly more powerful)
- battery life: I now don't take a charger along for trips of less than 2-3 weeks, just a spare battery
- response time: my benchmark is taking pictures from a moving Shinkansen, no poles = good . The Exilim has also has an option to lock focus on infinity, making for truly instant response on scenery pics
- automatic lens cap, vital for a camera living in a lint-lined pocket
- more than one metering mode, including spot, as in my experience only Nikon's matrix metering has been fully satisfactory in all conditions in auto mode
- two programmable buttons in the back, handy when trying to change white balance quickly on a compact where it is usually buried under several levels of menus
- quite a few accessories, such as a waterproof housing for the EX-Z40, and many styles of pouches, including one which can stay on the camera while taking pics.
- found it for a Y10,000 discount in a back street in Akihabara, while it had been out only a month
- Casio is pretty good at user interfaces for closed systems such as this, while awful for open systems such as computers. In this case, I find the Exilim's menu system more convivial and easy to use than most (this is where the big LCD is most useful)
- it was the best selling digicam in Japan last year, usually a good sign



Weaknesses:
- flash power
- white balance with flash, corrected through firmware update
- night shots. The EX-Z40 is much improved here
- the large LCD is unusually noisy at low light levels

The Leica D-Lux is a nice 3.2mp digicam with 3x optical zoom and USB 2.0. It's a pretty camera like the classic Leica Reportage cameras and it's an all aluminum alloy body. A similar restyled alternative is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-F1. The Panasonic Lumix brand is a JV with Leica.

Another option to consider is the Contax TVS Digital. It's a 5mp digicam with a Zeiss T* Vario Sonnar lens with 3x optical zoom, a titanium body that comes in a black or silver finish.

I have purchased two Cannon S400's, one for my son, one for my wife, and it's a great camera - I've done film-based wedding protograpny for 20+ years and I like the glass on the Cannon digital cameras - picture quality is good.

The S410 can be had at dell.com regularly with 15% discounts and no shipping or tax (in most states) to make is under $350 which is a good deal for a small, quality camera.

Bruce

Hi,

I have the Pentax Optio S4 and am reasonably happy with it. It is so small, I take it everywhere. I do mean everywhere.

It uses standard SD cards or MMC. I purchased a 512 MB SD card. I always take every picture with the highest resolution 4.23 MegaPixels and the least compression. It will store a couple hundred images at a time. At the lowest resolution/highest compression, I think it will store around 5,000 images. Has video and sound recording capability, too.

The camera also has zoom and crop capabilities built in. This helps to be certain that your subject was in focus.

I purchased a Body Glove cell phone clip that happens to fit it perfectly. Everyone just assumes I have a pager or cell phone on my belt. It's smaller than a business card and a little more than 1/2 inch thick.

As someone else mentioned, the flash isn't great. It's OK if the subject isn't too far away, though. Regarding red eye, I'm not sure why this would be an issue at all. It has the double-flash feature that eliminates red eye.

Depending on what you are using the camera, I think it would be a wise purchase, especially if you want it for a go-everywhere camera.

Later,
Tim in Hollywood

^^^