Best teeny camera

[dotvicky]

Hiya,

I'm looking for advice on the best small camera to buy. Money isn't so much of an issue but I'd like it to not be any bigger (or maybe fractionally bigger) than my current Canon IXUS 50 (86 x 53 x 21 mm).

I am after the ability to take good night and/or flash shots, good anti-shake (as it's mostly going to be shots of my active toddler!), quick start-up and shoot times and good amount of optical zoom. After that, I'm (perhaps obviously) looking for good quality shots!

I know this is a lot to ask but if I buy a bigger camera, I just won't take it around with me - I've gotten more joy from being able to snap something quickly than from megapixel-tastic shots that I can blow up to poster size. Heheh.

For what it's worth, the two that I'm currently looking at are:

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX500, Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 and Fujifilm Finepix Z100fd.

Thanks very much in advance.

Cheers
Vicky

[cmason]

I looked for some time, and liked the Lumix models, (my brother has one), but the noise was a real issue for me.

I chose the Canon 800IS (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_sd800is.asp). I could not find a model that got better reviews, had the features I wanted, and was tiny as well.

There have been updates since, so there are other options, and the 870 is even smaller, but you give up the viewfinder.

[swintonphoto]

Well, I think all three of the cameras you listed would be really good options for what you want. If I had to pick one I would go for the Fuji. It's predecessors have all received rave reviews and have stuck at the top of their class. But, you will likely be pretty satisfied with all of them. Looks like you have identified some great cameras.

[dotvicky]

Thanks for your thoughts, guys.

Will look into it.

Cheers
Vicky

[fstopFitzgerald]

Vicky:
I bought my wife the Casio [EX-Z200SR].
Unbelievable. Does over 10MP, movies, secret audio, 28mm wideangle...its tiny...I even bought a $30 underwater housing for it and swam with Whale Sharks in Belize with this marvel.
My real camera is a Nikon D300.
This thing comes close!
Hope this helps.

Michael
www.neffworks.com (http://www.neffworks.com)