Help an SLR guy buy a compact

wellman

Much as I love my 20D, there are occasionally times I'd just rather have something smaller. I'm headed to Asia on business in a few weeks, and the thought of lugging around my 20D+lenses along with my work stuff and my luggage makes me cringe. If it were a personal/family trip, I'd be singing a different tune, but I need something compact.

Also, my wife is still not completely comfortable with the 20D. She's a great shooter, but the SLR just seems like too much fiddling for her. We have an old Canon A40, but the IQ is horrible and it's incredibly laggy.

So, for occasional convenience and my wife, I'm looking into a compact. The right tool for the right job, right? My ideal compact would be:

• 28-135mm equivalent
• Good high-ISO performance
• RAW capture
• Speedy, not laggy
• Great contrast, sharpness, and color
• ~6MP or so
• <$300

I know I can't have all this, and I'll be looking a tradeoffs. Based on some reading, it's looking like the Fuji F31fd might be a winner. Any other recommendations or warnings? Thanks for your help!

sirsloop

IDK if it helps you or not, but I just bought myself a Panasonic DMC-TZ3A. Seemed like it would be a good pocket rocket. Its not shooting RAW or anything, but I don't really need it to. It does have built in IS, a nice 10x optical lens, and good battery life. It should arrive sometime later this week...

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Panasonic/panasonic_dmctz3.asp

DavidTO

Did you see this?

sirsloop

FYI, I chose the Panasonic over both the Canon 800IS/850IS and the Nikon S50C. While I have used Canon cameras for like the last 8 years (including P&S) and like their interfaces, I figured I would see what all the hype is about these Panisonics...