Thinnest camera

[jadeite]

I am looking for a camera that has the smallest hindrance when put into a pant pocket so that I will choose to have it on me more often. Thus, my thinking is THIN is the most important factor in my selection. A 1” bulge in the pant leg just seems way, way too much. Yet 0.7” looks about as good as you can do today unfortunately, but I might opt for 0.8” if there is a good enough reason for the sacrifice. The second goal is high image quality. Price and megapixels are irrelevant. Right now the Casio EX-S770 is first on my list and the Sony DSC-W55 is second, but I am looking for suggestions among these or any others. Need to buy before October. Thanks in advance.

[jayfixit]

I buy a bunch of broken Casio's and Sony's on eBay, fix them, and re-sell them.

Casio's are definitely more "pocketable", but far from being the most durable. It's very easy to hit the power button, and have the lens try to come out. The Casio camera will just grind it's gears to pieces. The Sony cameras actually will stop the lens movement, and retract the camera (most models I've tested). They also have better dust protection. This is important, since there is a lot of lint in a pocket.

That said...I have a Casio EX-Z70. It's really thin, it uses SD cards, and you can get an aftermarket battery for it (read: cheap). Sony's proprietary crap always bugged me. Plus...I have a few boxes of spare Exilim camera parts, so if it breaks...I'll fix it! :D

I don't recommend any of the EX-SXX models. Very, very soft gears!! The EX-ZXX models are a little more durable.

[Rhys]

There was a Fuji a few years ago that was rather neat. They fail due to the batteries dropping dead but they're easily replaced. It was only VGA but it was about 1/4" thick and the size of a credit card. It came in a little pouch. I'm trying to get one.

[mjsneddon]

This camera is less than 0.8 inches thick and about the size of a credit card. I believe you can purchase it for a little over $200US.

My wife has used a Canon SD300 for about three years now. It is about the same size as the SD1000. She likes how small it is and how easy it is to use.

[jadeite]

Good info everyone. While analyzing the Canon SD1000 suggestion it actually led to discovering and favoring the SD750. Even though the SD750 is a bit bigger, it is almost identically thin and I like the contouring for pocketing versus the SD000 squared off edges.

I also like Canon and Sony's move towards minimal, compact accessories compared to Casio's bulky stuff. But having a Sony DSC-P1 that I will be replacing I am wary of prices and limitations of proprietary batteries and memory sticks as those proved to be a major downside.

Still holding out, so other suggestions welcome.

[mjsneddon]

The reason I favor the SD1000 is that it has, albeit small, an optical view finder. The SD750 does not.

Just my thoughts.