No budget…whats the best compact?

[K Gwynne]

I’m looking for the best compact camera to go travelling with. I’m not worried about the price but I do want the camera to be as small as possible and take top quality photos.

The Casio EX-Z55 gets mixed reviews but seems to be quick at taking photos and has a good battery.
The Pentax S5i sounds like it’s a bit slow off the mark at taking pictures.

Any recommendations or other suggestions.
Thanks

[speaklightly]

I have a Pentax Optio S5i that I use a lot and I like it very much. The macro or close-up capabilities of this digital camera are also amazing.

When you consider the size, convenience, and the virtual lack of shutter lag this is a very convenient and workable camera.

Is my opinion worth anything? Well, I teach digital cameras to over 10,000 people each year and I have written three books on digital cameras. Perhaps that might help.

Speaklightly

[nukem88]

At last! Some one who actually owns a S5i.
If you don’t mind me asking why did you choose the S5i, and did you consider the Casio EX-Z55? The S5i gets better reviews than the EX-Z55 and always seems to be the editors choice when they are compared together in magazines.
The EX-Z55 seems to be quicker at taking photos and has a better battery life, both of which are major plus points for me. I’ll be using the camera when I go travelling in some fairly remote places in Cambodia so speed and a good battery are essential.

Help!!! I’m flying out to Cambodia soon and still haven’t decided. Thanks.

[natsuki]

I just bought Ex-Z55 after using my friend's Ex-Z40 and read a lot of reviews. I agreed with nukem88 that quicker of taking photo and long life battery are outstanding of Ex- Z55. And it's the reason I chose this one coz I want to use it everyday. My old camera is C5050, it's very good but too big to use everyday.

nukem88, why don't you try something small and quick with AA battery like Casio qv-r61 for your Cambodia trip. I went to Tibet with my C5050 and found that it's very convenience using AA battery in remote places like that.

I have no idea about Pentax Optio S5i coz my choices are Ex-Z55 and Canon Ixus i5. Anyway, I will update after I get my new camera.

Hope you guys get what you want.

[speaklightly]

The reason I chose the Pentax S5i was because I owned the Casio Z-40 and was very disappointed with it's photographic capabilities. It did fine when you could shoot in full to average sunshine at the lowest ISO numbers. However, when you raised the ISO or had less than very normal lighting, the digital photo quality fell dramatically lower.

I have not encountered those problems with the S5i. After all, photo quality is more important to me at least than a bit of extra battery life. I always carry at least three digital cameras so a flat battery does not disable my picture taking.

Sarah Joyce

[nukem88]

Sarah.
Thanks for your advice. Has shutter lag or the time taken between photos ever annoyed you? I’ll just be using the camera as a point and shoot most of the time and want something I can whip out of my pocket and shoot immediately. I’ve read that the S5i can be a little slower than it’s competition in terms of speed.

[speaklightly]

Nukem-

The S5i "boots up" in 2-3 seconds, has virtually no shutter lag, with excellent shot to shot times. It is so light and handy that I wear it on a neck strap and it can be ready to go in no time. Because it is so quick to use, I have taken some wonderful shots that would have otherwise be totally missed.

Sarah Joyce

[nukem88]

Thanks Sarah.
I think I’ll go for the S5i. You know your stuff and if it’s good enough for you…
You mentioned earlier that you had written a couple of books…what were their titles?

I quite fancy getting more involved with photography and may consider buying a second slightly larger camera. It would be nice to have the S5i with me all the time and a slightly larger camera that took top quality shots in my ruck-sac. Maybe some thing with a bigger zoom, wide-angle lens, AA battery power would be handy for remote places. I’d still like it to be fairly small though as I’d be doing a lot of traveling with it.
Any recommendations?

[speaklightly]

I wrote the "Digital Cameras Made Really Simple" series which is now in its third printing.

How about the Canon S-1 IS which has 10X Optical Zoom and uses AA batteries for your rucksack. The Panasonic FZ-3 is also worth a look.

Sarah Joyce