Fast Camera

[illinifan]

Need some help on new DC purchase. Camera will mostly be used to take candid photos; parties, my dogs, kids opening christmas gifts, etc. We currently have an older DC, 2.1 mega pix. We don't print many photos, mainly just email them around, so the lower image quality is fine. My big gripe with the camera is that it takes forever to take the pic. For example, we were at a wedding a couple of weeks ago, grabbed the camera to snap a pic of the bride walking past, and by the time the camera took the picture, her face was out of the frame.

So, I'm looking for a very small camera to take candid photos in all sorts of lighting conditions. Quality is really secondary to actually getting the shot. I really want something with very little lag between pushing the sutter button and taking the picture. I've been thinking about the Canon Powershot SD400 5MP Digital Elph. At $265, it seems like a pretty good value. Anything else I should look at in the under $300 market?

Needs (in order)
1. Fast
2. Small!
3. Decent picture quality (we will likely never print copies)
4. Good quality in dark conditions and action shots
5. Under $300


Thanks-Bill

[SebbiK]

I think you should consider the Fuji Finepix Z1 (5 MPixels).
It is supposed to be very fast (0,6 seconds to be ready for the first picture, delay of 0,01 seconds, ready for the next picture in 1,1 seconds), according to Fuji.
And it has got an iso800 option, which is very good for low-light-conditions. And it is very small, especially thin.

[Jason25]

I actually just played around with an SD400 last night, it's a gift for my fiance's sister from her dad. I'm impressed with it! It has a snappy autofocus and takes very nice shots. Her dad likes it enough to possibly get one for himself. Too small for my hands though