Clubbing camera

[Lemlems]

Hi all
I'm looking to replace my camera. Most of my pictures are snapshots of myself and friends on nights out/gigs so my most important factors are:
Good picture quality & zoom in very poor light ( sometimes with dry ice thrown in)
A camera that does most of the work without lots of fiddling with settings every time
Anti red eye
Reasonably compact I.e will fit in an average size handbag along with the purse, keys, make up etc

I don't use video recording or other extras, I just take pictures

This short questionnaire will help the members of this forum make good camera recommendations for you. Please copy the questions into a new post, and provide brief answers.

Camera Type

• Are you looking for a compact point & shoot camera, a DSLR, or something in between? (Or perhaps you haven't decided yet — that's okay!)
No idea

• Is this your first camera? First ever, or first digital?
No

• Are you interested in a high level of control, or would you prefer to let the camera do as much "thinking" as possible?
I would like the camera to do as much of the thinking as possible - I am likely to be in a rush and on the wrong side of a g&t or two

• If you had to choose, would you prefer a more versatile (large "×") zoom lens, or top-notch image quality with no zoom at all?
At a pinch I guess better quality is more important than zoom, but a decent zoom would be a bonus for taking pictures of performers at gigs (club gigs, not from the back of an arena)

size of camera do you want? To what degree would you be willing to sacrifice other features for compactness?
I'd want something reasonably compact - the idea is to take it with me on normal nights out. I'd happily sacrifice high spec features for a camera that I can pop in my handbag

Budget

• What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.
I'd prefer to keep it under £200 if possible but I could budget up to £300 if I thought it was worth it

• Do you plan to spend more on additional accessories now or in the future? (Lenses, lighting, tripods, batteries, memory cards, camera bags... it adds up!)
No I won't need any accessories

• How long do you expect it to be before you purchase your next camera?
I've had my current one about 2 or 3 years, so I'd say about the same

Usage

• What will you generally use the camera for?
Taking pictures of friends on nights out/days out/at gigs etc

• Are you going to photograph sports? What sport, and from how far away?
No

• Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos, or other low-light photos?
Yes, most of the time I'll be shooting in dark nightclubs

• Will you make prints, or primarily view and share images on a computer screen? If you make prints, will they typically be small (up to 5×7") or medium sized (8×10"), or are you interested in larger sizes as well?
I almost never make prints, mostly I view and share photos on the computer

• Are you interested in spending time post-processing to make an image "perfect", or would you prefer to use images basically straight from the camera?
I'm happy to tweak images on the computer - my current camera has some features for editing images on the camera I don't tend to use them

Miscellaneous

• Are there particular lenses or technical features that are interesting or important to you?
Not other than anti red eye

• Are there particular brands or models you already have in mind?
No

Thanks for any help you can give
Lemlems
X

[KCook]

I almost never make prints, mostly I view and share photos on the computer

The social sites like Facebook restrict the size of photos for uploads. So high image quality is not an issue. Thus no real reason here to go over £200. Canon is good for red-eye control. If you were shooting without flash that would open the door to Nikon and Pentax.

Kelly Cook