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Ultra-compact digicam comparison: which ultra-compact camera should I buy? Make sure you read the whole thing - it'll give you an idea of what to look for yourself.

Considered: Fuji F610, Sony T1, Sony T11, Sony P100, Pentax Optio S4i, Canon S500, Nikon 3700/5200.

Fuji 610 (72 x 93 x 31 mm)
Pros: excellent camera with awesome image quality. Claim that vertical design will limit camera shake - maybe. Video quality excellent at 640 x 480 (30fps). xD picture cards cheap.

Cons: Larger than canon s500 and sonyp100 - but not a huge problem considering the better features (especially the amount of manual controls with shutter/aperture). BUT - NO AF ASSIST LAMP: therefore poor low light performance. Not able to switch off digital zoom such that the optical switches over to digital automatically - which will reduce image quality stored. But the clincher here is the lack of AF assist lamp.

Sony P100 (108 x 51.5 x 26.6 mm)
Pros: It's a Sony: their attention to detail is always guaranteed. Nine scene selections which makes shooting for amateurs so much simpler and takes you up that extra notch - read excerpt below. Option of attaching a wide-angle telephoto lens down the track - should you start to take your photography (more) seriously. Excellent video quality at 640 x 480 (30fps or 17pfs), size unlimitied). AF assist lamp. Battery life indicator: provides estimated mins remaining. Battery has also been found to be of exceptional stamina - compared to other digicams of this size.

I got this from Imaging-Resource: "Scene mode offers a range of preset exposure modes, including Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Landscape, Soft snap, Snow, Beach, High Speed Shutter, Fireworks, and Candle modes. Both Twilight modes optimize the camera for low-light shooting by allowing shutter times as long as two seconds, while Landscape mode sets the camera up for shooting distant subjects. Soft snap mode warms skin tones and sets focus to slightly soft. Snow mode enhances saturation and adjusts exposure, to prevent loss of colour in bright white snow scapes, while Beach mode ensures that blue tones are recorded accurately in lakeside or seaside photos. High-speed shutter mode is for shooting action or bright subjects. Fireworks mode preserves colour in shots of fireworks or other night light displays by fixing the lens aperture at f/5.6 and setting the exposure time to the 2-second maximum. Candle mode slows shutter speeds and biases exposure to keep candlelit scenes looking natural; a tripod is recommended in this model"

Cons: Memory stick: expensive, but prices have come down and will come down further. Definitely get yourself a MS Pro Duo (either a 256, or better still 512MB). Getting the Duo now (which is not much more $) will keep you ahead of the game. Size: slightly longer than Canon S500 but thinner - so not so bad. Overall the cons are not awfully bad.

Sony T1/T11 (T!: 91mm x 60mm x 21mm)
Pros: Awesome design. Very thin. All other pros similar to Sony P100. Nice option of black.

Cons: NO tripod mount - sure it's an ultra-compact which you'd carry around, but sometimes it's nice to mount it for macro and other shots. I would have seriously forked out the extra cash for this camera but the lack of a tripod mount was the clincher.

Canon S500 (87.0 x 57.0 x 27.8 mm)
Pros: Size: I like to use this camera as a benchmark for size comparisons with other cameras. Design and form factor: almost as good as Sony: very elegant. CF - cheap, very cheap. I've previously had the Canon S230 (3.2MP 2X optical) and it was an excellent camera.

Cons: VERY, VERY POOR: no battery life indicator - with the S230 I have been caught out many times, this is especially so when other members of your family use the camera and you have no idea how much charge is left. The solution is to get a spare battery, but Canon should have rectified this issue by now and they have deliberately chosen not to and that tells me something. Video at 320 x 240 (15fps): if you want 640x480 only available at 10pfs: compare this with Sony and Fuji, both at 640x480, 30fps!! Now I know that this is a digital camera and not a camcorder - but it's nice to know that you can take VGA quality shots at an instant - so you're always prepared - because who carries the camcorder everywhere?!!

Pentax Optio S4i ((83 x 52 x 20mm))
Pro: Size. Size. And price.

Cons: No AF assist lamp: therefore poor in low light. Although a good camera, you'll read that it's more a 'fun' camera than half-serious like the Sony P100 or Canon S500. Of course the Fuji F610 takes it up a notch as far as manual features go. Also the video quality is poor: similar to the canon S500 - although I would imagine Canon would still do a better job of it.

Nikon 3700 (95.5 x 50 x 31 mm)
Pro: Scene selection. Size.

Cons: Some have claimed a disparity between sound and video - not sure about this though. Appearance: very uninspiring, like the rest of the coolpix family.

CONCLUSIONS
Rank overall:
1. Sony P100 (image quality, scene options, video quality, it's a Sony)
2. Canon S500 (two downfalls - and both quite big - no battery life indicator and low video resolution)
3. Fuji F610 (NO AF assist, can't switch off digital zoom)
If size and form factor the most important and tripod mount absolutely not necessary (e.g. if will be in handbag all the time): Sony T1

After months of searching for the perfect ultra-compact camera I came down with Canon S500, S410 and Sony P100. I then decided to go for the Sony P100 and that's one perfect decision I'll never regret. This camera is awesome and you can't go wrong with it. As advertised, its lightning fast and its battery life is unbelievable. I used this on a 5 day museum hopping in Chicago, and in those 5 days I took hundreds of pictures and several videos and only needed to charge my camera once! While my friend who has a Canon S410 had to charge his camera everyday. Picture quality is also excellent and is the same if not better than Canon's. But with a better movie mode, LCD screen, battery life and speed, there's no way you'll choose Canon over this one.

I'm thinking of buying this camera and wanted to know from the owners of the camera if this camera takes excellent pictures like Canon in low light/indoor conditions. I currently own a Sony DSCP9 Cyber-shot 4MP Digital Camera and it takes crapy pictures in low light conditions (even indoors). The skin tone is extremely grainy. Your honest experience with indoor and low light pictures would be greatly appreciated (especially skin tones).