Am I asking too much?

[Grinder]

Hey guys, i've been intensively researching (ultra)compact digital cameras for the last little while, but I think i've gotten just about as far as my research can take me at this point. Thats where you guys come in...

Ok, so first and foremost, I'm looking for a very "pocketable" camera. If I dont have it with me, I'll never be able to use it.

I dont care so much about the manual white balance, ISO, etc... settings that much. I'm a pretty novice user and chances are I'd never use those features. But if it did have them, I wouldn't complain either...

Obviously I want good image quality, and even decent image quality in low-light settings. I have a 5+ year old SD100 and it's just not cutting it anymore in terms of image quality.

Here might be the kicker. I want a pretty decent zoom, more than just the standard 3x optical. However, I dont care if I have the zoom capabilities all the time. What I mean is that I'd know well in advance that I'd be wanting my zoom capabilities, like when I'm going to the track and want to take pictures there. I know that a few of the compact cameras do have adapters available that will allow you to attach external lenses, and that is just fine with me. However, if an external lens says it has 2.7x magnification, and the camera has 3x magnification, what's my maximum zoom when combined? 5.7x? 8.1x? 3x? 2.7x?

Is what I'm asking even possible? Or should I just get two cameras because one will never fill both rolls well?

The cameras that I'm pretty sure will fill this role so far are:

Pentax Optio SV: 5x zoom
Panasonic DMC LZ1: 6x zoom
Sony DSC W5: 3x zoom, 2.7x telephoto external lens

The W5 seems like it might be too big to be easily pocketable, the LZ1 i've read lots of complaints of noise, and I havent found too many reviews of the SV.

What other cameras should I be looking at? Thanks guys.

[Photo-John]

I think you probably are asking too much of one little camera. For what you want, I think you need to choose between size and power. That said, it can't really hurt for you to buy a small camera and an adapter lens. If you discover that it won't work, you still have a nice pocket-sized camera and you can buy another camera for more serious photos.

The numbers that refer to zoom range are multipliers. So if your camera has a 3x zoom and you buy a 2x accessory lens, your total reach will be 6x.

Hope that helps. I don't have any recommendations. I did just finish testing a Casio EX-Z750 and really, really liked it. I'm hoping to get my review posted in the pro reviews by the end of the week. I don't think they have accessory lenses available for that camera, though. I think your options are going to be limited with pocket-sized cameras.