Best Pocket Sized Travel Camera?

[tmung]

Hey, I'm new to the forums and fairly new to buying digital cameras. I've been shooting 35mm for a while now, but haven't done anything more than experiment with digital, but this summer I'm going on an exchange program to Germany for a month and have decided that I would rather do that in digital, since I can't lug my 35mm SLR around to get the more fun shots of my friends, etc. So, right now my parents have an Exilim Z3 by Casio, which is alright but the image quality leaves something to be desired, if you ask me, so I'm looking for something compact and with high quality images that I can carry in my pocket for this trip. ANybody know of the perfect tiny travel camera?

[darkman]

Hey, I'm new to the forums and fairly new to buying digital cameras. I've been shooting 35mm for a while now, but haven't done anything more than experiment with digital, but this summer I'm going on an exchange program to Germany for a month and have decided that I would rather do that in digital, since I can't lug my 35mm SLR around to get the more fun shots of my friends, etc. So, right now my parents have an Exilim Z3 by Casio, which is alright but the image quality leaves something to be desired, if you ask me, so I'm looking for something compact and with high quality images that I can carry in my pocket for this trip. ANybody know of the perfect tiny travel camera?

Canon s400 digital elph? It easily fits in your pocket, takes cf cards, and has decent resolution. It's really hard to say, and depends what you consider fitting in a pocket.

Mike

[tmung]

Canon s400 digital elph? It easily fits in your pocket, takes cf cards, and has decent resolution. It's really hard to say, and depends what you consider fitting in a pocket.

Mike

Yeah, good call. By pocket sized I mean I'm most concerned about thickness. I would like less than or in the very near vicinity of 1 inch of depth, and a pretty small width and height, though I have less concrete figures. I just want to be able to put it in the pocket of a pair of jeans and keep it there for the time I'm out, I want to be able to have the camera with my wherever I might need it without bringing a bag or anything. That s400 looks like a pretty solid possibility, I'm going to look further into it. Any other suggestions out there?

[Ronnoco]

Sure look at the Minolta G500 at 5 megapixels, 7 ounces and quite small with loads of manual over-rides to automatic features.

Ronnoco.

[Asylum Steve]

Calumet now has the Canon S400 for less than $350...

Canon s400 digital elph? It easily fits in your pocket, takes cf cards, and has decent resolution. It's really hard to say, and depends what you consider fitting in a pocket.

Mike

[FishMan473]

I have been very happy with my Sony U-20, which has since been "replaced" with the Cybershot U-40, though the differences appear to be only cosmetic. Takes pretty good photos--I thought they were great photos until I got my Nikon D70--but still nearly as good looking photos as my old film SLR. Only 2.0 megapixels though, but for $200 not a bad deal.

I take mine with me on all sorts of hiking and biking trips. It's a tough little bugger let me tell you. I keep it in a CamelBak pocket on the side of my torso and it gets a lot of sweat on it with no ill effects. Also, I had a really bad crash last fall where I broke my collar bone, landed on the side the camera was on. Dented the camera a bit, and I was brused where the camera impacted on me, but it still works, good as new. What a champ.

The new Sony DSC-T1 Cyber-shot looks pretty sweet, might be just what you're looking for. 5.1 mega pixels, but it costs $550.

[FishMan473]

I have been very happy with my Sony U-20, which has since been "replaced" with the Cybershot U-40, though the differences appear to be only cosmetic.

OK, I looked up the U-40 and U-20 specs and there are a few important differences. The U-40 allows you to select different white ballance modes which is probably the single biggest drawback with the U-20 as far as taking great pictures all the time. Also, a little bit better movie mode.

The only thing you might not like about this camera is the lack of any zoom. I figure no zoom is part of what makes it more durable, a reasonable compromise for me. One bonus the very small minimum focus distance. A real boon for a guy into wildflower photography like myself. Below are some pictures take with this camea. The lighting was harsh for all the photos on the first set. The second set is a big long letter to friends and family, but it shows good examples of what this camera can do.

http://dana.ucc.nau.edu/~fch3/c&vVisit/Page1.html

http://dana.ucc.nau.edu/~fch3/webletter/