Small size.. Nikon CoolPix S10, Panasonic TZ10
Solid performance... Sony DSC H5, Canon PowerShot S3 IS
From my POV, in that order of choice.
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I use the Sony DSC H5, and it's great.
The color reproduction is WOW & the dust in pics minimal in the H5.
And the users feel that the camera actually beautifies the actual photo. People look much better in this camera as compared to other cameras!!! Other user opinions... not mine.
The camera's a little bulkier than other point&shooters... but hey... it's not a point&shooter.. it's prosumer, and a curvy one too. It feels like it is made to be held caressingly. Fits perfectly in the hand.
Unedited pics.. xcept for the watermark I added.
Details of camera make, ISO... on right-click->Properties->Advanced of the downloaded file
Still learning the basics... so all photos in automatic mode.. not pro/manual-mode. NO TRIPOD USED.
@ Max zoom... incl. smart zoom.
*img295.imageshack.us/img295/3104/dsc00259newzv2.th.jpg *img170.imageshack.us/img170/3590/dsc00347newzq4.th.jpg *img295.imageshack.us/img295/7928/dsc00361ny3.th.jpg
The moon has never come this close to me *img116.exs.cx/img116/6469/g5cgrin.gif
Good red-eye removal... in fact none.
*img170.imageshack.us/img170/7338/dsc00160eg5.th.jpg
This is a impromptu shot... fast reaction... just when I saw a squirrel running on a wire. Done @ zoom around 6-8x. Check out the detail in the squirrel tail hairs.
*img170.imageshack.us/img170/5847/dsc00210newvd2.th.jpg
Slight purple fringing in some high-contrast pics... But can be resolved in photoshop. See here.
Fast startup... fast focussing & capturing. A little lag in low-light focussing, but the results r excellent.
One more useful feature.. smart zoom... as in other Sony Digicams... meaning supposing u r takin pics lower than ur highest resolution... like I'm takin 3-5Megapix pics on my 7.2megapix cam... I can actually zoom more than 12x... i.e. camera takes 7.2megapix picture while cropping the pic during the xtra zoom... realtime... Meanin u get actual picture without loss of quality.. because no extrapolation is done... same highest-resolution pic.. cropped.
More on smart zoom: 1, 2.
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And, u better search the forum first. Check this out, for example.
!!!!!!!!!! 
