Over the past 4 years I have built up a small kit list comprising of:

Canon 20D
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM Lens
Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens
Canon Speedlite 580EX Flash

Couple of bags, Filters etc…..

In the past 2 years I have pulled it all out of the cupboard 3 times to use other wise use the wife’s point and shoot most of the time due to the hassle of carrying a bulky/heavy camera around.

Has anyone else decided to sell all up and get a good quality point and shoot?

If so what if anything do you miss about having an SLR because all i can think of is the range in lens choice but other wise I am no professional and am not planning on making a living out of photography so think this may be a good move as you can get some very nice compact that I would use then a lot more.

never!

you looked at something like a Panasonic GF1? almost compact…

My father sister in law (semi pro photographer) uses her Canon G7 as much as her DSLR's and waaaay more than her large format camera.
Father in law has a G9, and that is what I will buy when I have the cash.

I just figured that I like to take photos and if I sell my gear I should have the cash to buy a good compact and then some spare cash towards the carbon nomad

I got rid of my Minolta/Sony DSLR kit and bought a Canon G9 instead. I use it a lot more and I haven't seen a great deal of difference in the pictures I take.
I miss he zoom range sometimes and I have to be a aware of the sight shutter lag but I don't think I'd go back to a full size DSLR kit (though the GF1 looks nice!)

If your not using it then your not using it. The lenses are worth real money so yes sell up

I use my DSLR lots (but never for biking). I'd miss the dynamic range (RAW), autofocus with tracking and lack of a real view finder on a compact. But I think most people wouldn't notice these things and they aren't relevant in many photos.

There are some great compacts like the LX3 from panasonic plus the micro 4/3 stuff which may meet your needs

Canon Surehot 210sx

Just brill.

canon s90

Buy the Canon G11 Bought mine online at digi-good
for £ 347.00p they have an web shop on e-bay uk too.

If you're not using it then get rid – Canon S90, Lumix LX3 or for something a little bigger I love my GF1 and never shut up about it. 🙂

I love my GF1 and never shut up about it.

we'd noticed :o)

Best place to get ride of this kind of stuff would be…..ebay or some camera forums?

I've got a litlle Practica point and shoot that I use all the time instead of my dslr, the only thing i really miss is the speed of the shutter response on the dslr,because of the limitations of the practica, if I'm doing more than snapshots, I have to think a little more about the limitations of the camera, and how much post work i can do on the image,instead of just setting the dslr on auto and firing off a huge pile of frames and hoping to getting something half decent that I can bodge into a decent compo later.

I actually quite like the discipline that a compact forces on you, and probably use it more, it lives in my jacket pocket when I go out, well anywhere really.

I stopped using my D300 when I got an LX3.

Now I've stopped using the LX3 and D300 as I swapped an old D70 (spare body) for a G1.

The G1 is great.

LX3 and D300 for sale sometime soon me thinks.

I dont have to go down the compact that fits in the shirt pocket but want something that is smaller/lighter than a DSLR. Someone on another forum suggested that i sell all and get a 550d and say 18-200 lens which i thought was not a bad idea but then i still have a "big" camera to lug around.

Can one not get a compact with all the features of a DSLR except perhaps RAW and range of lens.

A secondhand M8.2 and a couple of lenses should do the job.

I was in exactly the same state with a 30D and plenty of kit.

Sold it all and bought a Panasonic TZ7. I regret nothing, my camera is now ALWAYS with me and ready for shooting in less than a second.

Can one not get a compact with all the features of a DSLR except perhaps RAW and range of lens.

No.
RAW isn't significant in this, it's just a software feature.

I'm loving my new Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5

Some recent shots from it

Can one not get a compact with all the features of a DSLR except perhaps RAW and range of lens.

Yes, sort of – which features do you mean? It does sound like a Micro Four Thirds Camera would suit tbh

Or for something more compact but still with manual control the S90 looks great

The Olympus PEN or the G1 can be had pretty cheap at the moment. Or the new Sony NEX cameras (but the controls on them sound a bit poor).

The GF1s are really nice to use and certainly much smaller than a proper DSLR, but they're still quite big compared to a compact. Still tempted to get one when I've got the money, having a play around on one didn't help! Canon G9/10/11 are worth a look as well, but won't easily slip into the pocket.