My trusty 4MP Canon IXUS 40 is on the verge of giving up the ghost.

I don’t know what to get next. I’m a keen photographer with some serious SLR gear but have lost touch with what is what with P+S cameras.

I really want a small camera. Not bothered about the larger Bridge cameras or being able to play with too many settings like my current IXUS. Image quality is the main thing I don’t want to compromise.

Is IXUS still the daddy? Panasonic LUMIX maybe? What about rugged waterproof cameras? I don’t need to go dive deep but a metre or two in the pool for family shots might be fun?

Any experience appreciated.

Ixus is still very very good. I’ve got a 110 hs, which doesn’t have manual control, but snapshots are better than my 10d achieves, particularly in low light or high contrast.

I tihink some of the higher end Ixuss have full manual control.

Budget?

The Ricoh grd4 is brilliant and very quick but it’s a wallet busting £450.

edit

It’s not waterproof though but if you want a very quick compact with a great sensor and lens it’s worth a look.

I’ve got the Fuji x10 to sit along side my dslr and if you have got the budget it’s very impressive, also looks cool 8)

Cheers thanks for the replies.

Panasonic Lumix TZ range has always had good reviews. I’ve a TZ10 which has been superceded a couple of times, and it is all you want from a point and shoot camera with the option to change some settings if and when you need it. Also has HD video. Quality is great IME – though I am no expert.

Liking my Canon SX 230 here. Quick to turn on, fast enough focusing and massive zoom. Photos are great out of it too.

IRO £180. I sold my DSLR since getting the Canon.

I also have an Olympus tough camera (610?) for work. It’s annoyingly slow to turn on, focus and store to card. Good if you need something tough though and can compromise on other areas.

Thanks people keep the suggestions coming.

I’ve got a Sony TX-10. It’s the smallest waterproof camera you can get. The image quality is better than most other waterproofs, if not ‘the’ best? They can be a bit blurry when it comes to bigger images, normal sizes are fine though. The panoramic mode is excellent too, you take the pic as if you were filming a video, no stitching involved.
My only gripe is that it can be a bit too small for using with gloves if you don’t use the stylus thing that comes with it. This does attach to the lanyard though so it’s not too much of a problem.
I got a great deal on mine and paid less than £200 before xmas, it may be even cheaper now? Do a Google shop search.
P.s. Depending on how much zoom you think you need, most waterproofs only have a x4 zoom due to their design.

Canon IXUS230HS, super quick to turn on, great quality and good in low light for a compact. Slow motion movie setting is fun for out on the trails video’s.

I’ve just been through a similar process. Ended up with a shortlist of;

Sony HX9V
Panasonic Lumix TZ20
Olympus SZ-14

I surprised myself in the end and went for the Olympus, I handn’t really considered one until I started hunting about in the web. Plus points are the 24x zoom and the price really. Sony & Panasonic are approx £200 but I got the Olympus for £164.

Sod it buy a leica………..
And shoot from the hip.

Stick with an IXUS. To add additional functionality take a look here: CHDK

Sod it buy a leica………..

La la la can’t hear you : )

I went for a Nikon P300. It is a bit of a compromise, as I wanted something small enough to be easily pocketable.
There are quite a few options out there and it’s probably worth trying a few to see what you make of them.
There’s the Panasonic TZ range, Olympus XZ-1, Sony HX7V or 9V, Nikon P300 (now 310), Canon S95 (think it’s just been superseded…)

There’s also cameras like the Canon G12 (just been replaced by the G1X which looks pretty serious) and the Nikon P7100 but they are a lot bulkier and a lot more expensive…