Well ok then. Thanks guys, but any comments on the rest of my post

I don't really know what that means. (8+|

Mark

I just bought a Lexar Pro 133x 8GB SDHC (well, it was a birthday present) and I notice no real world performance difference with what I've been doing recently between that and my 2GB Sandisk Extreme III SD. Maybe if I was doing continuous shooting it would be different? Regardless they're very good value. I also put the 8Gb Lexar Premium SDHC in my compact camera when I bought it months ago and its fast enough to write HD video (AVCHD)

You seem to be the Nikon ambassador to this place, so I can understand your frustration. However, almost every review/opinion I can find online of the P6000 and S640 is massively derogatory.

To now add to my confusion, it seems the F70 suffers from excess purple fringing. I've also found the ZX1 for just £170 on UK Digital Cameras.

I subscribe to Practical Photography and they didnt like the image quality on the F70EXR but loved the F200EXR. I guess that means you're stuffed if you want the added zoom!

My compact isnt half bad for the money (under £180 now or less) you know. Its not a class leader by any stretch but if you need the focal range it offers its not a bad compromise - or it wasnt at the time

I was writing something earlier too but somehow cancelled it. I was saying that of low light is a priority there's a Ricoh camera you could look at (CX2 - might be pricey though) that does a fancy trick of taking two pictures in quick (like instanaeous) succession to improve/balance the shadow and highlight detail IIRC. That mode might not be any good for moving objects though?

I was concerned that might be the case. The thing is, the zoom is nice to have 8x would be ok on the ZX1, but realistically the 200 is a little too small for me. Low-light isn't necessarily a "priority", I just was thinking that I love Vegas and cityscapes and the moon etc. I can't afford or justify an SLR, so wanted the best quality I could afford. It was looking like Fuji's new sensor tech would allow me that. Perhaps not.

If I accept that all compacts are effectively crap quality, it comes down to features/price.

Maybe go to a camera shop and try out the F70. Granted the magazine pros knocked it a bit but that doesnt mean its not a capable camera. Plus if it meets your needs. I kind of did the same with the samsung. I had £200 max and wanted a compact that could give me HD video and a big zoom (starting at wide - and at the time the Samsung was the widest with 10x zoom to boot) in a compact body. It didnt need to be the greatest of quality, I could cope with a bit of noise and fringing for what I wanted it for, as I've got a DSLR so I compromised.

Ive seen plenty of good said about the F70 too from the general public. On Cnet the reviewer gave it 7.6 whilst the user score is 9.5.

http://www.cnet.com.au/fujifilm-finepix ... 298201.htm

Yeah, I've seen plenty of good comments about the F70 too, but the purple fringing does concern me. I can't compromise, because I don't have a better camera.

A few ZX1 reviews at cnet.co.uk, Techradar, Photographyblog and WDC.
All seem universally good aside from the noise in low light.

However to put the low light noise in perspective, aside from those compact cameras with larger sensors such as the F200EXR all compact cameras will produce some visible noise (or smear out detail in trying to reduce it) at ISO 400 and above when the pictures are viewed at 100% on a computer monitor.

Unless you intend printing pictures in large sizes above 8x10 or view them at 100% magnification on a monitor then you are unlikely to see any major differences between pictures from the Panasonic ZX1 and any other compact with a 1/2.x" sensor.

I'd pick whichever of the ZX1, TZ6 or F70EXR most fits your requirements.

Slimmest 10x zoom compact camera

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2010/02/03 ... and_s3000/

Thanks. That's what I was afraid of. As it happens the F70 still has a larger sensor than anything else bar the F200. However, I think the image stabilisation on the ZX1 will be superior. In a way, the lack of manual controls puts me off and then I realize that I want good results, I'm not too bothered about how I get there. The 200 is really out as I've decided that zoom is important. Therefore, I'm gonna have to make compromises elsewhere.

Veato, thanks for the link, but as long as it's pocketable - slimness isn't primary.

Nearly there! Just need to get my head around the F70 and ZX1 and the new ZX3 now

I bought a Samsung WB500 at the airport last week. Didn't have the cash for the other compacts as some were £250 and above. It's pretty good for what it is and how much it cost.

http://picasaweb.google.com/james0161/Barcelona#
Some shots with it.

UK to Spain? That must have been pricey, in my experience the duty free shop's duty free price is the same as the normal high street price, and you wouldn't have qualified for duty free either.

Paid a little under £140. Cheaper than Pixmania.

Anyone been looking at the reviews of all the new stuff being launched atm? Do any of you have any experience with Ricoh?