Point and Shoot?

Not wanting to hijack Superchief's thread, I'm also looking for a P&S with manual controls. I need something I can toss in my pack or pocket when I don't want to take the SLR out. The Panasonic LX2 actually looks like it might be exactly what I'm looking for, but I'd like to know what else is out there in this range. It doesn't necessarily have to shoot in RAW, but that is a plus. It would also be nice to stick with a Canon, but I'm not sure if they have anything that fits the bill exactly. I bought my last girlfriend a Powershot A540 which wasn't bad at all, kinda nice having about the same mode dial that is on my camera. What should I be looking at now?

Almost three years ago I was looking for something fitting just that description and ended up with the Powershot S60. I've been very happy with it. great pictures, good controls, decently small size and good durability. I landed on the thing from 8 feet up and after a repair it still works like new. There are newer versions with more megapixels I believe. great camera.


http://www.dpreview.com/news/0405/04051001canons60.asp

Try to find a Canon S70 (next version of the S60 and the last Canon P&S to have RAW). I've got one and my boss has 3... they're a great "little" camera (a bit larger than the LX2, which my boss also has one of. Nice camera but WAY too much noise). Not too much noise and has fully manual controls.

Just got a Canon a550 from B&H for my little brother for $134, nice little camera.

The new A series (A630/A640) are probably what you are looking for and can shoot RAW with a simple firmware upgrade. There is a thread about it here, and I can answer any questions you may have about it. I love my 630, and couldn't justify another hundo to go from 8mpix to 10 for the 640.

I had an S30 for a few years before jumping up to and XT. It was a great little camera, and I like the feel of the S series over the A series. For whatever that’s worth.