Hi!

I have a special query: i'm working for a website where pictures of parties, concerts and other events are published and currently i'm using my sister's camera (a canon digital ixus 30) but firstly it's hers, so she'll want it back sooner or later and secondly i hate the red eyes this camera gets me.

I've thought about spending around 200-300€ (thats 250-350$).

Size does matter, while it's not the main criterium, i still want the camera to be easily transportable and not getting on my nerves when i'm on a concert, so let's say it should fit in the pocket of my pants and shouldn't be too heavy.

Megapixels shouldn't be a problem at any rate, i'm perfectly content with 4mp, every pixel more would be a bonus.

although standard zoom would suffice i eouldn't be unhappy abeout a bigger zoom range.

image quality is important, let's say 9.

manual controls would be nice, but it's not absolutely necessary.

I will use the camera mainly for taking pictures of groups of people in night clubs, but also privately when i don't want to take my big camera with me.

I'm planning to make big pronts of the best photos, like 20x30cm (about 8x12in) or even 30x40cm (12x15in).

I'll be shooting mainly indoor at low light but no real action photography.

I don't have any particular brand in mind, what is really essential for me is a working red eye reduction, as well as a quick startup and shot-to-shot time.
a cam running on AA or AAA batterys would be especially nice or, if not, then i'd need one that can go for about 300 pictures with one full charge.

so the most important features are redeye-reduction, shot-to-shot and startup time, battery life and maybe size.

thank you for your attention and your numerous replies

Since you mention red-eye, I assume you're using flash for a lot of your night-life shots. But for performances, flash won't help and might get you kicked out. Most performances are reasonably well-lit, so what you need is high ISO and a long zoom. The best combination of those in a compact is Fuji Finepix s5200. I just bought one because I need the same combination. It's not tiny and it's not as capable as a DSLR-- but it's small and capable, probably the best compromise between the two ends of the spectrum.

first of all: thanks for your reply; but i think the s5200 is just a bit too big for me, i need (or want) to carry the cam in the pockets of my pants or shirt and dance, so i really need an ultra-compact.
what makes me most undecided is the thing with redeye. i'm thinking about the fuji F10 or V10, also the panasonic lumix DMC-FX01 or the fuji F30 but both aren't availiable right now and are a bit out of my budget.

The F10 has a great rep but I haven't tried it. Less zoom but that makes the optics a little nicer. The higher ISO is the same and I'd make the same arguments. Higher ISO helps your result even when you use a flash, because you use *less* flash.