trying to narrow down the dizzying P&S choices... help?

[jenpane]

I'm considering the following P&S digitals:

1. Fujifilm Finepix E550 or F10[/*]
2. Canon A620[/*]
3. Casio Z750[/*]
4. Panasonic DMC-LZ5 or DMC-TZ1

[/*]
I'm a casual user... mostly family pics.The most important thing to me now is shutter speed and/or lag (the reasonI am replacing my old dog Kodak DX4330) . All of these seem to have good reviews with regard to shutter speed. Anyone have practical experience/advice with the above?

[slipe]

If the size is OK for you the A620 is a good camera. It doesn't have optical stabilization or high ISO capability, but it has an excellent lens and competent flash. It also has a large optical viewfinder, which I find handy in dynamic situations – especially at 4X zoom. I would take it over the E550 in that size range.

The Z750 also has excellent optics and is much more compact. It gets over 300 shots on the battery and the movies are excellent. Once you use the past movie mode you won't want to be without it. The optical viewfinder is small and wouldn't be very good for someone who wears eyeglasses for distance vision. The flash is adequate but not great. The flash assist mode takes you out to around 25 feet but with more noise. You wouldn't notice the noise on a small print.

The F10 has marvelous high ISO capabilities. An ISO 1600 shot is noisy, but not nearly as noisy as any other camera at that setting. The optics are excellent and the flash strong with higher ISO. The F30 is out with a much better LCD, which would be a big help since it doesn't have an optical viewfinder and the F10 LCD is hard to see in sunlight. Since it was just released the prices are still high on the F30.

I would think it a little hard to acquire targets with a long zoom and no eyelevel viewfinder. Both the LZ5 and TZ1 should be decent cameras but I haven't seen reviews. If you have use for a long zoom the TZ1 looks interesting. Both have optical stabilization which you would need with a long zoom and no optical viewfinder.

You might also have a look at the Panasonic FX01. Wide angle can be handier for general family photos than a long zoom. It is also optically stabilized.

[jenpane]

Thanks slipe!

Anyone else?

[mtclimber]

I own a TZ-1. The Panasonic TZ-1 has very little shutter lag, but it is noisy when used at ISO settings above 200. Other than that it is a great camera and should perform very well for you in the uses you have specified.

MT