What is the Best pocket sized camera

[AlanGG]

New to this site, congrats it is fantastic – the most useful camera site I have come across to date.

Just had my Canon Powershot S50 stolen and going on the reviews on this site have decided to take the plunge and replace with either the new Fuji S9500 or the S5600, depending on the insurance payout.

However I will also need a small pocket sized camera for nights out in the pub and day to day use. Having seen how poor most of my friends 5MP cameras are compared to the S50 (esp. in low light) I would like advice on what is the best approx. 5MP pocketsize camera to get (around the 300 euro/$ or less mark), the smaller the better.

Thanks,
Alan

[speaklightly]

Allan-

The problem is that we don't know what you consider "pocket size." Is it about the size of a Canon SD-500 or smaller?

Sarah Joyce

[AlanGG]

That would be ok but I would be hoping to get something more along the size of the canon SD-300, so long as the sacrifice in quality is not too great. It will be to fit in a suit jacket breast pocket on nights out and at Irish weddings where leaving a big camera lying about once the drinking starts would be a recipe for disaster.:-)

I am more than willing to try other brands but want at least 5MP, 3x optical zoom and good in low light.
Would I be likely to see much difference in quality between the likes of the SD-300 and the S50 I had.
Alan

[andyr]

you could try a casio ex-s500

[speaklightly]

Allan-

The problem with very small digital cameras such as the Canon SD-300, the Casios-500, and the Casio 750Z is that the flash out put is not very strong at all. That limits you to a flash distance of around 8 feet.

Sarah Joyce