Quick advice: pocket camera

[msmemory_archive]

Based on the research I've had time to do, and my current (old) Nikon Coolpix camera, I'm thinking I want to upgrade to more megapixels, more memory, higher ISO, and AA batteries, which added together comes up with the Coolpix L12. (current street price $130-180).

Anybody got any better ideas? At this time I don't want a large SLR emulator digital camera - if I want to use SLR features I'll break out the perfectly usable 35mm film camera.

ETA: The more investigation I do, the less likely I am to go for an L12. CNet's review tells me I'll be frustrated with it:
http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/nikon-coolpix-l12/4505-6501_7-32319122.html?ar=o&tag=pdtl-list
Grrr. I do want ISO control, and the ready refresh rate is one of the negative points on my current camera.

Comments

[oakleaf-mirror.livejournal.com]

For my first Canon, I bought a spare rechargeable battery (it came one, and a charger). When the battery in the camera got low, I'd swap in the charged one, and stick the previous one on the charger, and then carry it as the spare. I didn't change batteries often. When I got the next Canon, with a different sized battery, I held off on buying a spare. With that one, I'd notice when it claimed the battery was getting low, and keep using it until it was next convenient to charge it. I think, in three years, I had one incident where I ran out of battery while shooting.

Usable ISO 1600 in a compact digital camera will be your toughest match. Many of the cameras won't even claim to support that. Some of the cameras on the market claim to support that, but reports are pretty grim. Look for sample images at that setting for cameras you're considering. I think this is pointing you back at the Fuji F series, but again, check sample images. That's what got me to switch from Canon, since I like low light photos, but didn't want to go to the bulk of a DSLR. A sample I've taken with the F31fd at high ISO settings is this ISO 3200 shot, where you can see the noise, particularly in the window frame at the right edge of the picture. Also, this ISO 1600 macro shot taken with ambient indirect light. The background is a leather blotter, and most of the texture you're seeing there is real, rather than noise. And there's this ISO 1600 shot taken at night, outdoors.

For 5x7 prints, without cropping, 3 megapixels will do. I think 6-8 is the practical limit for decent quality pictures in a compact digital, given the higher noise with the smaller pixels. This is a case where the marketing race for more megapixels, beyond that, is hurting the quality, I think.

I wish LJ would let me edit comments...

[oakleaf-mirror.livejournal.com]

There's a bad link on the last of the three samples I mentioned. The picture is here.

[fairdice.livejournal.com]

Let me second this: we have a (now outdated) Fuji FinePix F10. It's easy to manually set the ISO as high as 1600, and you get remarkably good low-light performance.