SMALLEST ultra-portable under $250 (new/used)?

I currently have a Casio Z850 and although, yes, it is very small compared to other point and shoots, and it does take great pics, I'm looking for something even smaller. It gets a big annoying in my jean pockets. My friend has a Sony T5 (love the form factor, pics need improvement) and this fits much nicer in my pocket.

What are your suggestions for the smallest ultra-portable under $250 (preferably used to save $$ and get more camera for the dollar). I have my eye on the Sony T9 which looks nice. The canon SD series is too "big" along with many other ultra-portables leaving my options limited. I don't really have any camera stores nearby to check these out and will have to order online.

Thanks for the help!

sony dsc-w70 is pretty good, its smaller than ur casio

Fuji Z3

Rube

mtbiac1 said:

...
What are your suggestions for the smallest ultra-portable under
$250 (preferably used to save $$ and get more camera for the
dollar). I have my eye on the Sony T9 which looks nice. The canon
SD series is too "big" along with many other ultra-portables
leaving my options limited. I don't really have any camera stores
nearby to check these out and will have to order online.

Click to expand...

Ricoh R4 ?

catc said:

Ricoh R4 ?>

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The R4 is great (just check out the Ricoh forum) and although it is small, it is not an 'ultra-portable.' And it is not all that great indoors.

Rube

Z3 looks pretty nice. I was hoping to have alittle more than just 5.1mp, but that's not too big of a deal as I rarely ever get prints. Any comments on this camera? I don't see a review on dpreview but am scouring the net for one.

any other camera to consider?

so far I'm leaning towards the Z3 since it's cheaper than the T9 which seems to be the only other decent camera in this price/size range. Casio s770 doesnt seem worth the xtra $ for the size over the Z850...

thanks!

rube39 said:

rube39 said:

Ricoh R4 ?>

Click to expand...

The R4 is great (just check out the Ricoh forum) and although it is
small, it is not an 'ultra-portable.' And it is not all that great
indoors.

Click to expand...

You might have your own agenda but:

a) R4 is 2mm thinner than F30 (and from the decent cameras only T9 is 5mm thinner);

b) while F30 has a small ISO advantage over R4 (but with a picture look many people find 'plastic-like'), R4 has IS (and you can always do some noise-reduction) so the final results can actually be better in certain conditions; also F30 is using xD cards;

c) T9 is thinner but more expensive, also using proprietary cards and the zoom range is a far cry from the R4.

catc said:

b) while F30 has a small ISO advantage over R4 (but with a picture
look many people find 'plastic-like'), R4 has IS (and you can
always do some noise-reduction) so the final results can actually
be better in certain conditions; also F30 is using xD cards;

Click to expand...

"Small ISO Advantage"? Better check your facts. The F30 is in a class all by itself. Check the reviews. As for XD cards? So what? They are about the same price as any other today. And, the memory card should not be the criteria for judging a camera, the IQ should

If you really want cheap and pocketable, why not just upgrade your cell phone for one with a digicam built in? That way you have the best of both worlds. Uhhh, you mentioned nothing about quality....just size and cost.

Mike920 said:

Mike920 said:

b) while F30 has a small ISO advantage over R4 (but with a picture
look many people find 'plastic-like'), R4 has IS (and you can
always do some noise-reduction) so the final results can actually
be better in certain conditions; also F30 is using xD cards;

Click to expand...

"Small ISO Advantage"? Better check your facts. The F30 is in a
class all by itself. Check the reviews.

Click to expand...

You might be impressed by reviews and the truth is that on high ISO F30 is not bad (among other things since it has a sensor TWICE bigger than all other small cameras), however with good light things are FAR from what you describe (actually so far that Simon said in the dpreview "Images in good light need post-processing to really shine") ...

Mike920 said:

As for XD cards? So what?
They are about the same price as any other today.

Click to expand...

No they are not - xD is still TWICE more expensive (for instance 2GB SD starts at 30$, 2GB xD starts at 60) - of course that now the absolute difference is smaller (not like a few years ago when it could mean 100-200$ easily) but the idea of joining proprietary formats is not what everybody wants ...

Mike920 said:

And, the memory
card should not be the criteria for judging a camera, the IQ should

Click to expand...

It depends a lot and the talk can be endless - the quality of a tight interior picture framed with a 38mm equivalent vs. a 28mm wide might actually make in many cases a HUGE difference, and the same can be said about having 100mm vs. 200mm at the tele end - to reach the same magnification the F30 will need 2x extra digital zoom, and with that the 6 megapixels become only 1.5 ...

That being said the final idea is that so far there is no perfect camera, everything is a compromise and everybody should choose what parameters matter more for them ...

I'm sorry- it just always impresses me when someone actually calculates the digital zoom conversion CORRECTLY!

yes-2x zoom on a 6Mp camera leaves you with 1.5Mp. Perfect for web shots, even full screen shots or 4x6 prints.

catc wrote:
to reach the same magnification the F30 will need 2x extra digital

catc said:

zoom, and with that the 6 megapixels become only 1.5 ...

Click to expand...

--

catc said:

You might have your own agenda but:

Click to expand...

No 'agenda' at all.

Personally, I have both the R4 and the F11, and use them both, the R4 during the day, the F11 at nite, and both when I go out to take pictures with friends.

However, neither is an ultra-protable. If the Z850 is too big, than the R4 and F11 will also be. That is why I suggested the Z3, which I have looked closely at and considered for myself for the same reasons.

Rube

Just to clarify - I AM interested in picture quality. Most of the cameras I am considering have comparable quality and features. I saw some nice cameras at best buy today. They had some Z3s but wouldnt open the box to let me see them and they werent on display (whyyy!?). I'm leaning towards the Z3 now since its quite small and also cheap.

I also saw an olympus FE-190 that looked nice, although the screen wasnt good at all.

any other suggestions? the fuji f series and ricoh are all too big (might as well keep my Z850)

thanks!