RPS wrote:
Ron Hunter wrote:

: 1. Manageable size. Not necessarily light, but should fit a big pocket.
: 2. At least 28mm at the wide end.
: 3. Approx 200+ mm at the tele end. (No tripod.)
: 4. IS
: 5. Possibility of either aperture or shutter priority.
: 6. Optical View Finder.
:
: OK, no such thing at present. Therefore which are one or two of the
: most dispensable features in your experience and opinion?

: Numbers 4 and 5, and probably 2. Good optical zoom is pretty important
: for travel pictures, and taking pictures in bright sun with most LCD
: displays is pretty difficult.

Thanks. The camera meeting these criteria is Canon G7 (lacks #s 2,5).

If my #5 you mean shooting mode, you'd better re-read the spec sheet.
If you don't mind a wide angle adaptor, Canon A710IS is 6:1 zoom, small,
takes AA's, but G7 is a better camera if you can live with the size.
Dave Cohen