Advice on DP&S with some requirements

I'm probably going to buy a new DP&S (don't want a DSLR) within the next
month or so. I had my eye on the Sony M1 and admit I am/was more
intrigued by the design, especially the flip around LCD as my current
camera is a CoolPix 990 which I'm selling. I've grown very comfortable
with that feature and think it gives a camera an edge in flexibility.
Anyway, here are a few things I think are important to me:

1. Large (2.5") easy to view LCD.
2. Ability to (easily) take MPEG 30 FPS "movie clips" that can be
compressed for emailing via broadband.
3. Some sort of image stabilization for still/video shooting.
4. Minimal Red-Eye problems.
5. Reasonably compact (the Sony M1 was an exception) so the thinner the
better if it's a one-piece design.
6. Optic quality/resolution is still very important.
7. Macro function should be pretty good to excellent.
8. Telephoto function should be good optically, and enhanced by digital.
9. Flexible design (like the Sony M1) is a plus.
10. Good battery life, easy/quick to recharge.
11. It would be nice if the camera was not confusing, so that when I
hand it to someone, they can use it without asking too many questions.
12. Price range would be around $400 street price.
13. Megapixels... should be anywhere from 5 to whatever.
14. Decent controls and menus on the camera itself.
15. Possibly have a threaded lens so a protective/other filter could be
fitted.

Note that I don't expect to have everything, but it would be nice to
discover some cameras that have a lot of these features, and also have
some sort of endorsement by actual owners/users. I'm not hung up on the
media, so if it's a proprietary memory card, and I'm buying new...
almost any format will work. I'm also not too hung up on brands,
although I have liked the Nikon digitals that I've owned. The Kodaks I
felt sucked up batteries, and the Cannon PS200 I'm currently using seems
to hold up pretty good.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Mike

CaptMike wrote:
I'm probably going to buy a new DP&S (don't want a DSLR) within the
next month or so. I had my eye on the Sony M1 and admit I am/was more
intrigued by the design, especially the flip around LCD as my current
camera is a CoolPix 990 which I'm selling. I've grown very
comfortable with that feature and think it gives a camera an edge in
flexibility.

Mike, if manual controls are important to you, and a non-compact style,
you may want to ask in the rec.photo.digital.zlr group as well.

David

David J Taylor wrote:
CaptMike wrote:

I'm probably going to buy a new DP&S (don't want a DSLR) within the
next month or so. I had my eye on the Sony M1 and admit I am/was more
intrigued by the design, especially the flip around LCD as my current
camera is a CoolPix 990 which I'm selling. I've grown very
comfortable with that feature and think it gives a camera an edge in
flexibility.


Mike, if manual controls are important to you, and a non-compact style,
you may want to ask in the rec.photo.digital.zlr group as well.

David


David...

Limited manual controls are OK, but this time around, I want a camera I
can actually stuff in my pocket. The Sony M1 was borderline, but OK.
It'd be nice to know that Sony might have a successor to that camera
that has even better MP, ISO, and a few other features although the
DSC-T9 looks pretty nice.

Mike