Compact cameras for the advanced photographers

"This camera is cramping my style," I once heard someone say. His friend asked him why and his reply was, "it doesn't have any manual override".

Perhaps he was looking to take a small step to improve his photography skills. Or maybe he was just being a control freak. Either way, it's always good to have control over your shooter than letting it decide how your picture should turn out. Certain lighting situations can easily bluff the camera and it's up to you to take over the reins and make that shot work.

Well, we've done the homework for you. Although some of these selections may not offer full manual control, they are still a great tool to help advance your skills in photography.


Click here for a feature comparison table.

	1.	Canon PowerShot G9       CNET Asia rating: 8 out of 10 The good: A cornucopia of features; zippy; built like a tank. The bad: Relatively significant distortion at the widest angle of view; when zoomed out completely, lens intrudes into viewfinder; no optical zoom during movie capture. The bottom line: The Canon PowerShot G9 is a solid enthusiast camera for those who want something compact to complement a dSLR. Review | See full specs | Rate this
	2.	Fujifilm FinePix F100fd   CNET Asia rating: 8 out of 10 The good: Ultra-high ISO sensitivity of 12,800; wide dynamic range; intuitive face detection; short shutter lag; 5x optical zoom with 28mm wide-angle lens; good image quality. The bad: Relatively heavy; awkward positioning of flash, easily covered by fingers; lacks full manual control. The bottom line: Despite an awkwardly positioned flash unit, the F100fd didn't disappoint with its enhanced feature set and excellent image quality. Review | See full specs | Rate this
	3.	Nikon Coolpix P60   Sensor Resolution 8.1 megapixels LCD Size 2.5-inch Optical Zoom 5x Storage type(s) Secure Digital, Internal memory Dimensions 95.5 x 63.5 x 36 mm Weight 160g See full specs | Rate this
	4.	Samsung L210   Sensor Resolution 10.2 megapixels LCD Size 2.5-inch Optical zoom 3x Storage type(s) Secure Digital Dimensions 87.7 x 55.97 x 20.3 mm Storage type(s) Secure Digital Weight 114g See full specs | Rate this
	5.	Ricoh Caplio GX100   CNET Asia rating: 6.6 out of 10 The good: User-friendly controls for full manual creative shooting; impressive, class-leading feature set; RAW format capture ability; CCD-shift optical image stabilization; clip-on electronic viewfinder. The bad: Mediocre image quality with higher-than-average amount of noise for shots above ISO 400; slow focusing; unattractive design. The bottom line: The Ricoh Caplio GX100 brings the control and features of a good dSLR camera to a compact model. However, its average image quality, high image noise above ISO 400 and unattractive design are shortcomings that may keep many from being attracted by its class-leading features. Review | See full specs | Rate this