Casio Exilim EX-Z750

I've been looking for a feature-packed, but tiny, compact camera for awhile now. I have wanted one that I can carry around everywhere. Particularly when I travel since my digital SLR and bag of lenses and equipment is with me most of time, but there are times when I want to leave the bag and still know that I can still capture decent shots if something catches my eye. There are also a lot of circumstances like being in a restaurant or airport when I want to take a few shots without garnering all the attention that a DSLR with hefty lens attached often attracts.

The answer for the time-being is going to be the Casio Exilim EX-Z750. For the longest I looked at getting the Nikon Coolpix 8400 because it has a 24mm wide-angle lens and can take Nikon RAW files. My SLRs are all Nikon, so I wanted to stick with them, but in the end that model was just too bulky for what I wanted. The Casio EX-Z750 is only 3.5 x 2.3 x 0.9 inches (89 x 59 x 22 mm), incredibly light, and still comes in at 7.2 Megapixels.

Digital Photography Review provides the most detailed camera reviews anywhere, and it's always the first place I send people when asked about one camera versus another or when asked, "What should I buy?". If you're looking for every single technical detail, check out their in-depth review. Here are a couple of other reviews that are also worth mentioning:

• http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/ex-z750.html
• http://www.mikeindustries.com/blog/archive/2005/06/casio-ex-z750

I've used this little camera for a few weeks now, and the jury is still out. All in all, I find it much easier to take great pictures with my DSLR because I have full controll over all the adjustments and settings that I need to make. I'll be in London, Paris, and Amsterdam next week, so that should be as good of a test ground as any. I'll be using my larger camera the majority of the time but still plan to get a few hundred shots with the Exilim EX-Z750. I'll try to post my own camera review in a few weeks.