You could check out this review of the S500:.

Http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Nikon-CoolPix-S500-reviewed.

Or, I would suggest the Fuji F31fd. I have just received mine on tuesday and I'm very impressed with it. The start-up is around 1.5 seconds, but by the time you switch it on and hold it up to take a picture, it's ready. You can shoot at 3fps and the shutter lag is only 0.01 seconds, which is as near instantaneous as to make no discernible difference. Also the picture quality, especially at high iso (800 for instance), I have found to be outstanding. Ideal for relatively noise free indoor shots..

Richie..

Belgaard wrote:.

I am looking for at fast point-and-shoot camera - I want to seizethe moment before it has passed..

Optical view-finder will be invaluable here, as it won't freeze at the press of shutter (as LCDs do momentarily), and it won't show delayed reality. It also preserves battery-life..

I will mainly use it for shootingpictures of my cildren and places we visit on vacations..

Won't wide-angle be good to have here for those landscapes, architectural marvels?.

I love thefeatures of high-end dSLR cameras but for now I really want a fastand lightweight camera for my shirt pocket. Naturally, I want toshoot as good quality pictures as possible..

What about Canon SD800IS?.

Nikon Coolpix S500 seems like a good candidate; it has faststart-up of 0.8 seconds and shutter lag of 0.005 seconds which isprobably the best available today, isn't it?.

That is pre-focus lag. Other cameras also have less than 0.1 sec lag. e.g. Fuji has 0.02 sec. Full-press lag will be around 0.5-1 sec..

In addition to this, it has face recognition and imagestabilization which should help me shoot decent pictures for theuses I have described above..

So does SD800IS, in addition OVF, wide-angle lens, good IQ at higher ISOs.Regards, Ajayhttp://picasaweb.google.com/ajay0612..

Not sure it's really that much faster than other compact cameras in practice (if I prefocus my Panasonic FX01 there's no noticeable shutter lag), but it does seem pretty fast and gets decent reviews from minor sites likehttp://www.digitalcamerareview.com where they did comment on it's speed..

The VR won't help of course for children running around. For that, you need a fast shutter and of course the obvious recommendation is theFuji F31, which can help by using it's clean high ISO settings. You should certainly compare the two to see which best meets your needs..

Also have a look at the Ricoh R6, which has a reputation for speediness and a trick or two up it's sleeve..

Androohttp://Androo.smugmug.com..

Good points. I now seriously consider Canon as well. The SD850 IS is newer than the SD800 IS you recommended. Perhaps Canon has fixed the image quality problems of SD800 IS?.

Regards,Brian..

Maybe. It has longer reach though..

Belgaard wrote:.

Good points. I now seriously consider Canon as well. The SD850 ISis newer than the SD800 IS you recommended. Perhaps Canon has fixedthe image quality problems of SD800 IS?.

Regards, Ajayhttp://picasaweb.google.com/ajay0612..

Yes, you are probably right. 4x zoom - but it still starts at 35mm, not 28mm like dpreview reviewers like..

I guess I need to decide what my other priorities are, i.e. if I should compromise image quality a bit and live without the benefits of 28mm. This probably makes sense for my usage..

RegardsBrian..

Thanks,.

Well, as I get closer to a decision my priorities get clearer. The Ricoh does not have a viewfinder and the Fuji does not have a wide lens (28mm) so I now consider Canon PowerShot SD 800 IS my primary candidate..

/Brian..

Thanks, but I now consider a 28mm wide lens to be more than a nice-to-have, so I think I will stick with Canon PowerShot SD800 IS..

/Brian..