New compact digital camera

[SouthernElephant]

As my Ricoh R6 has given up the ghost, I need a new camera. I'm looking for a compact digital camera for no more than £250.

Primarily the things I want most are:
Great (by compact standard) image quality
Some manual controls
A decent zoom - doesn't need to be massive, just a bit.
Decent macro mode

I'm not at all bothered by GPS, flip out screens, megapixel count etc. HD video isn't important but would be a nice addon. I have a few ideas, Canon S95, Canon SX220IS and the Sony HX9V, but I am getting a bit confused. The pics would only be smallish prints and desktops on the PC etc. Will there be a noticeable difference between the S95 and its larger sensor? Or will the added features of the Sony etc make it more worthwhile? What would you buy?

[Paul Nuttall]

Hi,

From looking at your list of requests, I would say that the S95 is the camera for you. It's a joy to use and has a nice 'basic' feel about it with an emphasis on image quality.

The larger sensor will make a bit of a difference for you, especially in low light conditions and high ISO work, but the main sell is the fact that you're after something without the bells and whistles.

Let me know what you think.

[SouthernElephant]

Hmm, that does sound pretty good. Have you any experience of the S95? I was wondering how good it's macro was, the R6 had a brilliant 1cm macro which took some really nice pictures of flowers etc with lovely blurred backgrounds.