gdgt

It's the same as getting a phone. I've gone cross-eyed trying to compare stuff. Perhaps you guys can help me. I've stuck this in the M8 thread to get more eyeballs as the M8.2 doesn't seem as popular, and I need recommendations from people aware of the image quality difference between an M8 and a high-end P&S.

Right. So right now I use three main cameras: The Leica D-Lux 4, the Leica M8.2, and the Sony DSC-T900.

The T900 is a camera I hand to other people when I want them to take pictures at get-togethers / parties. The D-Lux is what I normally carry around with me and the M8.2 gets wheeled out for when I want high quality photos. So I'll go to an occasion, unveiling, etc with two cameras - either the T900 + DL4, or the T900 + M8.2. However, it's the D-Lux 4 which usually lives in my bag.

I have to admit that the M8.2 was an impulse purchase when I went to buy a D-Lux as a 'party camera' in the above mode. During my impulse moment I had a brief fantasy about being a suave Gauloises-smoking photojournalist, but alas, six months later reality has set in and basically, I'm never *really* going to use this thing in practice. The problem is, that the best opportunities come up when I have the D-Lux with me, and the M8.2 is just too unwieldy to carry on a daily basis, as well as being underautomated as an everyday snapper for me.

Now you could say 'well then, stick with the D-Lux 4' but I'm not at all happy with the image quality of the camera, especially indoors. What I'm looking for - and I realise this is probably an impossibility, which is why I've been going cross-eyed trying to seek a compromise solution - is a scaled-down M8.2 at D-Lux (or *slightly* bigger) dimensions with full automation options, a pop-up flash and no damned lens cap. Simply put, a camera that I can still carry around with me everywhere but which offers the highest image quality available, along with automation features to make that rapidly usable at times.

The emphasis is on image quality, but I've never been a DSLR guy for the portability reason - I traded a used-twice Canon 1DS Mark II that my photog friend had been slobbering over for his Alpha to his eternal gratefulness (he's bought me, oh I dunno, about five whole beers so far!), never used that either and gave it away. And I also would be lying if I said I didn't buy the Leicas because they're a statement of intent in many ways - and I'm thinking the forthcoming X1 is the only real option open to me.

My finger is hovering over the preorder button, but should I be looking at anything else? I really don't want to keep on buying camera after camera to find something that works for me, especially as they've been creeping ever more upmarket as of late.