I am a casual photographer. I am also an opportunistic photographer. I manage to take a few good shots, now and again, mostly by virtue of taking a lot of shots and having a camera handy in case
something cool shows up. If you take enough pictures, one or two is bound to look halfway decent. However, I have a small problem, which is that my trusty Canon PowerShot A95 is wearing out. I had thought it was just the view-screen on the fritz, but it appears that the CCD or other internal electronics are no good, and it may be time to replace it. Having to tap or shake your camera to make the CCD pick up an image is not really conducive to photography.
This saddens me because a) I've had the camera for seven years, and I'm really used to its controls and functions, and b) I really liked the camera. It has an articulating view-screen (helps for those over-head shots at crowded events, as well as odd-angle art shots), good optics, decent jpeg compression (very few artifacts, if any) and takes AA batteries (I use rechargables, most of the time, but when you're on vacation and your batteries die, it's nice to have the option to pick up an over-priced pack of AA's at the gift shop: sometimes that shot is worth it). It's also a really comfortable size and weight.
That said, it's been seven years since I've shopped for this kind of camera. Anyone have any suggestions? I've seen a lot of digital cameras these days that I don't really like. Some things I'm looking to find:
• I'm looking for a casual, fits in my pocket/backpack goes-wherever sort of camera. This isn't the big one, yet (though I'd like one of those, eventually).
• Quality of optics trumps pixel count.
• Lousy jpeg compression is a deal-breaker (I tried out a Nikon point-and-shoot once that had such bad artifacts that I returned it to the store six hours after I bought it).
• I realize that I can't buy anything that takes AA batteries anymore, but I need it to last a long time on a charge.
• I am not a fan of the cameras whose backs are one big LCD screen. A real viewfinder would be a bonus.
• I'm not really worried about the price tag - I'm willing to pay for quality. I've had this camera for seven years, and I'm not looking to replace it with a semi-disposable.
I realize not many people are likely to read this, but if you have a suggestion or a camera you really like, please comment. I'm partial to Canon optics, but I'd be willing to consider just about anything. Thanks!