I very much appreciate the camera suggestions. Thanks, especially,=20 to everyone who pointed out shortcomings of the various cameras that=20 others suggested. I've purchased a Canon S100 that I can play with for 14 days before=20 I'm stuck with it. This choice was based on visiting Ken Rockwell's=20 site as suggested below. Its more money than I had intended to spend but I tend to take good=20 care of my stuff and it should last me until it becomes completely=20 obsolete. That's what happened to my last expensive camera purchase:=20 its a Sony Mavica CD-1000 that still works very well (and takes=20 *gorgeous* pictures) - but is just too darned huge to pack=20 everywhere. I still use it in the shop, though. Now I've got to learn how to take pictures again - its been a LONG=20 time since I packed the Mavica camera with me everywhere. I've never=20 been a good photographer but the law of averages says that if you=20 take LOTS of pictures, once in a while you will get a good one. And=20 I have gotten some decent pictures over the years. What prompted the search for a new camera was being at a customer's=20 site and wishing that I could permanently document some work that I=20 was doing. The Mavica used to do that for me before I got tired of=20 packing it everywhere. This new camera should be able to do most=20 everything that the Mavica could do, just in a much smaller=20 package. I do plan to purchase the Canon belt case that Ken Rockwell=20 suggests and I'll start carrying it with me on my belt - and see if=20 is unobtrusive enough to stay there over the long term. I'm sure that I'll miss that huge but gorgeous lens that the Mavica=20 has - I'm absolutely convinced that it is that lens that enabled the=20 Mavica to take such great pictures. But I'll try to adapt=20 . This new camera also has less zoom range: 5x instead of 10x. For what its worth, I purchased the demo unit from my favorite Future=20 Shop store here in Edmonton (Canada) - it was the only unit that=20 store had available. I could have waited a couple of weeks for new=20 stock to arrive or drive 30 klicks to a distant store that did have=20 new units in stock but I quite liked the 10% discount that they=20 offered for the demo unit. I also purchased their 4 year extended=20 warranty - I usually regard those extended warranties as rip-off=20 items but I'll begrudgingly pony up the money for expensive items. The camera wound up costing Can $370 ($449 list) after they added in=20 some other discounts, plus another Can $120 for the 4-year extended=20 warranty. They also sold me a 32GB class 10 SD card for $30, which=20 seemed reasonable. I may or may not keep the warranty, though. By way of comparison, my Sony Mavica CD-1000 cost something like=20 $1600 when I purchased it more than a decade ago. That was after=20 trading in my Mavica FD-88 (floppy-disc camera) for credit. Anyway, thanks again! dwayne At 04:26 PM 5/18/2012, Vinicius wrote: >Take a look at the Ken Rockwell site, in Recommended Cameras (compact >and people cameras): > >http://www.kenrockwell.com/ > >Vinicius > >Em 18-05-2012 18:04, Dwayne Reid escreveu: > > Good day to all. > > > > I just spent the morning on-site at a customer's location and was > > thinking that it really was too bad that I wasn't documenting my work > > with pictures. We do that all the time in my shop and I used to do > > so on-site with my Sony Mavica CD-1000 camera. That camera took > > GREAT pictures but its just too darned big to pack around anymore. > > > > So: I'm looking for a small camera that has a decent macro mode and > > reasonable zoom range - 5:1 would be great. Great battery life from > > rechargeable "AA" cells would be a bonus. > > > > This doesn't have to be the cheapest camera available - I don't mind > > spending extra money for extra performance. > > > > Do note that I'm NOT looking for a professional or semi-pro camera > > like Canon's high-end stuff. > > > > I should also mention that I live in Canada and would prefer to > > purchase from somewhere in North America. > > > > Any suggestions gratefully accepted. > > > > Many thanks! > > > > dwayne > > > > > >-- >http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive >View/change your membership options at >http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist --=20 Dwayne Reid Trinity Electronics Systems Ltd Edmonton, AB, CANADA (780) 489-3199 voice (780) 487-6397 fax www.trinity-electronics.com Custom Electronics Design and Manufacturing --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .