What are the best and most reasonable RAW compact cameras to buy?

Question

I've discovered that RAW is better, but I can't afford a £400 DSLR camera and to be honest, I'm a bit scared of the size and usability of such things - I'd rather leave that to the professionals.

So, what are the best compact camera that take both quality RAW and JPEG and are good with low light conditions(high ISO that doesn't have much grain) as well as face detection? A good wide-angle lens and SD-compatibility is needed too for me.

I also require something simple to use as well as there's no point being stuck with a tiresome complicated camera, as I'm no expert photographer.

Answer 1

No offence but why would you want to shoot in RAW if you have NO desire to become an expert photographer. No compact will give you decent quality in low light due to the small size of the sensor.Noise on a compact starts at ISO 200 and upwards. A Dslr will be practically noise free at ISO400 and even usable at ISO 800 model depending.  As for your request for SD compatability??? Memory cards are cheap now, so even if it uses compact flash this will not be a problem. Suggested Dslr model is Nikon D40 which can be picked up for £250 and if you buy from an authorised dealer you can claim a further £40 back from Nikon. It doesn't have face detection though. However if you still want to go for a compact try the Canon Ixus 860is. Very easy to use, has face detection, uses SD or SDHC cards reasonable picture quality in low light for a compact which you put through a noise filter in a photo editing program. See my photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/silver_snap...

This is a Jpeg. If you really want to shoot RAW I have read of a hack to enable this on this compact though I myself have not tried it so cannot verify if this works. http://hem.passagen.se/fsmmal/chdk2.html

Answer 2

the lumix lx2 takes raw.

Answer 3

Try the Canon G9.