Non-SLR with shortest shutter lag and hot shoe

A friend of mine is looking for a non-SLR with the shortest shutter lag.
I told her to get a D-SLR, but she doesn't want to spend that much. She
also wants something with a good flash, or a hot shoe.

I suggested the S5 IS but she nixed it because of the AA batteries. I
don't think there is much choice for her. Maybe the Canon G9? Any data
on the shutter lag yet?

 

Panasonic FZ50

 

Oops, I forgot to include "low noise."

I think I'm going to try to convince her to get the S5 IS despite the
battery issue.

 

What battery issue?

 

She doesn't want AA batteries. I didn't prompt her for this either, she
was telling me about the broken battery door on her current camera,
which was held together with duct tape. I don't think she's aware of all
the other issues.

 

What other issues?
Dave Cohen

 

Type "NiMH versus Li-Ion" into the Google Search Box, then click on "I'm
Feeling Lucky."

 

They forgot one big advantage of AAs in a camera. If it has a hot shoe,
you'll have to use AAs anyway in a flashgun, so it's an advantage to be able
to use AAs all round. Only one charger needed, can swap batteries, and
alkalines or lithium non rechargeables work quite well in an emergency.

 

There is the Nikon P5100, short shutter lag and hot shoe,
the P5000 had slow focus issues though. May have been fixed in
P5100.

 

How odd. Your "friend", like you, not only is strongly biased
against AA batteries, but also (unlike 99.9999% of photographers)
has AA battery door issues. How long have you known this sock
puppet "friend"?

Ah, yes. Rather than be straightforward, you've provided
instructions that will (as you've told us several times before),
take one to your own website, where you attempt to promote the
wonders of Li-Ion batteries and warn of the horrors of AA batteries.
One gets the strong feeling that the reason you started this thread
may really have been to shill for your website and in the process to
try to generate a little more of the extra revenue you occasionally
brag about. Is your website experiencing a visitor slump?

 

Where have you seen a review of the P5100 that mentioned shutter lag?
The P5000 was horrible.

 

The external flash is only used occasionally, so it's not a big deal to
be using Lithium AA or Eneloop AA batteries in it. Losing all the
advantages of Li-Ion batteries isn't worth it just to have the flash use
the same battery type.

I wonder why none of these companies have made flashes that use Li-Ion.
I had an external light for a Canon camcorder that used the same Li-Ion
battery as the camcorder itself.