[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Zooming In on the Ideal Point-and-Shoot here

[RyanRyanRyanRyan]

Thats all really nice...but it doesn't seem like much more than a slight jiggy to the side.

3 things and then 1:

built in cellphone.
fuel cell add on.
laser targeter.

remote control with advanced floating point algorithm technology to activate or control camera from nearby rooms.

[cdotrun]

Wirelessly transmitted power: Available at home, in cars, tour/public land, air and sea vehicles and for a free charge at tourist attractions and cafes alike.
WiMax: Connects directly to your favorite domestic (or foreign) cellular network under your smartphone's shared access code, affordably priced.
Web connectivity: Not just Facebook, but also your server at home to help free up space, stitch scenery photos, fix up bad hair (anything that needs more CPU than fixing red eye), erase people blocking your favorite landmarks.
GPS: Location info for show and tell.
Fuel cells: Street-vendible! Same for memory cards.
Same idea with camera feature for smart phones, for lower quality incidental shoots.

[cdotrun]

Adding more crazy ideas:

E-Skin: Using idea of E-Ink, users can change its skin to any color and pattern at the touch of a button so that it matches the wallpaper in the screen, status messages can always be displayed on top however the gadget is oriented. Bonus: Turns green on St. Patrick's day.

Pico-Projector and laser image sensor: To project photos, allow users to interact or edit them on a surface. To double as a directional flashlight, to be able to take distance objects or details of objects close by.

HD Video: With faster processing and larger memory, camera will have the ability to record videos or take multiple shots between much shorter intervals. Uses: Rotate -- Panoramic/Hemispheric image, Stable -- people remover, Orbiting -- 3D view, Zooming -- multi-point focus, Stable -- smile-synchronizer, Shaky -- image-stablizer.

[mjd420nova]

Goodness, that's all I need is a do everything camera. That way if it breaks, I'll really be handicapped. I'm going to buy a camera for the sake of a camera, not a cell phone, WIFI, bill paying, surfing multifunction drop in the toilet toy. Regardless of how many functions it can do, it can't do any one as well as a single full function device dedicated to just one function. Just like me, I can do one job at a time and do it extremely well, but give me two jobs to do at once and you'll get a half ashed job of both.

[jmjohnson]

You forgot the weather proofing as on the Olympus Stylus line.

And isn't there any way to squeeze an optical frame finder back into these cameras? I don't care how bright the LCD is. When the scene is bright enough to close my eye's irises, I can't see the LCD well enough to take quick snapshots.

[rquintero]

How about increasing sensor size limited to 8-10 megapixels and better sensibility to achieve noiseless pictures in low light conditions?

[zainkazmi786]

How about mp3 capabilities and installable applications. You know sort of like an Icamera, with iphone firmware but a pimped out camera

[peterv6]

I have a Nikon S550. It is like a jewel. It fits in my shirt pocket and is great for interior work. But in ordinary outside lighting it is impossible to see the excellent screen. I realy would wellcome an ordinary eyepiece viewer. I completely agree with jmjohnson.

Peter.

[cdotrun]

I have to agree with Nova. Cameras should just focus on being, Cameras.

The reason I ask for WiFi isn't really to surf FaceBook, CNN or the like, it's there just to transfer away my photos if I have affordable or free access and close to civilization (or if away from civilization, to a portable solid state drive) just so I have virtually infinite storage to NOT worry about!

Another reason for WiFi, WiMax, Cellular, instead of Bluetooth, WUSB is, well, I don't want this to have to tether to a computer.

[artkennedy]

Pretty good list in the article. In addition I would like to be able to turn off the liveview for tripod shots so that the sensor could cool down and reduce noise. I suppose this would also require firmware to take proper advantage of the feature.

Also I would like to have a physical shutter to protect the sensor from accidental damage from the sun. It could be automatically activates on powerdown or manually when the power is on. I do not use a lens cap because I want the camera ready to shoot quickly without futzing with the cap. I've had two cameras damaged this way in spite of taking precautions. I do not understand there is not more information warning people not to point p&s cameras at the sun.