Michael, I have a Sony H5, which is an advanced compact, which is between a compact like the Lumix and the SLRs like the Canon. It is great in auto mod, but has enough play in it to customise it if you want something more advanced, such as adding telephoto, wide angle or macro lenses, or using filters. In medium/low light it can take a fraction longer than I'd like to click, but in good light it's fast as I need it to be. The H5 is a couple of models ago so this is something they may have fixed since then, I don't know. You can force the flash off, you can turn the preview off for less time between shots and it takes photos in B&W and sepia. I don't like that you can't take photos in RAW format, but I can live with that. The newer models are far more schmick so may be worth a look at maybe if that's the way you're leaning?