i think u should look up the lx5. that's the competitor to the s95. both are high end compacts. lx5 may have some tricks up its sleeve like zooming while video recording. and there's a hot shoe port as well. to be honest, this argument (lx5 vs s95) has been going on everywhere. some say the s95 is better, some the the lx5 is. but. they have a big diff when it comes to size. the s95 is slimmer and more pocket-able. while the lx5 is abit beefier with its larger lens,the upper hot shoe, and it comes with a lens cap.i dont own any of these cameras but i've hold em. both are high end compacts which can produce great images IMO. the lx5 is bigger and not pocket-able unless ur wearing cargo pants or u're putting it in a bag. but the lx5 has got some features the s95 dont. like the continuous AF in movie mode, a hot shoe, higher burst rate *2.5fps vs 1.9fps* (really,does this matter?:D), longer battery life..but the s95, is slimmer,smaller, more compact camera. u can easily put it in ur pocket, turn it on, snap a pic. :) so if u dont need all the stuffs that the lx5 can offer, and u want a smaller n more compact camera, go for the s95. but if u dont mind about size, i think the lx5 can deliver u well. its all about the matter of size really :)