Point & Shoot Shoot Out Lets meet the Hombres: Leica CM with New Summarit 40mm F2.4 ****++ Hail the New King Let us all hail the new king of Point & Shoots.  When it comes to picture quality, this is it.  The lens is Faster, Sharper and Contrastier than any Point & Shoot ever made to date.  It is roughly the same size as the Contax T2, which is a nice size for this camera.  It is a little thicker than the T2, but I wish it was a little thinner like the Ricoh GR1 series.  It is the only camera of the bunch that sports a hot shoe for using an external flash indoors.  The built in flash is better than the others in this group being more powerful and more diffuse, but if you need more light indoors you have the option of an accessory flash unit - and lets face it, many of the cameras will see a lot of indoor use and birthday parties and special events so flash is an important feature.  Most of the cameras in this group have a flash which is good for outdoor fill flash, but not very good for low light indoor shots.  The Leica CM fixes this with a quality built in flash as well as the ability to accept powerfull external flash units.  The new rounded edges make it more pocketable than the original Leica Minilux.  It is also slightly smaller making making it more pocketable than its predecessor.  The viewfinder is better than the Minilux but still not as good as the viewfinder king, the Contax T2.  It has all the important features like Autofocus, Manual Focus with Infinity Lock and the ability to set your own aperture.  The ergonomics are button sizes are near perfect.  It works well and provides effortlessly Superb photographs that will stun your photographer friends with Sharpness & Contrast never seen before in a Point & Shoot.  It does a much better job indoors with ots Fast F2.4 lens and Superb built in flash.  The build quality is second to none and the Titanim finish will last a lifetime.  It also has the ability to accept an optional remote shutter release for tripod use.   Built in Date Back keeps those imoprtant special events documented and this is the only camera of the bunch with a built in Diopter correction wheel so that you can 'tune' the viewfinder to your eyesight and always see a sharp image (even without glasses).  The camera is actually Made in Germany and enjoys the build quality reputation of its Leica M brothers.  It is the Ultimate picture taking machine, and a New Film camera from a company this day and age is a Bold move since many companies are now stopping to make film cameras altogther in favor of the digital market segment.  Weighing in at 10oz.  Which brings up the question, why buy a Film Camera over a Digital Camera - which is right for me ? Contax T3 with 35mm Zeiss F3.5 Sonnar **** Great Viewfinder - Smallest Size - Shown in Black Titanium (Notice how Ratty it looks after just being carried around a few times) The latest incarnation of the Terminator, Arnold would be proud.  It is smaller, lighter and tough as nails.  It is comes in stylish Pro Photograher black finish, but it wears horribly).  You would think that Titanium was Titanium, but the Contax Titanium cameras tend to wear not so well getting brightmarks easily and quickly looking like a well used camera.  The Leica Titanium in contrast never seems to wear, use it forever and it always looks like a new camera (go figure).  This camera has all the usual appointments and auto everthing you would expect from the next Contax T camera, but also sports a bayonet attachement on the lens for the optional adapter that will allow you to use 30.5mm filter on this camera.  The bayonet attachement works horribly and the adapter always comes off, I have even thought of super gluing the adapetr in place once bayonetted on, just to keep it there (thats how bad it is).  Contax can make fortune alone in just selling lost replacement lens filter adapters.  The viewfinder is typical Contax quality just as in the T2, but I think the T2 viewfinder is still a hair better.  The camera is smaller in size than the T2 making it more pocketable, but a little more difficult to use ergonomically because of the smaller size and buttons.  It also has the manual focus capability with infinity lock with the addition of an Autofocus Lock button (which is quircky to use)  The lens is not as Fast as the T2 at F3.5, but is still a Superb performer beating out most SLR lenses.  The camera also has an added program button instead of matching the two green (Af Focus setting and  Green F2.8 aperture setting on the T2).  The viewfinder has better display readouts that are more usefull than the T2's.  All in all a great little camera but I still tend to pick up my T2 more than the T3.  Weighs in at 9 0z. Leica Minilux with 40mm F2.4 Summarit **** Superb Fast Lens - Superb Fit & Finish The biggest of the bunch.  Superb build quailty with Titanium outer shell.  Barely pocketable (if you have big pockets, Levi's won't work here).  Superb lens with ample flare resistance and autofocus.  Built in flash and Fastest lens of the bunch.  All the usual auto everything modes you would expect from a New style point & shoot.  You can manually set the Aperture and Focus distance.  Exposure compensation.  Self Timer & tripod socket.  The viewfinder is Ok, but not great.  If you want the Best lens and that is all that matters to you, it is right here (until the Leica CM came out).  A Date Back version is available as well as a Limited Edition Snake Skin model that is very stylish and unique.  Weighing in at 11 oz with optional date back. Contax T2 with 38mm F2.8 Sonnar ****+ Best Viewfinder, Slim Profile and Superb Lens Smaller then the Minilux and it will fit in your pocket without the case fairly comfortably.  Best Viewfinder of the bunch.  Superb Zeiss lens with Fast F2.8 aperture & autofocus.  Great flare resistance.  Sharp and Contrasty SLR quality photographs through the aperture range.  Robust build quality with Titanium outer shell.  Sleek design with rounded edges.  You can manually set the aperture and it has exposure compensation of +/- 2 stops.  You can aslso manually set the focus if you wish, and the inifinity lock is a great feature for landscape style photography as the autofocus is locked in and does not need to hunt around wasting time.  Well laid out ergonomically with dial controls, photographers will appreciate this.  Built in flash, self timer and all the extras you would expect from a modern point & shoot.  Does everthing well and provides effortless superb photographs.  Weighs in at 12 oz. Rollei TE with 40mm F3.5 Tessar **+ Capable of all Manual Operation The one and only Original High Quality point & shoot camera.  The smallest camera in the group, but the Ricoh has a thinner profile.  Older style manual everything camera.  Strange layout for controls.  Easily fits in your pocket.  Nice build quality.  Quircky ergonomics, but you get used to it if you use it often enough.  Older Zeiss Lens is an ample performer, much better than most cameras in this class, but not as good as the Leica.  Viewfinder is fairly nice, but not as good as the Contax.  Built in meter, no Autofocus.  The Manual focus is a plus for Street or Landscape Photograohy where scale or infinity focusing is used to your advantage over autofocus.  Does everything well, but has no oustanding features that bests the competition, except price.  You can find these used for $250-$350.  Rollei also made several other models of this camera like the SE with an F2.8 Tessar lens.  This camera has a huge cult following for a good reason.  It is a a Beautiful Retro camera to own and use.  Few were made in Germany and most in the Singapore.  The German ones are the ones that collectors gravitate towards Ricoh GR1/GR1s/GR1v with 28mm F2.8 GR ****+ Best Wide Angle Lens & Pocketability The only Point & Shoot camera BOLD enough to sport a trues Wide Angle 28mm Lens.  The slimmest and most pocketable camera of the group.  A superb Leica inspired 7 element GR lens with fast F2.8 aperture and autofocus.  Good flare resistance, but the added field of view lends itself more prone to flare than the others.  The GR1s or GR1v can take an optional hood.  Built in flash, self timer and all the modes you would expect from modern camera electronics.  You can manually set the aperture, focus and exposure compensation.  Dials instead of electronic buttons help make this camera the easiest of the group to use.  A wider perspective lens carves a niche among point & shoot cameras that is hard to match.  A Magnesium Alloy outer shell and decent build quality make this a fairly Robust camera.  The viewfinder is good, but again, not as nice as the Contax T2.  A superb performer, that really has no equals.  It's sharp & contrasty and produces images on par with the Best SLR's.  Believe me when I tell you that no one will be able to tell the difference, it's that good.  They are absolutely great in tight spots or for grab shots when on assignment or hiking/travel or active extreme sporting types.  Weighing in at 7oz. The Winner is: Whichever camera is right for you...  Depends on YOUR needs, they are all Great cameras and you can't go wrong with any of them!  My choices would be the Leica CM for general use and the Ricoh GR1 series for Wide Angle.  If you are on a budget, find yourself a good used Contax T2 or T3.  The Leica CM & Minilux have the Fastest & Sharpest lens.  The Leica CM is the best built & finished of the bunch and for the Ladies, would fit comfortably in a purse or handbag.  It's probably the most visually appealing also and carries the esteem of a fine Rolex watch for those times when you are trying to impress your friends (and don't lie, we all do this to some extent - thats why we buy nice cloths and fancy cars)  The size is right (although it could still be slimmer) and the ergonomics are top notch.  Which one do I use?  I own them all and use them all to some extent, more frequently I have been using the Leica CM over my T2 and the Ricoh will always be in my camera bag because of its special purpose.  A Leica Minilux will stay in my glove box for those times when you say "damn, I wish I had brought my camera".  As for the Rollei, it will probably stay on my shelf, it's retro design is so cool to look at. Whats a Five Star ??  When Leica makes a CM as thin as a Ricoh GR1 or maybe a camera sized like the Ricoh GR1 with a 28mm F2 Summicron ??? Remember, this shoot out is of the BEST Point & Shoots in the world.  A Rollei with 2+ stars (a fine and beautiful camera!) will easily beat out 95% of the other point & shoots currently on the market, its ranking is relative to the other cameras it is compared to in this shootout.