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" Never did I think I&amp;#039;d be writing my gadget column from San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, but Chloe, my 13-year-old, is here with a group of kids from Telluride, Colorado, performing a bilingual play based on a Yiddish folktale. Sweetie (the wife) told me to fit everything into a carry-on bag, so I packed a couple of computers, several cell phones, six point-and-shoot digital cameras (of the ten I&amp;#039;d been testing), and chargers for all of the above. And some clothes. I managed to narrow down the cameras to my four overall favorites.   The Nikon Coolpix P5000 ($400; nikondigital.com) is the only camera that has a glass viewing window (in addition to the LCD screen). That&amp;#039;s becoming rare, and in bright outdoor light (like the sun in San Juan del Sur) a real viewfinder makes a huge difference. The Nikon also has a 3.5-to-1 zoom and the ability to shoot at a high ISO (its sensitivity to light). It wasn&amp;#039;t the smallest of the group (that&amp;#039;s the Leica), but it was the only one with a ten-meg chip.   A lot of the new point and shoots, including the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 ($350; panasonic.com), have &amp;quot;intelligent ISO,&amp;quot; which means the camera changes the ISO according to the situation. In low light, the feature allows the camera to keep increasing its ISO, adding grain (really digital noise) to the photograph but allowing you to take pictures with shockingly little light. The 7.2-megapixel Panasonic also has a ten-to-one zoom ratio, big for a point and shoot and perfect for soccer dads. The body is thicker than the others, but it is still pocketable -- more of a front trouser pocket than a shirt pocket, unless you want to look like a geek. (See above photo.) The Panasonic uses an excellent Leica lens, which is sharp and contrasty. I also liked the on-off switch that is different enough from the shutter button that you won&amp;#039;t accidentally turn off the camera.   The very specific Olympus Stylus 770 SW ($380; olympusamerica.com) 7.1-megapixel point and shoot is shockproof, dustproof, sandproof, and, most important, works underwater up to 33 feet. It&amp;#039;s the camera to take skiing or to the beach. Trust me, there will be nothing more fun this summer than shooting portraits of all your friends underwater in the pool. (Tip: When underwater, you&amp;#039;ll want to face your subject directly toward the sun.)   My favorite new point and shoot, though, is the 7.2-megapixel Leica C-LUX2 ($495; leicacamera.us). It&amp;#039;s small (the lens collapses into the body), sharp, contrasty, and has auto ISO; it is the best point-and-shoot camera I&amp;#039;ve ever tested in extreme low-light situations. With a 3.5-to-1 zoom, it doesn&amp;#039;t have much of a telephoto, but I like to move closer to my subject rather than stand back and zoom in. (It zooms out to a decently wide 28mm.) If I could own only one point and shoot -- and that would make Sweetie very happy -- this would be it. Barry Sonnenfeld (pictured) is the director of The Addams Family, Get Shorty, and Men in Black. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/cars/a3129/digitalman0707/>