Compact cameras get bad press. Not from the manufacturers or the users but from those photographers that think their equipment is far superior.

OK, so I made that up. But there is a tendency to think that to take great photographs means that you have to have the latest and most expensive gear. And it's true that a professional photographer would get caught short using lesser equipment. There is no dispute there.

But I always hear the sniggers of SLR users when someone next to them whips out their compact to record the scene in front of them. "What, no interchangeable lenses?", "what, only 5 megapixels?", "what, an offset viewfinder?"

Recently I went abroad to Spain. I took my SLR and my compact (2MP) camera. I had no intention of using the compact until, my SLR battery ran out and, of course, my spare and charger were at home. The SLR was useless.

Out came the trusty compact - and for the next 7 days I recorded the scenes in front of me whether they be family snapshots or something a bit more creative. The results were superb. Colours and sharpness were indistinguishable from the SLR. I could see no visible image imperfection over and above that which I was used to. And I got the shots I wanted without lugging a load of bulky equipment around.

I missed a bit of flexibility and perhaps lost a bit of creative flair. But I got some great images which take pride of place against those of my digital SLR.

Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com