Ideally I try to bring my Canon 60D DSLR and a few lenses, perhaps my flash too, along with me wherever I am shooting. However if I am on a vacation and for some reason cannot be lugging that all around, I will bring my Canon S95 with me instead. It has many of the same manual features of a DSLR, and a larger than normal sensor for a point and shoot, making it a good substitution.