If I could have only one digital camera I would have something I could always have with me. The greatest camera in the world sitting at home is infinitely inferior to whatever you have with you when a photo opportunity presents itself. I personally have both, but get more photos from my pocket camera.

Both of my pocket cameras have had manual exposure modes and my current one also has manual focus. After several years of experience now that will not be a criterion for my next pocket camera. Aperture priority is necessary for an auto flash unit and can be handy in a large camera. But with a pocket camera it is mainly used for opening the lens all the way to blur the background as much as possible or maximize your shutter. You can do that with portrait or sports mode on most small cameras. There are usually scene modes that maximize your DOF. Manual focus is very limited without a digital readout of the focus distance, and most little cameras don’t provide that. Manual exposure combined with 60 seconds has come in handy for night shots, but if I am going to grab a tripod I will also probably grab a larger camera. You can do a lot with EV shift referring to the histogram or spot metering for difficult lighting.

I don’t think you can evaluate a camera by picking one up and saying it feels too small compared to what you have been using. After a while it feels OK. Unless one has arthritis or extremely fat hands I think most people adapt fine. You have to learn a holding technique that clears the wrist strap if it isn’t on your wrist and that keeps you fingers from blocking the lens and flash. But that comes fairly quickly. It is sometimes inconvenient to get the wrist strap on for a quick shot, but it is a good idea to get in the habit for most shooting.

I do like have an optical finder though. Even the best LCDs can be difficult in bright sunlight and I find it hard to quickly acquire and follow a moving target with the LCD – especially in bright sunlight, which I usually have here in Florida. I use the LCD more than in the past, but having an optical finder is good when you need it.