Compact Camera: How Best to Carry?

That would work especially if under a jacket. I have done that but if I am going to be on a subway or bus then it goes into a pocket or day bag.

If you are wearing it around your neck, how would you lose it? Sounds like a good plan to me, just make sure it is one made for a camera, able to take the weight.

Pam , I have the same camera and do exactly that ! There is one other advantage to a neck lanyard - accidents can happen to anyone , and around your neck , if you inadvertently lose your grip on it ,it's not laying on the street in pieces . I've seen a number of cameras , both large and small meet that fate .

A lanyard would work. I wouldn't want a camera hanging from my neck for more than a few minutes, but if it's comfortable for you then it's a good idea. I keep mine in my purse and it's very easy to take out for photos, which I take a lot of. Wearing it on a lanyard around your neck will also prevent someone from grabbing it while you're taking a photo. That happened to me in the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris - luckily I had the strap around my wrist and while he had a firm grip on the camera itself and pulled it hard, I pulled hard back and he wasn't able to get it.

A lanyard would work fine - of course, that will make you look like a tourist, if you're concerned about that sort of thing. Personally, I never was - whatever I was carrying with me. But when I used a tiny elph camera like that on trips, I just kept it in my front pants pocket - being careful to not share that pocket with keys or coins to keep the camera from being skuffed. Of course, being a guy, I actually enjoy functional pockets on my pants. My wife, meanwhile, insisted on getting a tiny but plush little case for her tiny camera, and hung it on a long strap around her neck. Stopping at a sidewalk cafe in Krakow, she draped the case strap over the back of her chair. When we finished she walked away without thinking about it and five minutes later it was gone. Good thing she had that case, so her camera was "safe"... Whatever you decide, don't fret over it being a theft risk. But you might want to consider using a number of smaller SD cards instead of one high-capacity one and switching cards every couple of days. That way if the worst happens (or you drop your camera off the edge of a bridge or something) you still have most of your SD cards safely stored somewhere else with most of your photos.

Actually, with the mass proliferation of digital cameras and everyone thinking they can be a great photographer, local residents also are wearing cameras all the time when out and about. This no longer marks you as a tourist.

Thanks everyone for these great replies. Lanyard it is for the camera, and I don't mind looking like a tourist (I would anyways even without the camera dangling from my neck). I'm traveling with my hubby and 3 children so I have extra concern about ping the camera for photo hand offs, etc. I've been researching straps...Canon makes a metal one specifically for the compact Elph series which received great reviews. I'm thinking about trying that one. And when I'm not taking pictures, I'll put it in my handy PacSafe purse.

I carry my Nikon Coolpix on my belt in a zipper case from Case Logic. It's always handy and never in the way. Of course, you have to wear a belt for it to work.
http://www.caselogic.com/en-US/US/Products/Camera-Cases/Compact-Camera-Cases

I purchased a small Caselogic hard shell case that came with a lanyard for my Canon Elph years ago. It is sold at Walmart and is small enough to fit in my Pacsafe purse. Another benefit of that case is that the camera strap can be attached to the lanyard hook so while you have the lanyard around your neck and you are using your camera, you can't accidentally drop it. Best $10 I've ever spent for a travel item.

I really like using a neck lanyard. Small cameras normally come with a wrist strap; I bought some lanyards online (Amazon?) that have the same connector as the wrist straps. Unless I'm taking a picture, the camera is around my neck and tucked into a shirt/coat pocket, or just tucked inside a t-shirt/coat to keep it from flailing around, and getting banged up, when I turn or bend over.

I use a strap round my neck to carry my camera, but I've had a hard time finding one that was comfortable and didn't rub, especially when it was really warm. I eventually bought a softer strap in Italy. Randy, I love that tip about using smaller cards and changing them. If you can't download your photos every day, that's a great solution.