Best 35mm P&S
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I've managed to create, in my view, good portraits with an Olympus Mju II.
Canon eos 300V/Rebel Ti set on auto! Might not be exactly what you had in mind, but this is what I use when I want P&S! Cheap to buy, fast autofocus, good metering. If you want shallow DOF, it can't be a compact.
I am not sure what is a P&S? Do you want a camera that has all the automation so you can simply point and shoot? Or you want a camera that is compact? Or you want a camera that is not expensive?
My old Olympus superzoom 120mm could get some sort dof back in the day, due to good zoom and close focusing distance. Meter was good and optical quality pretty nice for a p&s camera (water proof as well 
).
I shot color negs and not slides though, but I would think it was just fine for that too.
). I shot color negs and not slides though, but I would think it was just fine for that too.
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I'll second the recommendation of the Olympus Mju II (here in the US it was called the Epic Stylus).
Really sharp f2.8 lens, great autofocus (both passive and active IR), and the metering was good. Shoot slow film through it though, otherwise it stops down pretty quickly. I had great luck with PanF+ and Portra 160NC.
Really sharp f2.8 lens, great autofocus (both passive and active IR), and the metering was good. Shoot slow film through it though, otherwise it stops down pretty quickly. I had great luck with PanF+ and Portra 160NC.
Yashica T4 would be fairly reliable as a P&S
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You'll need to clarify exactly what you're looking for in a PnS. Any PnS can shoot 'good'(?) portraits w/ shallow DoF if subject is near lens. Once you spend time working w/ a specific meter you'll get to know its' capabilities so the metering becomes simple. Probably best to find something with a fast 35-45mm or so lens.
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Point and Shoot
If the definition is Point and Shoot then something like the Canon EOS-1V, Nikon F6 would do just fine.
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+ 1
exposes slide film perfectly,
can focus close up as well as far away ...
the only problem we had with ours is that
after a few hundred rolls of film, the metering system fails
and stops focusing on anything but things close up ..
the other problem is they are out of production
If you can find a Contax TVS check it out. It can be manually focused to 0.5m or used in an autofocus mode, the apertures can be set or used in program, there is a self timer, a panoramic mode, +/- exposure compensation, several flash modes or flash off. takes screw-in filters (probably accepts + diopters for closer focus and reads the and sets the film ISO. Dimensions: 4 3/4in L x 2 1/2in H x 1 3/4in D with the lens retracted. Has a Carl Zeiss lens 28mm-56mm and a metal body with a tripod socket. I haven't used mine for a while but it always performed very well.
http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/
http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/
Nicholas Lindan
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I'm assuming you want a P&S for pocketability.
Another vote for the Yashica T4 - very accurate exposure meter, excellent lens Zeiss lens, accurate autofocus.
Portraits with shallow DOF are another matter. If you avoid 'nose-on' poses, or stay back 3-4 feet, a 35mm focal length can work although 80mm does a much better job. But P&S with 80mm zoom lenses are very small aperture and DOF is much to large, IMO. And I have never been impressed with the optical performance of P&S zooms.
You are never sure just what you are focusing on with autofocus P&S's. You want to focus on the nearest eye - a shallow DOF shot that focuses on the far ear isn't going to win prizes. The uncertainty of short baseline AF sensors is one reason only large DOF lenses - short FL and/or small aperture - are found on these cameras.
A good compromise may be a Canon QL17/GIII with a 45mm f1.7 lens. Be sure to get return privileges - they are getting long in the tooth and many have long since dried-up and jammed-up.
Other choices are Olympus 35SP [not the most reliable camera], Leica thread-mount with a collapsible lens, or one of the larger '60-70's era Minolta Hi-Matics, Yashica Electros or Konicas.
However, none of these older brass&glass cameras are 'pocketable'.
For a bit more $$ you might look at the Voigtlander Leica-mount cameras or the Contax G series.
Another vote for the Yashica T4 - very accurate exposure meter, excellent lens Zeiss lens, accurate autofocus.
Portraits with shallow DOF are another matter. If you avoid 'nose-on' poses, or stay back 3-4 feet, a 35mm focal length can work although 80mm does a much better job. But P&S with 80mm zoom lenses are very small aperture and DOF is much to large, IMO. And I have never been impressed with the optical performance of P&S zooms.
You are never sure just what you are focusing on with autofocus P&S's. You want to focus on the nearest eye - a shallow DOF shot that focuses on the far ear isn't going to win prizes. The uncertainty of short baseline AF sensors is one reason only large DOF lenses - short FL and/or small aperture - are found on these cameras.
A good compromise may be a Canon QL17/GIII with a 45mm f1.7 lens. Be sure to get return privileges - they are getting long in the tooth and many have long since dried-up and jammed-up.
Other choices are Olympus 35SP [not the most reliable camera], Leica thread-mount with a collapsible lens, or one of the larger '60-70's era Minolta Hi-Matics, Yashica Electros or Konicas.
However, none of these older brass&glass cameras are 'pocketable'.
For a bit more $$ you might look at the Voigtlander Leica-mount cameras or the Contax G series.
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Konica hexar AF. Contax g2. Many choices....
Nikkormat FtN.
Another +1 for the Yashica T4 and/or T5 aka T4 Super. Good for close-ups of all sorts. Not many small cameras with good lenses focus as close.
Leica!
I'm looking for something that is fast to use, accurate metering, lightweight and cheap, and doesn't tempt me to lug around another 30 pounds of camera gear. If it has aperture priority, that'd be great also. Some degree of manual control would be nice, but not necessary. Is there such thing as a "professional" Point and shoot?
Something I can just throw in the back seat, for when my Girlfriend really dosen't want me bring camera gear in the first place.
My Rollei 35 would be perfect for this, if it was able to accurately focus close wide open
Something I can just throw in the back seat, for when my Girlfriend really dosen't want me bring camera gear in the first place.
My Rollei 35 would be perfect for this, if it was able to accurately focus close wide open
Konica hexar AF. Contax g2. Used by many professionals.
Ricoh gr1/gr1v ..nice little beast 
Canon Sure Shot Classic 120 or Rollei Prego 90.
Although it may not fit exactly the definition of point and shoot - at least in terms of what the OP had in mind - I would suggest the Olympus XA-2. Lost years ago, I thought nothing of running Kodachrome through mine - and you do not get film much more unforgiving than my beloved (P)KM or (P)KR!
Wow... I'm really liking the Hexar AF... and even the Hexar RF
I also like the XA though. Pretty sweet to have a rangefinder camera that compact. I wish the XA-2 didn't remove the rangefinder.
I also like the XA though. Pretty sweet to have a rangefinder camera that compact. I wish the XA-2 didn't remove the rangefinder.
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