Same here. I normally carry/use my DSLR, either with a small, compact lens installed, or a more full kit with multiple lenses and perhaps even the tripod.

But when I do leave the DSLR behind and use something smaller (eg. mid-way up a large cliff face, or just traveling light for other reasons), it is still very important to me to be able to control the exposure.

Lack of A-priority, or no +/- adjustments, or no way to disable the stupid built-in flash, or no way to manually-focus a macro shot -- those are all deal breakers for me.

And so many small cameras DO have all of those features (and much more), so there's no reason for me to accept a camera that lacks them. If I truly didn't care about them, then I'd just use my mobile phone's built-in "camera" instead.

Another important feature for me on small cameras, is they should accept/use commodity batteries. Eg. "AA" cells. This does make them slightly larger that they might otherwise have been, but then they can share a charger with other items, and I can easily/cheaply carry/acquire spare batteries mid-trip.

The extra size from having two "AA" instead of a proprietary Lion battery is usually just a small bump out on the "grip" side of the camera, which happens to make it easier to hold/use as well.

Cheers