Looking for P&S or "semi-pro" digital camera with f20 aperture capability

I am not able to afford all the complexity, weight etc of a full SLR rig with attendant lenses and mega-housings.

So I am looking for guidance please on what digital cameras - as of today, i.e. August 2007 - allow the user to control the aperture down to say f20, so as to as be able to place the subject against very dark background (the holy grail of "negative space")....

Also it would be great if I could find such a camera that had the option of saving the picture data in RAW format (rather than JPEG only).

As I understand it, I am looking in effect for a "semi-pro" kind of point&shoot camera (with associated housing).

Up to now I have only used SONY and Canon p&s cameras, with one or two Epoque strobes (triggered via fiber-optic cable). The SONY W17 model (now obsolete) was nice in that it allowed one to stop down to f10 (albeit in telephoto mode). Sadly though mine died recently following a housing flood (most likely due of course to an O-ring failure).

Am I seeking the impossible?

All suggestions most welcome!

Thanks in advance.

Most digital compact cameras have digital shutters and therefore will synchronise with a flash at any shutter speed. It is therefore possible to increase the shutter speed to 1/500th or more in order to get a black background very simply at the typical aperture range they offer.

Hope this makes the search easier.

Alex

Because of the small size of compact camera lenses and aperture openings, they typically only go to F10. This is because above F10 w/ these cameras diffraction causes the image to get blurry.

However, there is a plus size. Due to the very short focal lengths of these lenses, at F10 you will get about 5 times the depth of field that you'd get w/ a DSLR camera and macro lens.

Cheers

James