Another affordable P+S one to look at is the Fuiji S9500. SLR styled looks and features similar to an SLR (in ways). Very compact and lightweight, 9 Mega pixels, 10.7x optical equivalent to say 28-300mm, 35mm equivalent,  ISO 80-1600, manual focusing, VGA, 30 frames/sec.

The list goes on...This camera feels really good in the hand. It is extremely small and lightweight and looks rather nice.

I promise that this will be the last camera I recommend:)

Michael.

I never intended to make art.