Well my Camera is a lovely little thing
It's a Panasonic Lumix TZ-1, now been superseded by the TZ-3, but the TZ-1 is cheaper and only a slight bit different.
The TZ-1's specs:
5 Mega pixels
10X optical zoom (makes far things look fab)
Mega OIS (optical image stabilizer)
Leica DC Lens
Runs on SD memory cards
Get it in black if you go for it, looks lovely
More info found here:
http://www.digicamreview.co.uk/panas...tz1_review.htm
Hope that helps

I like the TZ3 actually. But unfortunately my dealer only carries three panasonic models; no TZx's. I've been looking at the Canon A720 IS and SX100 IS. I'm really attracted to the level of control they seem to offer.

The A720 is 6X optical zoom, and the SX100 is 10X for about 50 bucks more (no major differences as far as I can see).

Neither of them look quite lovely though.

Does anybody know anything of the picture quality on these? And image noise?

Check out:
http://www.flickr.com/cameras/

David

If you're serious about making it a hobby and you want manual control, get a decent DSLR now and don't throw away money on a digicrap (or point and shoot camera as they're called by the politically correct and marketeers) that you'll get disappointed with after a few months and relegate to the function of doorstop.
A highend P&S (what you'd want) will cost you the same as or more than a lowend DSLR.
And while you'll grow out of that too, it'll take a lot longer

Start looking at something like the Nikon D40 (or if your budget allows it the D80) or their Canon equivalents, the 400D (or maybe 450D by now) and 40D.
The kitlenses you get with them aren't the greatest, but will serve you well while you're learning the ropes and provide valuable insight into what highend lenses you may want in the future at a very reasonable price.

Nikon's my personal brand of choice, mainly because of their to me superior exterior design and build quality, which to me means better ergonomics and userfriendliness.
But unless and until you've actually handled cameras and lenses of both brands you can't tell for yourself.

One word of advise: never listen to camera salesmen unless you can detect the cowdung coming your way. Most are no more trustworthy than used car salesmen, and will push you towards the purchase that to them means the highest profit margin whether it's the best equipment for your purposes or not.
And don't buy camera equipment online, at least not until you have a firm understanding of what it is exactly that you want without having to visit a store.
NEVER go into stores to check out the goods and then go online to buy it at a lower price. That's very bad manners, drives stores to massive expense for no return on investment and eventually drives them out of business (and you will want them to get service and advise, two things you will never get from an online store).
And if you do buy online, remember the old addage: if it sounds too good to be true it is. This is especially true for stores located in Brooklyn, NY (there are more scam camera stores situated there per block than anywhere else in the known world), but certainly not limited to them.

I am a photographer. I own Nikon DSLR cameras. As another poster said DSLR is the top shelf however if you want a digital point and shoot I love the Canons. They have amazing picture quality and good manual control.

My only advice to add for point and click is make sure you get auto-stabilize.
On digital photography in general, get a really big card and shoot and shoot - don't delete anything until you get it home and loaded onto your pc and then only delete obviously bad shots like fingers, blurred etc. Some pictures will grow on you or have some effect that you want to reproduce and, unlike film, all the info about the settings is built into the picture.

And don't see the world through a lens

(I guess I should look at the date stamp - you probably already bought it)

lens quality matters. go for the better manufactuer
optical zoom is bettter than digital zoom too

i have a 2mp olympus digital SLR . cost a fortune in 2000 but still holds its own in terms of picture quality, with most of the current midgrange point+shoot digital cameras.

Hi mate,

Firstly it depends what size you wish to print - as you'll need around 6MP for A4 boarderless (going too high will just cause 'pixel noise' and actually reduce the quality).
Optical zoom over digital - always. Digital zoom is just the microprocessor blowing the image up and will proberbly lose some of the detail. Optical is actually the lens magnifying it.

The cards? Sonys, Fuji, Olympus tend to use different cards which can be more expensive. Panasonic, Canon (Same company), Samsung, Kodak etc tend to use SD.

SD & SDHC; SDHC is a new format designed for bigger cards as normal SD will hold up to 2gb. A SDHC camera can use both, but a SD camera can only use SD cards. Beward as they look the same and are the same size.

Pictbridge; this allows you to connect straight to a printer without removing the card.

Facial tracking: This allows the camera to detect faces and focus on them. Also known as 'facial detection'.

USB 1.1 or USB 2.0; not all cameras are USB 2.0 and is it high speed or full speed?

ISO: this allows the camera to compensate for low levels of light; higher the better generally.

My own camera is a Canon Ixus 7.2 MP SDHC with a 4GB card - fantastic!

Dazza

Think I've left out loads; but any questions please feel free to ask.

Dazza