[Pirate!!]

Ahoy! or as Mr Burns would say . . Ahooey!

Guys, I'm asking for your help and advice. The situation is as follows:

I have an Oly E500 DSLR 2 lens kit. OK so far. But . . I don't want to cart it all around on holiday. So, I'm looking for a suitable (new or refurb) one to buy.

Ideal criteria would be one with: OIS, 5 Mp (or higher), 5x optical (or better) zoom, li-ion battery, live view/LCD, and a low price tag.

So far I've come up with:

Panasonic DMC-FZ7/TZ1 (ticks all he right boxes except price = £230.00 +)
Canon S2 IS (ticks all the boxes except price and battery type = £230.00 +)
Fuji S5500 (refurb) with 2 years warranty for £149.99 (no OIS, AA batteries - but good price)
Olympus Camedia C55 (refurb) with 2 years warranty for £99.99 (no OIS, AA batteries - looks like a good price)

I would consider any older Panasonic DMC-FZ series cameras or the Canon S1-IS.

Any and all advice welcomed. I've not tried any of the ones listed, but I know more-or-less what I'm after. If anyone has or knows of anyone who is looking to offload theirs, then send me the details please.

Avast Ye, and thanks!

[lmccauley]

Originally Posted by Pirate

Panasonic DMC-FZ7/TZ1 (ticks all he right boxes except price = £230.00 +)

If you pay by egg card, and use the nhs192 discount code, you can bring that down to £209 from Dixons.com.

Cheers,
Liam

[Hrochnick]

I have a Fuji S5500 and although I'm sure it's not the best camera in the world I'm very happy with it. The fact that it uses AA batteries is great for me, a couple of sets of decent rechargeable batteries lasts an age... although it's a 4mp camera not 5mp as you want.

[Pirate!!]

Originally Posted by Hrochnick

I have a Fuji S5500 and although I'm sure it's not the best camera in the world I'm very happy with it. The fact that it uses AA batteries is great for me, a couple of sets of decent rechargeable batteries lasts an age... although it's a 4mp camera not 5mp as you want.

Ahoy there Hrochnick!

4Mp or 3Mp will suffice, but AA's and no OIS is a factor. It's last on my list for funtions but first on price. Hence why I'm considering the Canon S1/S2-IS.

I wish I never sold my FZ3 . .

[richard plumb]

sony T30/T9? OIS and 3x optical zoom and VERY compact

[HCK]

I just bought the Canon S2 IS....and would recommend it. Im not sure what type of photography you will be maily using it for but the movie mode is superb and the macro is the best i've used yet. Im sure there are better cameras out there but some people at work who have the Panasonic FZ5/FZ7 were impressed by its results.

Good Points note so far:

Zoom is ultra quick
Movie mode
Macro mode
Very quick focusing
Folding LCD screen is nifty
Feels solid to hold/good hand grip

Bad Points so far:

Lens cap is a bit flimsy
LCD could be bigger

Hope this helps.