OH and I bought a new compact a couple of weeks ago as we're off to NYC in March and I don't want to lug an SLR around. We went for the Canon Powershot SX110 IS, I preferred it to the IXUS models (looked at the 85 IS and 90 IS) as it has full manual controls and a 10x optical zoom but is still handy compact size. Our next choice was the Panasonic Lumix TZ5 but again the Powershot offers more manual control which I like as I'm so used to using my SLRs plus I think Canon lenses are superior to Panasonic's Leica approved lenses (there's a difference in a Leica lens and a Leica approved one!). So far I'm pleased with it although we've mostly only used it for taking video clips of the dogs so far, NY will be the first big test of it picture-taking wise. We got a good deal on the camera in Jessops, they're doing it for £199 for a limited time, I think it's usually about £250.