From experience I'd try to find a camera with a PC dock.
The dock is always connected to the PC and power. To charge the batteries or download pics you simply sit the camera in it's dock and hit a button. Couldn't be easier.
The upside for me was the camera were never flat.
After using one with my still camera I was more than happy when the video camera I purchased had a dock too.

Don't rule out Kodak. I was very wary about buying one but have had several good years out of it. Fantastic colour reproduction.

Check out http://www.dpreview.com/ for a review on just about every camera available.

i have the panasonic FZ7. it's got a 10x zoom, 6mp, anti-shake, full manual operation ( as well as auto ), and the best bit - a 2 inch screen. beats the postage stamp size screen of other cameras. it's about a year old, so by now you could get the next model up - FZ8 - for around the $500 mark.

camera house is a good place to buy cameras and accessories. i found teds to be a wee bit too expensive.

another good thing about the FZ7, for me anyway, is that i have an adaptor for the lens so i can slide in cokin filters and get some half-decent shots, like this with a tobacco grad filter ::

Cheers for the replies so far guys.
I'm now tossing up between the Finepix S5700 and a Canon S5 IS... Image quality seems to be quite similar between the two, the major differences being that the Canon has a 12x zoom and 8mp, whereas the Fuji has 10x zoom and 7.2mp, however the Fuji is around $150 cheaper...

Hi mate, i just bought myself the Canon S3-1S (6MP) and it's an awesome camera.  So i'd bet the S5-1S is even better. i compared the canon to both the equivalent Nikon and Olympus and the Canon wins hands down.  Nikon menu / button configuration is confusing for me and the Olympus had poor Manual controls compared to that of the canon.

I love my Olympus point and shoot for it's sheer simplicity and the Canon is a great entry-level camera for taking some really nice shots.

make sure you want a bigger camera..  i have two, a pentax with a decent zoom..  but to be honest it's the little tiny wee one is usually the one I take with me, just cos it fits in my pocket...

That one's a Canon IXUS and the pics are just fine...  just a thought..

Here's a compact that has 6x zoom (you can probably adapt 2x or 4x too) good trade off between slim and large bodies and bet ya the pics are nice too..  It has Image Stabilizer too..

http://www.digitalcameras.com.au/produc … tid=134124

I own a canon S2IS.  It's an awesome camera, does all I want and could ever want (as I don't want a DLSR).  I do find it a little bulky though.

I am therefore thinking of getting a Panasonic DMC-TZ3-K:
http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/72558/DCAME … -TZ3-K.asp

It's a little out of your price range, but has same features as the canon, but is about 1/2 the size, so you can put it in your coat breast pocket and it'll fit, unlilke the canon.

Just my 2c worth.

Cheers
Darryl

One thing I would probably point out though, is that I probably wouldnt place a big portion of my decision making on a camera's zoom range.

I initially did this with my Sony, thinking 'this is awesome, 12x zoom, all the others are 3x etc' .. and to be honest with you.. Even with all the anti-shake, inage stabilising and all the rest.. If you are holding the camera in your hands, and trying to take a shot with anything past say 3 - 5x zoom, it's going to be increadibly hard to get a crisp shot.

With the Sony, I very, very rarely zoom in past 4x and even then, it's normally on a tripod. So I guess that's something to think about.

My brother also recently bought a Nikon S500;



Now this thing is cool!!.. He picked it up from Digital City, with an extra battery and 2, 2 GB SD cards for a total of $520.

Now I know you're not after a 'pocket' point and shoot camera, but this thing is pretty damn cool and has features that compare very well to my Sony.

With point and shoot and DSLR camera's, I personally think that Nikon and Canon have the best image processors in their cameras. The sony is great, but to be honest, I find that it doesnt pick up the 'true' colours of the things I shoot and sometimes the photo's look a little lifeless..

I've never used a Pentax, Fujji or any of the others, so I cant really comment on those that much.

Seeing as though you want to take some nice shots though, I would deffinately look for a camera with the following;
Adjustable ISO and White Balance as a minimum. Then, where you can, I would try and get a camera with adjustable aperture, shutter speed, or a manual mode which lets you play with all of the above and totally customise your shots.

Check out:

http://www.dpreview.com/ and
http://www.cnet.com.au/digitalcameras/

For some pretty decent reviews if you're interested!

Hope it helps a bit

Cheers,
Jonno

Mate, that's an awesome camera.. it's big though...  but we discussed that...  the only real let-down looks like no external flash.. and the more expensive XD cards...

Betcha it takes good pics with those specs, shame it's not an 8 + MP though...  totally agree with J.. if you are going large format, get a tripod, mono-pod or a bean bag..  especially with that 10x zoom..  ISO is great to a point but it's better to turn ISO down as much as you can for clarity/sharpness...  that's when a tripod comes into play..

Thanks for both your comments guys. I'm fairly confident that the 6500fd is what I want, so I'll get on down to the shop and demand a good price
I'll be sure to pick up a tripod while I'm at it too, as my hands are about as steady as a pile of warm dog excrement :victory:

Thanks again for all your advice, much appreciated!

Got the 6500fd. Great little camera, definitely recommend to anyone looking to get in to photography.
Only problem is I've been pretty busy and haven't had a chance to clean the car, so no photos yet :ohmy: