What camera - compact

[GHW]

I'll start by saying I'm not after a DSLR - my OH is the lens geek and she's already poured her cash into a big Nikon.

What I'm after is:

• pretty easy to carry around, so light and not too massive (not necessarily ultra-compact, but no 'bridge' cameras with chunky lenses)
• pretty well put together, so I can stick it in my backpack when I go out mountain biking and not worry tooo much if the bag takes a knock
• has a good range of manual controls so I can swot up on all the stuff the OH talks about when she goes all photographer-y on me

After some research, I think a Nikon P5100 at £185 is about the best I can find. A Canon G9 looks rather tastier, but I don't think I can really justify the £250 for it.

Any other suggestions?

[Snoggledog]

If you want bomb proof then the Olympus Mju SW range is bloody good although I didn't think a lot of the picture quality.

For a good all rounder that is well put together then I'd suggest the Panasonic Lumix range. (I currently use a DMC TZ-5 which has for far been faultless.)

[zax]

I've been very happy with the Canon G9 (after an aborted attempt at owning a smaller Ixus 75). Not too big, but solidly built and not so small that it feels like a toy. I'm no expert at taking photos so I've been pleased with the results, and more importantly I want to use it. For a straight-from-the-camera example see the squirrel picture in the "random photos" thread...

[ginettag27]

Panasonic Lumix range - you won't be disappointed! They're great little cameras and the latest ones have excellent ranges.. 10x optical zoom. 28mm equivalent at their widest - nothing comes close to it, apart from a DSLR..