[silkstone]

@ Fungus: I agree that a decent 'put it in your pocket' camera has a lot going for it. Until recently I had a Fuji MX1700 which was out of date and only 1.5MP, but nevertheless incredibly useful. Be wary though about the 5MP Ixus - they are noisy. It depends on how compact you want it to be, but as an alternative to the Ixus, look at the Fuji F610, the Pentax Optio, or maybe the replacement for the Canon A75 (sorry, can't remember the number) which is due out shortly. The Canon A-series are a bit fatter than some of the ultra compacts, but the new one is smaller, and if it is as good as the A75 my wife uses (mainly!) I can recommend it.