buy an ultracompact

[slipe]

Optical image stabilization is a true mechanical stabilization that is superior to digital stabilization for movies and far superior to digital stabilization for still pictures. Unfortunately I don't know of a small camera with stabilization and an eyelevel viewfinder.

All of the Panasonics you might consider have optical stabilization and most are priced well. The FX9 takes good movies and has a high quality LCD. The new LZ3 and LZ5 also take good movies and have a 6X zoom in a small package. The FX01 replacement for the FX9 has a wide angle lens but is still pricy and not available yet. 6th Ave Camera is taking pre-orders but they want top dollar for it. You lose a little telephoto range, but the wide angle is very useful. Panasonic isn't releasing the flash range which makes me suspicious that it might be a little lower.

The Sony T9 has both OIS and much better than average ISO400 capability. It also has a large internal memory rather than a throw-away card. The internal memory is great for keeping a permanent photo album in the camera to show on the high quality LCD. The internal memory is also large enough to use in an emergency if your memory card goes south. It is on the pricy side compared to the Panasonics except for the FX01.

[techgeek419]

UC Models with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and Optical Viewfinder
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX1
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX5

UC Models with OIS
Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX8
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX7
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX9
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX2
Leica D-LUX 2
Canon PowerShot SD700 IS
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX01 (new mar 06)

I found thishelpful to compare features/specs

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare.asp