Camera Advice

[JaR6d]

I'm heading overseas in about 2 months and my trusty 'meant-to-be-waterproof-but-really-isnt' point and shoot went and drowned.
The girlfriend already has another point and shoot to take with us, so I figured I'd get a decent camera instead.

What do you think would be the best camera to get?

Looking to spend anywhere up to around $500, happy to buy a decent 2nd hand one.
Would a full DSLR be the go (might be a hassel carrying round the lenses)? or maybe something that still has manual controls but is a bit more compact like an S95?

I'm very much a camera noob.

Cheers

[Sventek]

For travelling, I'd go for a Canon G12. Great camera, and has pretty well everything you need in terms of control.

[JaR6d]

or is it worth spending a bit more and getting a compact SLR like an EP-1?

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New Olympus E-P1 EP1 EP-1 Body+14-42mm Lens Kit 1Yr Wty (eBay item 270657131525 end time 28-Feb-11 21:09:20 AEDST) : Cameras

[Sventek]

I think that really depends on what you want to do with it in the long term. Also, unless you're a keen photographer, you may find that lugging a DSLR around is a pain in the bum.

[Goldmember]

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[rc_sam]

Canon G12 is a great little camera given that price range.

[dugy]

Canon S95.

Or if you can get an S90 on the cheap, take that over the S95.
Only difference between the two is the S95 can take (jumpy) HD video, and has some extra gimmicky features. (Inbuild HDR function, etc.)

Comparing the image output of a Canon 40D & 24-105 f4 L to a G12 to a S95.
The G12 and S95 are on a par at about 95% of the image quality of the DSLR setup.
You just progressively lose features in exchange for being more compact.