On 27/05/2010 16:07 Dave Cohen wrote:

If I do upgrade again, I would get the SX20 unless the SX1 IS were
available at worthwhile cost saving. I don't find the AA batteries to be
a disadvantage except for a little more size and weight and I insist on
having some form of viewfinder, something that seems to be omitted from
more and more p&s's.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and pointers. I now have an SX1
IS on order.

I was more than pleased with my FZ30, it did all that I wanted of it,
and it did it well. My main reasons for seeking a replacement were not
because I was disappointed with it but because the flash release button
had come away and was going to cost too much to repair, some images were
starting to be corrupted when they were saved and I wanted a longer
zoom. The possibility of HD video was also a temptation.

The temptation to wait for the next new iteration, however, was never
very strong. I was just concerned that if I bought today and a new one
was announced tomorrow I might just have missed something that was
'better'. Note the *might*!

As for the SX1, as well as good reviews, it's very 'controllable', it
has a fast burst mode, it has a viewfinder (which I consider vital), the
LCD can be rotated (again, very useful and missing on the later
Panasonics) and it uses AA batteries. Oh, and there's currently a £50
cashback offer on it from Canon. The only downside I can see is that,
like the later Panasonics, it doesn't have the manual zoom ring of the FZ30.

Time will tell on whether or not I made the right decision...

--
F