I'm surprised in that in a canon forum there aren't that many recomendations. I still have my A70 and it does a good job. The rest of my family has new canon's and they do great. Maybe there are many other quality brands now but if anyone ever asks me, I just tell them that htey can't go wrong with canon. One of the things I really like about canon is that the batteries do last forever. Nothing like not having batteries when you want to take a picture.
I have the Panasonic TZ3 to use for moments when I can't carry the 5D, 28mm to 280mm, image stabilization ,3" lcd ,stainless steel body ,16:9 aspect ratio and less than $ 300.00. Hard to beat. also a good movie mode.
