I use a Cannon G9, which was recommended to me by a photographer friend. It’s chunky for a compact, but has pretty much all of the functions of an SLR and is much easier to carry! You can also get a lens pack for it which doubles your zoom, though obviously you wont get the kind of lenses that you can with an SLR. I took it round the world with me when I went travelling, and the quality of the images is superb and the battery lasts ages. I would defiantly recommend it. The G10 had just come out when I bought it, but I decided that the G9 had everything that I needed and as it was older stock I got a good deal on it. Since then the G11 has come out… this would be my upgrade of choice when the G9 gives up for sure!