Olympus C-765 Ultra Zoom

I think the image quality of ultra-zoom digital cameras is now lower than it used to be and so as how consumers and professional reviewers see that class of cameras, its like selecting the best of the "so so" and declaring them as the best available in the market. The manufacturers have been adding many new features to tempt consumers to buy new cameras or upgrade to newer models, at the same time those cameras carry small image sensors to keep image quality at lower range in order to drag consumers into buying DSLRs which offer better quality images and their market is expected to boom over the next few years. I'm sure those new features are useful when it comes to ease of use and convenience but unfortunately not when it comes to image quality.
I've been wanting to upgrade my older (2004) Olympus C-765 to a newer one regardless of the brand as long as it matches my camera's image quality. I read reviews and viewed sample pictures of many models including the best rated such as the Canon S3-IS and Panasonic FZ-7 which I actually bought for a bargain price at Circuit City for only $139.00 (Brand new in a sealed box) but even that bargain price was not enough for me to keep it when I compared images with my Olympus', and neither the new models from Olympus like the SP-510, and the SP-550 offered matching image quality either. Now I gave up on the idea of upgrading for now and decided to get a telephoto lens converter for my Olympus to increase the zoom from 10-17x. You can check out some of my amature photos at:
http://www.oilandgasinternational.com/myimages_slideshow.html

The best quality images come out of any UZ digital camera I've ever seen, I actually think that images are close in quality to SLR. Photos are sharp and well exposed, colors are bright and well saturated, natural skin tone, and very compact. Simply all you need in a digital camera.

Slow and low light focus difficulty which is common in this class of cameras.

Panasonic FZ-7

No experience, I have been using it for three years and never had any problem.

Excellent camera. I am not the most experienced photographer, but I have found that this camera is very easy to use in a beginner fashion. You can use it in a professional manner as well. I found that the picture quality is quite comparable to 35mm, and the zoom is excellent(with a tripod).

Zoom Picture Quality Rechargeable batteries Sturdy

Camera shake if you are not careful Focus takes a while in low light

Canon Nikon HP Fuji Kodak

Excellent so far, very quick response to questions