Sony Cybershot DSC-H9

At first glance the camera looked bulky compared to the other pocket-sized cameras (the ones that look square or rectangular). However, holding it is feather light.

The lens doesn't look like it will go all the way into the camera and therefore allows you to use a very small case. However, this is a very bright lens made by Carl Zeiss that allows you to shoot in low light. And with 15x zoom is quite sufficient for vacation shooting. The closest previous model is probably the H5 with 12x zoom. With a slightly bigger zoom you of course pay a few hundred extra.

The stabilizer on the camera comes in handy. It is a smaller version of the Alpha SLR. Currently 2 types of stabilizers: either on the lens or on the camera. Manufacturers will claim with 1 type will claim their type is superior. Of course stabilizer on the camera does have advantage of allowing older lenses (without IS) to be used. On the lens might work better but lenses without IS will be without and at the same time the ones with IS are bulkier to carry around.

Very light-weight for travelling
Very Sharp Carl Zeiss lens up to 15x zoom.
Good image stabilization.
Enough megapixels for reasonable enlargement.
Menu controls not too complicated to operate.
Allows you to set exposure manually in tricky situations.
Smart modes available for amateurs that normally would not go into special shooting situations such as fireworks, scenic landscape at night. Instead of having the user fiddle around with exposure and shutter speed settings when you want to shoot firework displays, simply select the fireworks mode with the fireworks logo.
Movie mode for a few minutes of video where the file saved on memory stick can be downloaded to computer.
Rechargeable battery for about 300 shots.
Internal memory for around 10 high-res image when the memory stick is full.
Fast image processing. Almost instantaneous from shutter release to image display on viewer.
3" viewer. A lot of cameras with similar price have 2.5" viewer. Comes in handy when you need to see how good your image turns out or take it again if it is blurred.
High enough ISO at 3200 for low-light shots.

Looks a bit bulky. Cannot fit into a small case.

Any model with lens cap attached you can lose the plastic cap easily.

Putting on filters on the lens is a bit cumbersome. SLR users often put on a UV or Skyline 1A/1B over the lens. In order to do it here you'll need to put in the plastic adapter (for lens filters & the hood). The front end of the adapter becomes 74mm. If you decided to put a UV in front of the lens, it'll take the place of the small lens cap but you do need a larger case to fit the camera with the filter attached. Otherwise removing the filter you'll just have the lens cap to protect the Carl Zeiss lens. The people at the Sony Store says to protect the lens you either use the smaller lens cap or the 74mm filter (it is an either or but not both as with SLR lenses).

Panasonic Lumix with similar size but only 12x zoom. Also look like an SLR but has a fixed lens.
Fujifilm model also look like an SLR but also with a fixed lens & 3200 ISO

Was shopping for 1 that can capture a few indoor action shots such as ice hockey or basketball. There were 2 featured in a photography magazine. One made by Kodak where they drop the Mpix down to 3 to get up to 8000 ISO. Another model made by Olympus also has an ISO higher than 3200. As the # megapixels increases, we should see very little difference between shots done in ISO 6400, 3200, 1600, etc. as compared to the lower 100, 200, 400 or 800.

When shopping for electronics always keep an open mind. Each year a new brand and new model is top on the market, another year something else different.