I absolutely adore the Panasonic Lumix range. They have great image stabilisatiion which is just smoking if you have had too much champagne. They are also small enough to slip into an Prada evening bag.
The lens quality is incredibly good, and best of all, you hardly need the handbook . As with all Panasonic products, the camera is as simple and user- friendly as an Apple Mac.
A small lens on a compact such as this means not such good functioning in low light areas; but I have taken some beautiful shots in daylight conditions.
I love the build quality of this camera. It is as sturdy as tiny metallic brick, I once dropped mine at a premiere- and I still looked fab in all the shots!

Much gorgeousness seemingly can be purchased at a small price, and Panasonic have it licked with these Lumixes. A great little camera which is also superbly stylish and also has important features like Macro and Simple modes.
More detail:
Ok - I did have to buy it a new battery so battery life is not good.
It has a great macro facility, a simple mode which has a good backlit facility ( images are not so crisp though)
Zoom is okay, not fantastic.
The flash is excellent and has the usual red eye facility.
You can buy larger size memory cards for this easily and cheaply.
The charger arrangment is a bit cumbersome, you have to remove the battery to charge- my old camera you just put the whole thing on the charger.
The viewing screen is a good size and very clear.
There is a navigation toggle at the back and you can alter most aspects by entering the menus. It is quite good for my small fingers but larger peopel might find it fiddly.
The shutter button is easy to find, there is a also a self timer.
You can zoom in on pictures you have just taken and scroll about to check.
It can do live action but it uses up the battery like mad.
I paid £90 for my camera but i think they are cheaper now.
I don't think you can go wrong with a Lumix.