Digital Camera search (2004 version)
Mrs CP has kindly agreed that I should have a digital camera for Christmas. I've had a look through the previous threads, but surprisingly none have been updated since early this year.
My requirements are less than 300 pounds in price, 6x optical zoom or better (I take a lot of aircraft shots with a 75-300mm zoom on a Canon EOS 300, and the rest tend to be family shots with a 28-75mm zoom) and reasonably hardy and foolproof.
A look round some of the comparison sites suggests that I should be looking at Fuji S5000 or S3500; Canon Powershot S1, Kodak DX6490 or Minolta DiMAGE Z10.
Does anyone have experience/views on these, or better suggestions?