Conan, awesome photo!
I did consider optical-digital when I bought the G2, but at the time, the cheapest was £1500! I really couldn’t justify the cost to myself, never mind She Who Must Be Obeyed! [At that time, the G2 was around £650].
A BIG word of warning about Pixmania. Very efficient, and the best price for the Ixus 50. However, the manuals were in French. To be fair, it does say so in the camera spec section. It’s a French company, and all their goods come from France [returns are sent to France as well].
Customer services pointed me to download the manuals in English from the Canon site in Australia! However, I was not about to download and print 500 pages of A4. I sent it back under their 7-day money back terms [I await the refund].
I bought the Ixus 50 in the end from John Lewis, but £30 more expensive. Ce la vie…