i was looking for a camera for christmas, but cant decide which one.

Im looking for something stylish not to bulky or expensive also with a high optical zoom, and also one which takes good pictures.

ive seen a few like these:
http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_G...590/index.html
http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/479303/index.html
http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_G...984/index.html
http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/527697/index.html
http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/540046/index.html
http://www.sony.co.uk/product/dsc-w-series/dsc-w170

i was wondering which is the best and if there is anymore which i have missed, and also if anyone has had any experience.

thank you

Hey,
the choices you already made are really good ones. I would go for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX500 because it has just good reviews and it's not a bulky model (like the first camera you suggested).

If you want big optical zoom, stick with the first two.

The first one (DMC-FZ28) is excellent, and 18x optical is pretty damn good, but it's bulky. But .... it's a bridge/prosumer camera so a step up in features from a compact. It may be bulkier, but you can do a lot more with it. I have a similar one by Canon myself.

The second one (TZ5) is as good as it gets in a compact. 10x optical, excellent optics giving excellent image quality and it's small. If you want a lot of zoom, but to stay compact, you can't really get better.

All the others are just compacts with either average or slightly above average, optical zoom. None of them are in the same league as the two above if you want a lot of zoom.

So it really depends whether you want to stay compact (TZ5) or get the extra features with a bit more bulk (FZ28). Both excellent cameras, they just offer different things ..... but they're the two I'd be looking at given your requirement for zoom.

There are plenty similar to the FZ28, but there isn't much that can compete with the TZ5 in the compact market.

Hi, thanks for both of your oppinions i think i am going to go for the TZ5 just because its smaller, i dont really want to be carrying something really big around and the reviews are amazing so yeah thats the one, so thanks again