easy to use controls (buttons are fine, menus are not)

I'm not sure how many cameras you are going to find that aren't menu driven.  All the ones I've used recently rely on menus for most of the settings.  My DSLR has knobs and buttons for everything and an LCD display on top to show shutter, aperture, exposure but if you don't want the bulk of the SLR your into compact territory which seems to be geared at as few buttons as possible.

This camera http://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/equipment/reviews/compactcameras/127819/1/fujifilm-f70exr-review.html seems to get good reviews.  I haven't tried it but if I was looking to replace my compact, I think this would be one of the contenders.

I not seen many compacts with a viewfinder, i know you said you did not want anything to bulky but if you looking at spending around the £250 mark take a look at the Panasonic Lumix FZ45

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-Lumix-14-1MP-Digital-Camera/dp/B003WOKU4W/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1318416606&sr=1-1

We're done with bulky cameras, we've found the weight and size an issue when on long walks or climbing down to the beach, so have just bought a Fuji Finepix - a smart little light weight camera with a lot of features for around £100, although totally not what your looking for but this may help someone else seeking a compact.

Digital cameras  with a view finder are getting rare like hens teeth.

I have a Lumix TZ9 which is a half way between the TZ8 and TZ10 being only available at Currys. There are some good features inc. a HTML lead to connect to the TV, a large viewing screen and reasonable control over what you are doing - or there's a simple mode.It feels solid too.

One word of warning Panasonic try to get you to commit to buying their batteries. If you have the version 1 firmware it won't be a problem. I've had good batteries from both Amazon and 7dayshop.

I have a digital SLR for more serious photography but as mentioned they are a lump to carry round!

Hope you find what you want.

Davie  😎

Thanks everyone, the Lumix is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. It certainly gets plenty of good reviews at Amazon!

Any other suggestions?

We had the tz 7 a good camera but we missed having full control so we traded up to a fz 100 which has all the control we need and is not too heavy

I use a Nikon D300 as the main camera but for a day out tend to use my Nikon Coolpix s8000. I went for the s8000 largely for its opitcal zoom.  Very pleased with both.

Just need some pockets now to put the S8000 in on a day out!

I really like my Canon G10.

It's not a very compact compact but it does have a viewfinder and is significantly more convenient to tote around than my SLR. Also, it's not the current model (there's also been a G11 and now G12) but you might find a G10 at your price point on that auction site.

Some sample images are attached.

Thanks everyone, all good suggestions. 🙂

Can someone explain to me this business about adjusting the ISO? With film it measured the sensitivity of the file and the aperture and shutter speed were adjusted accordingly. I always bought ASA200 film and left it at that.

But it seems that the ease of adjusting it is now a feature. Is this is something that's frequently adjusted too? Why would you do this?

Thanks,
Steve

In a nut shell the higher the ISO the better the camera can cope with low light. On the other side of the coin the picture quality may not be so good. Those with more photographic knowledge will no doubt (rightly) elaborate

Davie  😎

ISO on a digital is camera can be thought of as being the same as the film speed of old.  If you're trying to get a large depth of field in low light you may run into problems because the shutter speed is then too slow.  Being able to increase the ISO, then allows you to increase the shutter speed without having to loose any of your depth of field.

As Davie says, they higher the ISO the poorer the quality of image.  In the old days if you decided you need to go to a faster film mid roll it was a right pain.  It wouldn't be the first time I've had to open a 35mm can to get the end of the film out again.  😀

Thanks. That's what I thought but I wondered if there was anything more to it nowadays.

Cheers,
Steve

I wondered if there was anything more to it nowadays.

Just lots of digital noise..  😉  ;D

I loved my ZS7 (aka TZ10 in Europe). I've bought it on eBay from a US seller, just because I wanted a blue cover and it was only available that in the US 🙂 The camera sometime gets not the best photos when using full automatic, but I found a way of shooting in mode P which gave it amazing performance. It is really not a camera to start with right out of the box if you want to try manual modes. Don't ever hope you find out just by playing around. Keep your nose into the guide. This will save you a lot of time and trying.

One very nice thing is built-in GPS. I got really tired of location tagging of my photos when posting on the web, and this GPS thing was really handy. Just had to find out how to turn it to power saving mode (which was not a default). If you select Flight Mode in the GPS menu, then you are here. Don't be misguided. This mode has actually nothing to do with airplanes. Its real meaning is that the camera is completely tuned off when you turn it off. In contrary, if GPS is in normal mode, it drains battery even if the camera is switched off. It was meant to kick the hot start, which it helped not in my practice.

Nearly all the photos on my website are made by it. Sorry, not a big size, but you can check the colors.