Best small digital for holiday

[Kendal]

I need recommendations if anyone would be so kind.

I'm going on holiday with the family to Florida and don't really want to carry my 350D on all the rides,to the waterparks etc. so am considering getting a small digital to take with me instead, so I want something small, lightweight, tough enough to withstand being in my rucksack together with kids stuff rather than in a camera bag, but that will take fab photos - fast enough to capture rides and with a decent zoom. Any suggestions? Thankyou. :D :???:

[Jon]

My A620 lives in my backpack's outside pocket, making the ride back and forth to work with me every day (car, train & subway) and seems to be holding up well. It's not the widest P&S out there, but it handles most everything I want of an "everywhere" camera. It uses AA cells, so you won't have to keep track of another battery charger.

[mishnogram]

I would second any of the A6XX cameras. I've owned the A610 and noticed it takes fantastic pictures and has enough manual controls. If you want something with IS, the A710 might be pretty nice as well although I've never used it myself.

[flyingtoaster]

The A610 and A620 are good choices, especially with the rotating screen (for flexibility and durability). Min mentioned the 710IS, which I've used for a couple months now. It shares the A6xxs' manual controls and propensity for great pictures, but has a slightly longer zoom (6x vs 4x). The IS feature is great, too, especially for hand-held shots, dark rooms and short movies. I loaned it to my parents for a recent trip (on AUTO mode), and they came back with more album-worthy photos than I expected, even from inside concert halls and moving cars!

The downside is the screen doesn't rotate, and it eats alkaline batteries for breakfast, lunch and dinner (60 shots/pair in my experience). It does well on rechargeables, though, so if you pack four or six fully-charged AAs, you could leave the charger at home.