Alternative to EX-Z750 or 850

[wicker_man]

I am looking for a new camera around £200 and I quite like the Casio EX-Z750 and 850 cameras.

But, does anybody know of any alternatives which have some kind of optical image stabilisation?

I want some manual controls and good quality (6mp+) but I want it to be compact so it fits in my pocket.

The other camera I was looking at was the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1, the specs looked perfect but it is too expensive at £280 (in the UK).

Thanks.

[pcshutterbug]

I purchased the Casio EX-Z750 last December. It is a good looking camera with many wonderful features, but unfortunately the camera did not work. It frequently showed "lens errors" when it was turned on. The pictures were poor and out of focus at the standard snapshot settings.

Casio instructed me to send the camera to their repair company in California. The mailing cost was not on their corporate account. The camera had to be mailed via UPS, insured with tracking confirmation and at my expense. They informed me that upon receipt, the camera would be repaired and returned to me in 10-14 business days.

Instead of getting my camera back, I got a card in the mail from their repair service advising me that I needed to submit a check or money order for their estimated shipping and handling cost if I wished to have my unit repaired. After making the long distance call to the repair company I was told that it takes 4 weeks on average to repair as getting parts takes 2 weeks on average and there are other cameras to be repaired so my camera will not be returned for at lease 3 more weeks.

I noticed that this model is not as readily available anymore (maybe Casio is aware of the problems and have pulled it). I don't know how this will end for me; I still don't have the camera back. (The repair company suggested I get some disposable camers for my trips).

Don't know when I'll get my camera back and if it will work when it is returned. The experience has been horrible. I have spent alot of money for a camera that was presented to be a dream and can't imagine being more disappointed.

[wicker_man]

I believe that only the earlier versions of the Z750 suffers from the lens error problem, the later ones were fixed. The 'gun metal' finish wasn't affected from what I have read.

The thing is there aren't any other direct competitors to the Z750 which are small and have manual controls.

The more I research, the Panasonic DMC-LX1 looks to be the best for my needs, because although it is slightly larger and £80 over my budget, it has manual controls, OIS, 8.4mp widescreen sensor, widescreen movie mode and 4x Leica lens. Only minor downside is slightly higher noise levels, but this can be reduced using Noise Ninja (as I have tested on sample shots I have downloaded). If only the price would come down in the next month or so!