Stephanie,

I looked long and hard for a new camera and finally bought one after using Dave's a bit on the LI Lighthouse challenge last year.

I got the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5 which is a 5 megapixel camera with a 12X optical zoom ( 36-462 35mm equivelant). It has an onboard stabilizer and fits in one hand.

I've taken about 4000-5000 photos with it and I'm very pleased. The battery lasts a good bit of time (but since it's a proprietory one you need a backup ready).

I bought a 1 gigabyte card as well as a 512 and had plenty of room on my trip last Summer that lasted almost 3 weeks. I just edited the shots every night. (I still came back with about 800 photos).

I'm definetly with those that feel a good digital with a 10-12X optical zoom will fit your needs very well with out having to lug around a lot of equipment- you could do more with the digital bodies that take different lenses but if you want a good mesh of simplicity with the ability to get a good picture of that lighthouse a mile or so off shore the one piece is the best way to go. IMHO

Basically there are probably dozens of cameras that will fit your bill- try and get the models you are most interested in your hands if possible and take some photos with them if you can and go from there. The sites Dave gave you can help shift through the masses.

Dennis