Recommendations for Camera to take on Holidays

[Stup0t]

After years of not having a proper holiday me and the missus are going to Rome :)

We don't have a camera and it would be a shame not to have some snaps of the trip. We are complete beginner's with camera's and we have not got a clue.

Here are some things we would like

Does not have to be pro gear.

Something small and compact with built in batteries and good optical zoom

We have not set a budget for this so pretty much anything goes within reason.

Something that connects easy to usb - which should be all of them lol.

Any help or advice on what we should be looking for would be good.

PS - The trip are in October so I have a bit of time to make a choice.

[Argote]

Well, you can go for one of them newfangled Micros Four-Thirds cameras which should deliver good image quality (though a lens with zoom could be bulky).

For Point & Shoot cameras, look into the Canon PowerShot and the Panasonic Lumix range. Sony makes some decent cameras in this sector too.

Please define "small and compact" and "within reason" hehe.

[sask]

Big fan of the canon point and shoots. If you want a more high end point and shoot in a compact package take a look at the Canon S90.