I'm in the market for a new point n shoot! I've been looking to buy one for quite a while, and having used my Dad's Konica Z5 recently, I've realised that my Kodak is now quite outdated.

For anyone who doesn't know (not that I imagine anybody cares) I primarily use my Kodak DX6490, which was my first digital camera and is probably the greatest thing I have ever bought. It was a hugely pricey piece of equipment for me at the time (aged about 15, £400 is a LOT of money), but it was well worth it and has paid for itself over the years in photo sales. However, it is now almost 5 years old and 4MP doesn't quite cut it for printing once cropping is done. I have a DSLR which I love (Canon 10D) but I really would like a new point n shoot.

Now, the complicated bit...

I can't decide which to get. I have narrowed it down to 2 cameras,

Canon G9
and
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50

I don't want to go into the details of why I particularly like these 2 cameras haha. They are completely different physically, but characteristically they are quite similar. I've heard great things about their macro capabilities, which is important to me, but they also rather pricey at almost £300 each. I had almost decided upon the G9, but I think physically the Panasonic would suit me more as I'm not a fan of ' pocketable' cameras - I find them too small awkward to control. It may also be because I'm trying to be macho and I like big, black cameras

So, if anyone has any useful information for me relating to this, could you let me know? ie. any users of these cameras who've noticed faults etc. etc. etc.

...and also, how are you all?