buy me an imaginary camera!

[kayre]

Dropped off the camera at a repair place today. I'll have an estimate by the end of the week. Meanwhile I'm doing some research to figure out where the "replace, don't repair" line needs to fall, and it looks pretty low. Want to help? Tell me what camera you'd buy for me! MUST have at least 10x OPTICAL zoom (or the equivalent) and image stabilization. If you think I should look at stepping up to a dSLR, tell me why! I really truly don't want to have to carry around a bag full of lenses and a tripod. I'd really like to be able to focus manually, but still have autofocus available, if that's possible.

Suggestions? Best places to find more information? I'd sure appreciate any help you can give me!

Anyone know anything about the Fujifilm FinePix series? A couple of those look really enticing.