Finally about ready to leave film for digital photography, I'm sold on the small superzooms.

Have you experience and preferences to share between what seem to me the most competitive and adaptable choices, the Panasonic ZS1 and the Fuji F70 EXR? ZS3 is out of my budget, though the video capacity is stunning.

What about mountain photography, route shots, and the like? Battery life, auto-functions in alpine conditions, other tech details? (I don't need to hear more about the ZS1 mode switch, which has been beaten to death in the reviews and comments.)

I'd go with the Panasonic. I've loved their senors since the TZ series. Panasonic and Canon are the only point and shoots I'd ever buy.

I purchased a Canon Powershot IS with the 10x zoom last year.

It seems to be holding up nicely, but won't quite fit in your pocket; unless your pocket is
a very big one.

It's still light enough to carry on your shoulder or inside your backpack. The zoom is out of this world !

Battery life is "average" for all zooms. Just purchase rechargable batteries, and you'll be set !

Genesis wrote:I'd go with the Panasonic. I've loved their senors since the TZ series. Panasonic and Canon are the only point and shoots I'd ever buy.

+1 for Panasonic. They use Leica lenses. Have two of their cameras and been very happy. One of them is TZ4 and it is a great small-fit-in-your-pocket climbing/skiing/biking/whatever camera.

No experience with digital Canon but friends' pix look nice as well.

I'd stay away from the Fuji F70 although I did consider it because I have Fuji's (now classic) F31. I ended up purchasing the Panasonic ZS3 and it is outstanding and as you mentioned, the video capability is wonderful. It is also built well and the broad optical focal length is impressive.

It is selling around US$240 now on Amazon so if you can make that work, I'd jump on it.

Went with the Fuji, for the ~12.5% lighter weight and smaller dimensions for less wear and tear on the pocket, perhaps some image quality benefits remaining to be seen (low light and flash, not exactly what are my climbing measures!). If I had wanted video I'd certainly have gone with the Panasonic 3.

Thanks for input.