GF is after a new camera, any pointers, but if a good one is less thats OK too.

Canon Ixus are great imo. Seen some good pics with the lumix ones too.

couple of pix with my Ixus 🙂

Of the few I've used, my favourites have been the Canon Ixus ones and the Panasonic Lumix ones.

The Lumix seemed to ahve great pic quality regardless of the conditions. The Canon was almost as good pic wise, but had the advantage of a viewfinder so you could turn the screen off and save battery on long trips.

I actually have an Olympus Mju and it's OK most of the time, but rubbish in lower light conditions.

Another vote for the Ixus, well impressed with mine.

I find Canon Ixus's also best. Noise control and low light performance on Canon's generally kicks the ass of most Panasonic's but Panasonic have nicer colour control for landscapes like above. Canon are better all rounders I think though.

Model wise, look at the Ixus 100 if she wants something diddy, otherwise the Ixus 95 is a good buy.