Definitely Stylus Epic (mju II in europe).
I like mine. There is nothing to beat it in the same priceclass.
It is capable of great results, but it is fully automated. Manual doesn't tell too much about it's programming. You have to get used to it's behavior, and sometimes know how to cheat it a little for good results. Manual settings could be easier. Most of the time it works as a perfect P&S.
Some opinions follow:
Exposure meter is reliable in most shooting conditions. It is accurate enough for shooting slide film. Except that mine is programmed to overexpose very consistently approx. +2/3 stops. Good for color negative film, but too much for slide film. Are these possible to get adjusted easily?
It has a spotmeter mode. Using this is a bit awkward and not always useable, as the autofocus locks to the same spot you want to use for exposure.
The exposure program prefers large apertures. Autofocus is accurate, but as point and shoot it usually focuses to the center of the frame. Combined with relatively shallow dof, main subject easily goes slightly off focus. You can use the AE and exposure lock or the spotmeter mode to overcome this.
Fill flash is well balanced. The camera is also programmed to use it very often. Turning the flash off requires pushing the flash button several times. Very annoying because all settings reset every time you close the the sliding lens cover.
And it is not exactly point and shoot anymore in conditions where you don't want fill flash and the camera insist in using it (like bright sunlight in the mountains).
Turning spotmeter on requires pushing two small buttons at the same time (with your fingernails...). No point and shoot either. For a sunny day scenery you easily end up turning the fill flash off and then the spotmeter on before each shot.
Film speed is set only from the DX code. If you want to rate any different, you must print code stickers. I have never done it as I manage with box speed and Xtol or DD-X (and the mentioned overexposure).
The lens is very sharp, also with the large apertures the camera often uses.
Sometimes it suffers from ugly orange colored flare and there is no possibility to use a shade. And as it's not SLR it's hard to shade the lens with your hand without getting it into picture. There is very little but noticable distortion. Only evident when you have straight lines in your picture.
Other cameras I have are Mamiya 6MF and a Minolta SLR. More than half of my favourite pictures are taken with it.
