Compact Carry Chris – You are the dad of two beautiful active kids. You need something that will be small enough to carry everywhere and capture great shots whether at the soccer game or at the beach.

Gear: Panasonic Lumix TZ5 comes in around $300 and every you could want in a tiny package. Check it out HERE

Discussion: There is one thing about the TZ5 that makes it clearly stand out from the crowd. It has a 10x zoom, starting at 28mm wide, and it's crammed into a pretty small compact camera (small enough for a jacket pocket or purse). The 28mm wide angle gives much more flexibility and I wouldn't be without it when taking creative artsy shots. The 10x zoom lets you get a little closer in on your daughter's cheering face as she scores the winning goal of the championship game! As a bonus, this guy has one of the better video modes available on point and shoot cameras (much better than the one on my Canon SD1000 – of which I have recently posted some examples).

Notes: If having a great zoom isn't something you need, I'd look to the smaller compacts from Canon.