#sx120is

And, the newer Nikon Coolpix S80....

Aside from battery issues, because I hadn't changed or used the camera much since my second Chicago TARDIS....so it kind of ran down quickly at this convention.  I'm finding that the SX120IS edges over the S80, in one very important area.

The speed of its lens.

The SX120IS has an f/2.8-f/4.3 lens, while the S80 has a f/3.6-f/4.8.  While there might be other factors in play here...while shooting in the dark without flash in the main ballroom at Chicago TARDIS.  Its basically a choice between hand holding to a shutter speed of 1/20 or 1/15.  While on the S80...I'm trying to hand hold a shutter speed of 1/4 or 1/2.  BSS seems to help, providing the people on stage aren't moving too much (so mostly no.)  And, the S80 form factor is somewhat harder to keep steady than the SX120IS, at least with my big clumsy fingers.

IS seems pretty required these days, though my essential tremor is pretty mild...and don't seem that bad lately, now that I've been back on Nadolol.

The one thing that I wished the SX120IS had was 28mm starting point, rather than its 35mm.  Though its 10X for 35-350, and the newer SX130IS/SX150IS are 12X with a 28mm start (so 28mm-336mm).

I was thinking maybe the loss on the long end wasn't such a huge deal...though the drop in lens speed to f/3.4-f/5.6, is pretty bad and probably a better reason to keep hoping Canon will come out with a better version.

Still preferring the AA battery usage, versus the proprietary li-ion and charger needs.  Though one reason I caved on the S80, was that it can charge from a USB cord (though I got an external 'slot' charger and an extra battery....)