Steph wants my best pick in a compact camera under $400. Emphasis on Movie Mode

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 10MP Digital Camera with 12x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3 inch LCD Camera highlights: 12x wide-angle optical zoom | Beautiful 3″ LCD screen | Face Detection | HD Movie mode, 60fps!!! optimized format, movie files are not as gigantic | iA mode for photos AND movie mode = a suite of technologies that ensure the best settings for the scene, stabilize the image and auto adjust for lighting | Face detection AND recognition = auto focuses and optimizes exposure on faces and gives priority to faces the camera has seen before | Stylish black, blue or silver

You can get quite a bit of camera around the $400 mark and this Lumix is currently at the top of the pile. Reviews of this camera and previous ZS & TZ lines have been very positive, even earning DPreviews “Highly Recommended” designation. Inside and out this is a really nice camera.

Possible Alternatives:

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5S 9MP Digital Camera with 10x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Camera Highlights:3″ LCD | iA mode – 5 features work together to pick the perfect settings for each shot, includes Auto red-eye removal and image stabilization | 10x Zoom | HD Movie Mode | 400+ Near perfect reviews on Amazon Site |

Canon PowerShot SD880IS 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized ZoomCamera Highlights: 3″ LCD | Face detection for focus, auto scene selection, auto red-eye removal and image stabilization | 4x Zoom |
Lows: 640×480 Movie mode – decent but not exciting | LCD is 1/2 the resolution of the Lumix

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and Super Steady Shot Image Stabilization (Black) Camera Highlights:12MP | 3″ LCD | Face Detection, Priority Face, Smile Shutter technology, Anti-Blink technology | 5x Zoom | HD Movie | mode Beginner mode
Lows: LCD is 1/2 the resolution of the Lumix | captures to Memory Stick media – Sony proprietary |

If you are not Steph and you want your own personalized recommendation