Hi guys, i know this has been asked to death but i am going to ask it one more time. i shall endeavour to provide you with a little mor einformation than most people asking this question. i am essentially a beginner photographer with excellent technical skills and i pick up things such as camera use very quickly. e.g. i was 3000 ft above the perth, australia sky show and i was able to take a few fairly decent shots of the fireworks on a friends canon 300D. i need to purchase a new camera towards the end of the year. i have a sony cybershot DSC 5 and i have outgrown it so to speak.

i am planning on travelling to eurpoe next year and will be taking photos of absolutely everything form scenery to people in all different weather conditions. i will have access to a tripod.

i do not have very big hands so a more compact camera would be ideal. i know the pentax ist D was the smallest and i have read some quite ok reviews of it. is it still the smallest and how do you compare it?

i would like to possibly enlarge these photos to an A3 paper size, possibly larger if theyre good (which they will be). i will be taking a camera course towards the end of the year so extra help on usage is not a problem. my budget is $1500 Australian dollars give or take.

from what i can gather i will need a smaller lens 18-35, a larger lens 70-200 ( i think some even go to 300), and possibly a wideangle lens for some awesome shots of fjords and mountains. the lighter the better as i will be carrying it around with me.

also what are your thoughts on AA batteries verse rechargeable camera specific ones??

i know it is a hell of a lot of questions but that is why i am here. i appreciate your responses.

The Canon 300D is a very capable camera with great image quality. And the 350D is even better. I'm not sure if the Pentax *ist D cameras are actually much smaller than the 350D. So if you like the Canon, don't feel like you shouldn't get it because there's a smaller camera out there. And since it's now available, you should also take a look at the Sony Alpa A100. It's not the smallest digital SLR, but it has Sony's Super Steady Shot anti-shake system built-in at the sensor level. That will help you get sharper photos in more varied conditions. I've been using that camera and I think it's wonderfu.

I'm a little worried about your budget and expectations. You've probably done some more research by now and have discovered that it will be impossible for you to buy a digital SLR, a wide to normal zoom lens, and a 70-200 zoom. A good 70-200mm lens will take up your whole budget, on its own. So you could just get a digital SLR and kit lens. That will go a long way and you will be able to get good photos. Plus, it will be less to travel with. Another option is to buy a super zoom compact digital camera lke the Sony H5, the Canon S3 IS, or the the Panasonic Lumix FZ30. Those cameras are all very popular, small, and offer a lot of power and functionality for a relatively small amount of money.

You also asked about batteries. I think AA batteries are nice, as long as you have 2-3 sets of rechargeables. But if you're going to be packing rechargeable AAs, you might as well use proprietary camera batteries, right? All of my cameras have used proprietary rechargeables. I think they're fine. They're usually better than rechargeable AAs and you only needo one where you'd need 2-4 AAs. Just make sure to never rely on one battery. Buy a spare and keep charged and with you. Then you'll never get caught without power.

I think that lays out all the issues for you. You can use the review section (http://www.photographyreview.com/reviewscrx.aspx) here to check specs, compare cameras, etc. I'm sure you'll have more questions once you decide what kind of camera to buy. We'll be here to help.