If you can wait until April 2011 to purchase a (new) compact digital camera then you may be interested in Samsung’s WB700 which boasts 24mm ultra-wide Schneider KREUZNACH lens, and provides 24x zoom (18x optical zoom backed by 1.3x Smart Zoom).
The upcoming camera has a 16 megapixel CCD sensor, optical and digital image stabilization, the Smart Filter 2.0 feature, a HDMI connector, and can record up to 1080p video. The WB700 is expected to cost $300.