Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS12 compact camera

If you can't stretch to a Leica, you can always opt for the budget option - something like the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS12 compact camera.

Packing a Leica lens, this 12.1 megapixel camera also offers 4x optical zoom, steadying functions, intelligent scene selector, face detectio, red-eye correction, a long life battery of 330 shots, 2.7-inch LCD and the option to shoot WVGA (848 x 480) movies.

Expect it around summer in various colour options, price to be confirmed - but certainly much less than a compact Leica.

Panasonic Lumix website