which replacement digital camera?

[dddev]

I have a deteriorating Olympus and I want to replace it. I have been reviewing all of the digital cameras and have come to the conclusion I need advice. I generally shoot outdoor photos, including night time. I will be in Iceland in December and hope to photograph the Aurora Borealis.
I do not shoot video or 3D but I do want good zoom and stability functions. I also need compatibility with my apple computers. That said I've looked at reviews and the Panasonic ZS20 appears to work but but are there other brands, models that might do a better job? All comments are welcome.
Thanks

[Andy Stanton]

Cameras similar to the Panasonic ZS20 (pocket sized, long zoom) are the Canon SX260 HS, Nikon S9300, Sony HX20v and the Fuji F770EXR. All would do a good job with outdoor shooting but the Panasonic, Canon and Fuji give you the options of aperture priority and shutter priority, which are good to have in tricky shooting situations. The Sony HX20v has a longer minimum shutter speed than the others - 30 seconds compared to 15 seconds for the Panasonic and Canon, 8 seconds for the Fuji and 4 seconds for the Nikon. A longer minimum shutter speed is important for taking pictures of the night sky (assuming your camera is mounted on a tripod). All in all, the Canon, Panasonic and Sony are probably the best of the group. Here are some sample images:

SX260 HS
The World's Best Photos of sx260 and canon - Flickr Hive Mind

ZS20
The World's Best Photos of zs20 and panasonic - Flickr Hive Mind

HX20v
The World's Best Photos of hx20v and sony - Flickr Hive Mind

[KCook]

You won't need much zoom for the Aurora Borealis. For that I'd hunt around for a used Canon S90 or S95.

Kelly Cook