I have had the C-750UZ which died with the lens open, and AF clicking on video. I still have the SZ-30MR with grinding zoom noises on video. The Stylus 1 has these features again. Its continuous f2.8 aperture was a convincing argument in long zooms when CCDs were the only sensors you could get. But the BSI-CMOS sensor in my SH-50 compensates quite a bit at f6.9 (twice the reach of the Stylus 1).
The SP-820UZ was released in 2012 with a 14MP BSI CMOS sensor, using 4 AA cells. I like the combination of recent sensor design with a power supply that does not tie you to the power socket in a motel.
I have seen the first long zoom stills of the Panasonic ZS40/TZ60. They have blue haloes in some shots and fuzzy outlines in others. My SH-50 shows neither, so this is not a good time to jump brands. The ZS40 long zoom video of a mocking bird is clean though.
The SH-50 enables me to do videos and 12 full-res stills in them without stopping. Sandra now relies on this when I document her family functions. Comparing moon pictures with the SP-570UZ, there is more detail in the SH-50 shots without the use of the B-300 tele-converter. I just got a compliment on my gannet video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuPCYbGxR2g .
I record an annual lecture. The SH-50 reproduces a slide show without ants crawling over them, and with consistently intelligeable speech from the end of the room (combining the advantages of the Stylus 9010 and the SZ-30MR in a single package). The SH-50 does use Li-ions. You must charge her before recording video for an hour without interruption. But when it dies, it retracts its lens first.
The SP-100EE will be of interest to me if it comes without the design hiccups seen in the Stylus 1.
Henry