Not many 28mm equiv compacts at less than $500, I think.
I don't really recommend Panasonics as their cameras tend to be overly aggressive when it comes to noise reduction, so much so that your night shots may look like water colour paintings than photographs.
Well, generally when it comes to recommeding compacts (which are always good for travel), I kinda like the Canon Powershot A-series - Like the A650IS. It's not wide angle, and it's a touch over $500, but seems to have most everything else to cover most situations.
Edit: Just found out about the upcoming Fujifilm F100Fd. Still above $500, but this one seems to have everything also, incl 28-140mm equiv lens.
If you don't mind spending a hundred bucks more and don't mind the 35mm wide angle lens, go for S5IS :thumbsup: It has 12x zoom (35-432mm) and full manual control. It also accept wide-angle converter.
