The pics arent so impressive to me. Noise is high, but then again i shouldnt be complaining about noise as it is compact cam, not slr. The thing is, this kind of pics, any cam also can take. To look better all you need is some editing which i believe the user did.

Tryout the panasonic FZ series, maybe 5 or 8 or 10 ( i dun really follow the model), but found they can take satisfaction pic. If you opt for prosumer la. Not sure about compact ones.

Another option would be Fujifilm S series..maybe 5000, 5500 or 6000 (again, i dun follow the model, so not sure if i listed the model correctly). Fuji has been specializing in film, and because of that expertise and knowledge, they are able to come out with great technology thro finetuning ISO, sensor, optical, etc. Downside is, everything is sharp till you wont get swallow depth of field. Good side is, you can capture in RAW instead of JPEG.

For super sharp pic, try out Olympus. With your budget of 1.5K, any Olympus around that price range will never go wrong. Optically nice and good features with underwater capability in few models. But dun expect optically good from those underwater capability (so called all weather)

Canon and Nikon, no need to say as they are optically superb. But still get high noise at higher ISO. Great features, esp Canon with movie mode (plus stereo sound recording). Not sure if can get S5IS with 1.5K, maybe just S3IS.

If you cant decide on these features, just think simple. You need additional batteries (AA) or longer battery life (the manufacturer made). Storage card, opt for those cam with SD as they are cheap. Hahaha. Good luck