Velvet, I fiddled around with the Canon SX110 today. Not bad. I 've read good things about it. The pop-up flash I"m not crazy about but I rarely use flash anyway. I'll handle several more before I decide.
Samanax, my budget is $350. but I'm not very disciplined about purchases sometimes
I still dream about an dSLR. Thing is, I prefer small as possible. I get a little intimidated with too many bells and whistles. I also think an SLR is a bit bulky for me. I'm clumsy, I've bounced my little Coolpix off the pavement a couple of times. I had a Nikon 995 years ago and accidently dipped it in a lake.
I pooched the focusing mechanizm.