I have a Canon A95 and I love it. The quality is great, it's easy to use, etc. Though the price has gone down, I'm sure it's still in the expensive range. I bought mine on Boxing Day for, I think, $480 Canadian. Plus tax it came out to $550 Canadian.

It's best to get a recharger and rechargable batteries. It really saves money. And if you set your camera up to take smaller pictures, I find that the batteries last ALOT longer. If I keep my camera on the mode that takes large pictures, my batteries are burned in ten minutes. I put it on the second-smallest mode, and my batteries will last a whole day.