I got myself one of these not to long ago ...

http://www.nikon.ca/products/coolpixp2/

(the price is in CAD, but i got mine for $299 CAD onsale)

Includes: 5.1 effective megapixels, 3.5x Zoom-Nikkor lens for 36-126mm (35mm equivalent) performance. In-camera features, including
Advanced Scene Modes, Red-Eye Fix, Face-Priority, D-Lighting and
Blur Warning. Aperture Priority mode gives you 10-step manual control over aperture settings in 1/3EV increments. It also makes movies in 7 different modes.

I've always been happy with Nikon cameras, but everyone definately has their own preferences It has really cool panoramic abilities, and also has wireless connection (IEEE802.11b/g) so you dont need to plut it in to get the pictures off (if you have a wireless router). A lot of the Nikon cameras are coming down in price since they just came out with a few new ones -- including the D80 (only $1300 CAD for just the body, no lenses -- http://www.nikon.ca/products/d80/ )

Heres a couple of pictures I took using this camera --- i'm posting them as links so that they dont take forever to load!

Hobbes -- http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...a/DSCN0016.jpg

Thistle -- http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...a/DSCN0073.jpg
Daisy -- http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...a/DSCN0006.jpg

Caves -- http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...a/DSCN0139.jpg
Caterpillar -- http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...a/DSCN0091.jpg
A skink -- http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...a/DSCN0254.jpg

An example of the Panoramic (used 5 or 6 pictures in this, skyline of Mississauga near SQ1) -- http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...era/pan_01.jpg


*still practicing with the new camera*