I use a Nikon L100 which I love and have recommended to many people, but many models are good. Optical zoom, megapixel and price dictate the final choice for me. In my opinion, the main thing you want to make sure you understand is the shutter delay. If you have a camera with shutter delay "to correct red eye" then you end up with a lot of out of focus pics due to the shutter delay, meaning it flashes, then a fraction of a second later the shutter opens. Most human subjects think once it flashes they are done, so they move and you end up with a blurred photo. The shutter delay also causes problems with quick candid or action shots. Most of the software that comes with newer cameras has editing capabilities, so you can manually remove the red eye when you upload the photos to your computer. Summary: avoid a camera with shutter delay.