Best Digital Camera for Point and Shoot Photography

Most people, when it comes to buying a camera, can get quite stuck.  So I thought I'd give a few pointers and some suggestions as to what is out there and what I would recommend.  :)  Just to make a few things in life a bit easier...

You must realise I am making a recommendation on a general "point and shoot" camera - which means not the DSLRs - which for the average person usually is too bulky, expensive and tricky to use.  I have split the cameras into two sections (under $200 and under $400) so you can decide which category suits your budget.

BEST DIGITAL POINT AND SHOOT CAMERA
UNDER $200

1.  Fuji F300EXR - retail price $200

Pros: 
- 12.0 effective megapixels
- Sharp images even at the longest telephoto range (zoomed right in)
- 720p HD video capture with dedicated recording button
- Amazing 15x zoom!!!  If only I had one of these in my day of using a point and shoot!
- It has a pretty good image stabilisation sensor so this will limit your blurry photos
- Maximum sensitivity of ISO12800 - for a more natural looking photo
- 3inch high definition LCD (mmm... nice and BIG!)
- Non-slip grip
- Movie setting (as most do these days) with separate recording button which is handy!!

Cons:
- Auto-focus is a tad slow
- Video quality is not that great (which a lot of compact camera's video isn't...)

BEST DIGITAL POINT AND SHOOT CAMERA
UNDER $400

1.  Panasonic DMC-LX5

Pros:
- 11.3 Megapixels
- 3 inch LCD screen
- Video quality was judged as being "superior" so it works well as a compact video too
- Great with extreme close ups (0.4 of an inch!), you can almost TOUCH your lens to your subject! :)
- Has the ability to shoot at ISO 3200 at maximum resolution and at ISO 6400 and 12800 at a 3-megapixel resolution
- A definite PLUS is it offers full manual controls so you can have your compact point and shoot and also have full control over your shutter speed etc!
- You can zoom in and out while filming (which is frustrating when you cant!)
- Really good battery life

Cons:
- Not very "stylish" to look at!  Very old-school indeed.
- Mono-microphone (not too noticable unless you're editing your videos etc)

So... now that you've got something to go by, go check them out and read a few other reviews and see if one of these is the camera for you.  Obviously, there are much nicer ones again (more expensive too!) that do things like go underwater - but it's all about how much money you want to spend.  :)

Enjoy your shopping and enjoy your camera even more!  And good luck with getting the shots you're after!