I just purchased the same camera (Panasonic Lumix) after reading the reviews on Amazon.

I would go to Best buy and just spend some time there and let them know the price range you are willing to spend and they are awesome about explaining things and letting you know what is the best to get for you.
I have a canon coolpix and it has hd video, rechargeable battery, and I bought a huge memory card for it. I really like it. It's small enough to take anywhere and I really like the quality of pictures.

I have Nikon Coolpix, 12.0 mega-pixels, 3.6X zoom, uses AA batteries. Easy Auto Mode. color Red. Less than $100.00
Easy to transfer pictures to laptop.
I am very pleased with this camera

That's what mine is that the kids got me. I just love it. Holds a charge for a long time, and very easy to use.

I think he just likes all the technical stuff! I have one of them too, and I am just having to learn which button to push to change the shutter speed and stuff like that. For the most part it is just like a film slr. I am new to the Nikon format having shot with a '60s Pentax-Honeywell that didn't even have a built in light meter! It was my mom & dad's when they got married. I loved that thing, but my mom wanted it back after I had it for 15 yrs!

Having written all that, I forgot to say that you really need to try them out. Make the salesperson put in a battery for you so you can really see what the pics look like. I chose the Nikon D90 over the Canon T2i because it felt more secure in my hands and you can use old Nikon lenses with it. Not that I have any of those, but it just gave me more options if I wanted to expand. You need something that will catch what you want it to catch and that feels good in your hand.

I'm a camera junkie...I have a Nikon D90, Nikon D80, Nikon Cool Pix, Sony CyberShot and the list goes on. If you want something reasonable without changeable lens and with a good zoom I would recommend that you look at the Sony CyberShot. If you want manual/auto with changeable lens, I LOVE my Nikon D90. My son has a Panasonic Lumix and loves it, so you really do need to decide what you want in a camera, go to the store and see how it feels in your hands. My one bit of advice is always buy up a little, I have a habit of buying what I think I want at the time, and then in a couple of months wish I had bought a little more:) Happy hunting.

I have a canon power shot. I really like it. Been great so far, eventually I'd love to get an SLR, but can't afford one right now, too busy spending money on quilting stuff. tee hee

Thanks everyone for the input, now I have some direction rather than flying blind. As usual you're the best!

I have a Canon PowerShot, 14.1 mega pixels. I love it. It has a touch screen, like my cell phone. I take it everywhere I go! :)