Tech Side of Things

Canon PowerShot SD770IS 10MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver)
$185.30
Review

Canon PowerShot SD850 IS 8.0 MP Digital Elph Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
$230.00
Review
No real manual control but otherwise excellent camera

Canon PowerShot A720IS 8MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
$315.00
Review

Happy to talk in detail about any of the above cameras. I think you would be happy with any of them.

And just for fun. . . very nice manual control and excellent image quality
Panasonic DMC-LX3K 10.1MP Digital Camera with 2.5x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)
$599.00