Advice on my compact camera!!!

[twinkletwinkle]

Hi! i'm look for a compact digital cam but there are sooo many brands and models in the market. Plus i'm confused by frens who are stereotyping the cameras according to brands instead of giving useful suggestion. can someone give me some opinions???

rough requirements:

• below 400-500bucks.
• 8-12 MP ( i wld like to know if there's a HUGE diff btwn 8 & 10 &12. it is for day-to-day use)
• good battery life
• hardy material and durable (preferably w gd warrenty as well)
• good pic quality
• image stabilizer (or whatever you call it. i have shaky hands)
• dont mind older models
  [*]dont need to have to ve fancy funcs (like touch-screen) and gorgeous casing [i'd rather save the $]

As far as possible, i would like to cut down cost. do try to quote me models and give me some overviews on pros&cons as well as cost. APPRECIATED EVERYBODY. i'm really a lost sheep. haha.

 

[SabaDen]

FujiFilm F200EXR fits yr budget nicely ...

 

[ndroo]

FujiFilm F200EXR fits yr budget nicely ...

Except the good battery life part but then batteries are cheap so can get a couple as spares.

 

[2evans]

There are online searches that can help narrow down models for you. Dpreview offers a decent guide that can help. You can enter features or requirements and it'll spit out a list of models based on feature matching.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare.asp