Sounds as tho you are after a camera that will do many jobs- just as i was looking for last year
check out
http://trial.which.co.uk/reports/av/...gitalCamera s i settled for a panasonic FZ20 EB
the lense is to 36mm to 450mm in SLR terms ideal for anything from macro photography to long distance wildlife stuff- it has loads of buttons and modes but can be used on fully auto till you learn how to operate all the different features
it came with a 16mb card but i added a 512 mb card i think that is around 800 pictures i paid 250 pounds for mine at the sales inc card a lot of camera for the dosh - i settled for this camera instead of a digital SLR so i didnt have to carry or purchase loads of lenses
read up on it - if it appeals to you and you want some questoins answering just U2U me and i'll try to answer them
a selection of photos
full zoom

a portrait

the DD boys and girls

some local wildlife

at the skate park
