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I am looking for a digital point-and-shoot camera for a family member. The requirements are pretty simple: thin, easy to use (will most likely never switch from auto mode), and between $100-$300. Any suggestions, good or bad, from recent camera purchases? Since I will not be using the camera, things such as full manual and the best possible picture quality are not too important.

I just started looking today, so I will be posting some links for advice soon.

For a basic point n shoot camera, the contenders are pretty indistinguishable in IQ, especially to the casual user. You can assume that any compact camera on the market today will be fine in bright light and atrocious in low light/indoors.

Consider getting them a water-proof compact - this will broaden their shooting capabilities to underwater, watersports, dusty environments (I bought my fiancée a water-proof compact for her to take to Egypt a few years back). These tend to be more variable in performance and image quality, and it's worth researching the make and model before deciding. Panasonic, Pentax, Canon, Olympus and Sony all make cameras with varying degrees of water and shock resistance.

The new Canon ELPH with the hybrid IS system is pretty good. Considering that the worst thing that can happen to a point-and-shoot user is a blurred shot (instead of selecting the wrong aperture / shutter speed), a good anti-shake system is pretty much mandatory.

As said before, image quality among point-and-shoot models are in the same ballpark, and the aesthetic design is a matter of personal taste.

My sister and I got my mom a Canon IXUS 210 for her birthday. Pocketable, light, easy to use, with a touch-screen interface and a decent 5x zoom lens. Comes in a bunch of colors, too.

We got it for PhP13,500, which is roughly $300.

I think it's sold as the SD3500IS in the US.
http://www.dpreview.com/news/1002/10020 ... 3500is.asp

Start your research here.

Waterproof is an interesting point. Other than that, how compact you want it to be, whether you can use AA batteries, how easy the menu system, are all factors to consider.

Flying Fox wrote:

whether you can use AA batteries

I borrowed my girlfriend's old Canon PowerShot SX100IS for my three-week trip of Europe. It was a pretty damn good travel camera. 10X zoom, P/A/S/M/Full-Auto metering, and it runs on two AA batteries. I had four rechargeable AA dry cells and I just kept cycling and charging through them throughout the trip. I used it primarily in P and A mode, playing with the exposure metering.

It has a newer sibling, the SX130IS, with an even longer 12X zoom lens (although not as "fast" as the SX100IS due to slightly smaller maximum aperture). Both cameras are shaped roughly the same. They're both kind of thick and chubby, but lend themselves well to one-handed shooting. I guess that long zoom lens has to go somewhere.

Canon, Panasonic, and Nikon make some nifty point and shoot cameras. I don't remember the model, but there's a Panasonic model that one of my friends has that's really thin and automatic and all that, but it has low-light picture quality that rivals an entry level SLR. Panasonic is doing something right, so check them out. In Canon's line, the two cameras I personally think are good P&S's are the SD1300 and SD4000, depending on where you want to hit your budget. Even the SD4000 leaves enough money for goodies, like an extra battery, SD card, and maybe even a bag.