Andy needs a camera

[Jake]

ISO is how sensitive the "film" or the image sensor is to light. On a DSLR, you can manually control the ISO. A P&S camera will crank it up in low-light situations if left on a full-auto mode. Normally, under regular lighting, you can shoot at ISO 100-200, with some 400 thrown in there. In low light, some cameras will vamp it up to about 1600 (or more).

So, you want to look for a P&S cam that performs well at higher ISO settings, because as the ISO goes up on digicams, so does the amount of noise in the picture.

As far as recommendations, I've had a few Nikon P&S cameras and they've been just fine. That being said, Canon's PowerShot P&S cams are fantastic. I couldn't give you a suggestion on any one model, but all the ones I've used are great.

I have a Panasonic Lumix FX07. It was on sale at Best Buy, that's why I bought it over a Canon. I do like it quite a bit - very fast startup time, a 3.6x optical zoom, and a Leica lens. It takes good movies, too, if that's part of what you want. Does a pretty decent job at higher ISOs, and has optical image stabilization (as opposed to electronic, which is less effective - a lot of cheaper cams are electronic IS). Works for me.

Keep the questions coming!