easy point and click...thoughts?

my digital is dying slowly, its an older Kodack and while i love it, its slowly starting to fade...the battery isnt securely in there anymore (the latch broke) and occasionally the lense wont open when its turned on, and now ive aparently lost my connection cable which will cost a good $40 to replace because its an older camera with an odd connection...

to top it off its rather bulky.

im looking for a SIMPLE, easy to use camera, im not a photographer, i take pictures of my dogs and the occasional flower lol ease of use is key.
im also looking for something small and compact...i like the size of the sony cybershot and similar.
i dont need all the bells and whistles, im never planning on going the manual route (i have enough other hobbies).
i also want something thats cute...yes shallow as i am.

i like kodak because there EASY, the software is easy to use and cool for editing, the camera is easy to use, and dl'ing pics off the camera doesnt take an IT degree.
pictures have always come out nice (not professional but clear and colors are nice)

im thinking about
Kodak M1063
its a 10.2 MP with a 3x (to 5x) zoom. good reveiws as a beginner/intermediate point and click with image stabalizers and facial rec with blurr reduction (i have a slight shake)
2.7" high res LCD with up to 1000iso
with a good number of pre set "scene selections"
its got all the same basice features of my current camera which i realy do love...but its smaller with better megapixels and zoom...
and of course it comes with a rechargable Li-Ion battery and charger (which have great life)
right now ive got acess to a special deal to get a nice case and a 1 gig SD card with it for $140 inc shipping.

id like to stick with the kodak for a few reasons
1: familiarity
2: ease
3: i have the kocak compatible plug and play photo printer...all i do it pop my camera on top and choose the pictures... (im not sure if you can use it with other cameras direct from the camera...and im not sure i want to have to drag out all the wires and plug stuff in when i want to actually print pictures...i like being able to just drop it on there press a button and go.

ive also been debating the Sony Cybershot...
theres 2 models im considering
S950
this one would end up costing me $130 plus shipping and id then have to buy a new sd card and case.
10.1 MP
4x (8x) zoom
2.7" display with a 3200 iso, blurr reduction and face recognition
easy shoot with a bunch of different scene selections (not as many as the kodak, blurr reduction facial rec ect...
and again Li-Ion rechargable.

or

S980
this one would bump it up an extra $20 from the other cybershot and the only difference being 12.1 megapixels.


im a little worried about a 3200 ISO producing too much noise in the images, in good light my little current old kodak produces nice clear pictures and its got a fairly low ISO but its grainy in indoor with less than ideal lighting (im assuming because the ISO is too slow?)

gah, sooo many numbers and words, i r confuddled.

(and the nikon D40 is SOOO out of my range lol)

You're just looking for an easy point-n-shoot? The pocket sized cameras? I'd totally, 100%, no question recommend a canon. I got the sd700 4 years ago, and it works as well today as it did the day I got it. The images are clear, the controls are simple as heck, and the customer service is great.

The best part is that canon has a "trade in" program. If you have a canon at home, any quality--used, old, broken--they'll let you trade it in for credit towards a new one. Depending on the model, you can shave $100+ off the price of a new camera.

I wouldn't pay more for megapixels, unless you are planning on printing out poster sized prints. For standard 5x7's, you really don't need a gazillion megapixels. I only have 6mp, and I can print 8x10's clear as a bell. More mps help if you're going to do severe zoom/crop in photoshop, but it sounds like you'll be printing the pictures straight from the camera.

If cute's a factor, I like this one:

Amazon.com: Canon PowerShot SD1100IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Blue): Electronics

$150 for the baby blue

I second the Canon PowerShot. I loved my before I got my big Digi.

My first digital camera was a Canon Powershot as well (not sure of the model..A-something) I never had any issues with it

Hey Foxy, if you're still looking for a camera, check out staples starting tomorrow.

They have the canon powershot sd1100IS on sale for $125. If you use a $25 off $75 coupon, you can get it for $100. (If you don't get their catalogs, you can buy a coupon on ebay for $.99) That's pretty darn good for the highest rated P&S camera on the market right now!

Hey Foxy, you still looking?
Though I love my canon rebel as my main camera of choice, my little point and shoot is a kodak that I picked up from Dell.
It's easy to use, I can film with it, and takes nice pictures in outdoor or indoor settings. I've never had a pic turn out grainy from it unless the image was just way too dark.
It's a Kodak Easyshare C743 - I'm sure there's newer versions of it, as I purchased it a while ago, but I find it great as a point and click, it's easy, lightweight, and small enough to be carried in a pocket. It's 3x optical zoom, and 7.1 mega pixels.

The below are some pictures in low-light indoors (eww, back lit by windows too), and I find the quality of it quite nice for the type of camera it is, hope this helps.