I got a new digital camera a few months ago. I wanted a small one, but I also didn't want to spend a lot. I do geology field work and wanted a camera for that, that was inexpensive enough that if I dropped it in a canyon, I'd just say "Oops!" I also wanted no moving parts and one that takes AA batteries.

I got an Olympus Camedia D-425. Easy to use, takes great pics. It's about $130. 4x digital zoom, which is plenty for most things. I also got a 512mb card for it and it holds 5300 photos on the lowest quality.