[reldridge]

Putting on my ex-camera sales guy hat, one question for you... Who is the camera for? Gift for a tech person, or a luddite? If its for a non-techy, why go all out on a wicked camera, to have it sit unused because they are intimidated? Simple is better, in some cases.

If for a luddite non-techy, I'd go Canon, simply for the brand recognition and the easy Auto mode.

If for a techy who is into photography a little, I'd go with either the Panny or the Fuji, or the Nikon P80. More creativity can be had with the focal length, and the more photo modes.

As far as AA goes, don't be afraid. Buy a good set of Nickel metal hydride rechargeables and charger. Figure between $30 and $50 extra. Watch for the Mah (milli-amp per hour) rating. Standard alkaline batteries will only give about 150 shots, if that. Good rechargeables will give about the same as li-ion, but you won't have to deal with proprietary chargers and batteries later on. Especially handy for a traveller, who might be without electricity for a day or two, but can buy Duracells at a store.

I've had a Panasonic DMC-FZ7 for a few years now, still love it. But then again, I'm the techy who likes photography...