This is probably way too late for the OP but if anyone else comes along wondering...
I spent a lot of time researching before buying a pocket camera. I have a Canon 10D for the "good shots" but wanted something I could have with me at all times for snapshots of the kids. I ended up going with the Canon A710IS. You can see a review of it at:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0612/06...10isreview.asp
By the way, I totally recommend dpreview for anyone camera shopping.
It's been a great purse camera. The only thing I haven't liked is it's bright daylight color capability. I've been taking park photos for my directory and that tends to be around 11am which is a horrible time for photos. I've noticed that the color seems to be really off on the photos with the sky not looking natural. Other than that, though, I'm quite happy with the camera. The shutter lag is negligible, which is good for chasing toddlers. It also has some manual controls and a viewfinder, which is a must have for me. It takes pretty nice video for a still camera, too. So well recommended.
Michelle
