[creeper]

I come from a family of photographers, and honestly just saving a tad more and going for a rebel or lower end Nikon DSLR is worth every penny over a point and shoot. even on the better point and shoots the manual settings are extremely limited.

check out B&H's used section, you can probably find a decent nikon or canon dslr in the $3-400 range. I've had my 20D for looong time, and although it's only 8MP I love it.