I am not sure which to suggest, but in my opinion you can do the filtering like this (I did like that, so this is from my experience.)
1. Set your max budget
2. Go for a max optical zoom one (depends, but I prefer that in first place)
3. Now, check for MP (more MP, good, but 6 or 7 is quite adequate for normal use)
4. Check for the battery and memory options which suites you the best (like whether you like AA or AAA, whether you like card or stick, also check for price, ease of use of these)
5. By looking photographs (from various reviews site) you will know which will be easy in handling, good looking etc. For example I settled for Canon S3 IS and love that, but some may not like it, like its bulky look etc ! So it depends on your likes n dislikes)
6. Check for reviews of the cameras in your list now (but do not believe blindly on the reviews)
Some links that may help you
http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/digital-cameras/
http://www.dpreview.com/
http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/
7. If any of your friends has Digital Cams, get it for sometime, get used to it and you can very easily understand teh good / bad about it (less chance if your friends has no cam listed by you).
You can fiter down a lot by doing this.
Good Luck.
Camera
Linear Mode
