Hi, I'm after buying a compact digital camera within the next week. I'm a novice when it comes to photography so more of a point & shoot person although I may advance once I actually have a digital camera of my own. The camera must be small and use an SD card as storage but apart from that I'm open to all suggestions. My budget is no more than £250 (around $500 at current exchange rate). People have suggested the likes of the canon IXUS 40, sony cybershot range etc etc but with so many out there I'm a bit lost.

All replies more than welcome.

Many thanks, Nick.