As I mentioned, the camera died.

I put it down Thursday night. When I picked it up Friday morning, it took photos with dozens of thin white lines across the image, and/or overexposed the whole thing. Quick research pulled up the likelihood of a faulty CCD image sensor.

I called Canon this morning. It was out of warranty, they said, so they couldn’t do anything except direct me to open a repair request online for an estimate. I filled in all the info required, and was told that to repair this camera, it would cost us at least $99, plus tax, and shipping.

Really. For another $50, I could buy a new camera under warranty.

So this morning I dove back into the world of researching digital cameras. And I am considering running weeping from the room, because I am remembering with horror the last time I did this, and how confusing it all was, how unreliable reviews were, and how hard it is translate words into the actual use of a physical object. Two hours, and I’m ready to hide under some pillows.

All I’m looking for is a point and shoot, with the most important things being low shutter lag and decent shot-to-shot time (both with and without flash). I want something with a manual mode as well as presets, which takes good indoor and outdoor photos. We loved our Olympus Stylus before it dove off a shelf and killed itself; our Canon Powershot was a bit slow and clunky, which made things frustrating with a kid around. If anyone has suggestions, I’m open to hearing your opinions about your cameras, both the good and the bad.