small, yet expensive
I was patient for months and finally got a screaming deal on a camera I've wanted since it was first released, the Canon S100. (If you care, there's a very thorough review here). The features I wanted were decent low-light quality, more wide-angle than zoom-focused, zooming while filming video, fast, sturdy, and fits inside a Pelican 1010 case. My photography is definitely in the realm of the amateur, but I've been frustrated in the past with cameras that only have pre-set "scene" modes. Being able to mess with settings is a big part of what makes taking pictures fun for me. Anyway, the only thing I don't really like is that it's the first camera I've had without a viewfinder and it's a little weird to get used to. The only real downside to this model is that it's not good on batteries. I need to get a couple spares.