I've been watching some of the conversations about digital cameras but the more I read here and on various other web sites (photography sites, reviews, etc.) the more confused I get. I don't understand most of what is said in camera reviews on photography web sites. Also, if you read the customer reviews for various cameras at places like Amazon.com, one person will say "This is a GREAT camera" and the next person will say "This is a TERRIBLE camera. Don't waste your money".

My wife is looking to upgrade her present digital camera. The one she has is a Kodak (don't remember the specific model). Been a very good camera for us but she wants more megapixels and more zoom capability. Other than that she doesn't want a lot of "bells & whistles". Here are the basic "requirements":

Point & Shoot
Compact size but not one of the ULTRA compacts
Approx. 10 megapixels
10-12 X zoom
Fairly fast shutter lag (both in full auto focus and prefocused)
Fairly fast shot-to-shot speed
Fairly fast flash recycle
Prefer built-in flash; NOT a pop-up flash (but not a deal breaker)
$250 price range (give or take)
Used mostly for taking basic snapshots (vacation pictures, birthday parties, etc.)

Anyone have a recommendation for a camera that has worked well for them? Trust me, I won't understand a lot of technical stuff. I'm just looking for a "XXX has worked well for me" type of stuff.

Thanks.

Royce