A friend that is a studio portrait photographer, bought a small pocket camera from a brand name maker a couple yrs ago. It had a very small lens up in the corner. I want to say it was one of the small Nikons. Anyway, he was taking it back because he couldn't get a sharp picture. I suggest either searching the internet sights were there are test comparisions or buying a consumer reports edition where they are tested. Also, some of the periodicals like Popular Photog, etc have editions that test point-n-shoot cameras.
The point is that they are not all created equal. Some will not produce so sharp an image, some are very sharp. Some have very short zoom lenses, some very long zooms. Some work better in low light than others.
For a point-n-shoot, the Canon G10 is on the upper end of that class. However, you pay a price in terms of money, weight, and size for this quality. Nikon has a similar model.
More megapixels doesn't always equal more quality. Lens quality and camera quality matter hugely.
If you buy from B&H photo, they will honor your desire to return or exchange a camera if you have a desire for something else. A friend just sent back a lens that he believed wasn't quite right. Turned out to be operator error, but they sent him another example of the same lens at his desire. B&H is a good place to buy no matter your choice.
