My digital camera shot craps last night.

[justiceischeap]

4. One option is to look at slightly older cameras

There are a bunch of new models rolling out right now, so getting the last model, may be cheaper but still gain you a decent camera.

I'm a big fan of Panasonic Lumix camera's. They make really decent Point & Shoots that are fast, offer a lot of bells & whistles and have pretty decent battery life. (I can generally get about 200 shots with my p&s with one battery cycle -- that's continuous shooting, leaving the camera on the entire time, in chilly weather).

But without knowing your exact budget, your camera needs, it's hard to offer good advice--what is affordable to me, may not be to you.