If you haaaaad to use a digital camera...

[Steve Bellayr]

Panasonci Lumix DMC FX 30 It has the Leica el-marit lens. Should run about $200 that way you will not have lost much money on a digital camera

 

[lemalk]

One more vote for the Lumix LX-2 / Leica D-Lux 3.

One caveat, though - you really need to know how to handle that camera. Simply putting it on Auto will usually give less than spectacular results.

It may frustrate your wife if all she wants is to point and shoot.

I also second the Lumix L1 / Digilux 3. Its manual controls and rangefinder appearance make it stand head and shoulders above most other DSLRs.

 

[rbiemer]

I went through a similar process--easier because I was picking one for my self!--and made criteria:
what I needed (not a whole lot, really) and what I wanted (rather longer list), and what I wanted to spend (not very much).
The camera that fits best to those three the best for me ended up being the Samsung NV7.
So far it looks great on paper--it should be delivered tomorrow and then I'll see how well it really fits me!
Rob

 

[Senmu]

Over the past few months, the consensus seems to be building that the best pocketable digital cameras, with RAW capability and photographer-friendly controls, are: Panasonic DMC-LX2 (same as Leica D-Lux3 in RAW); and the Ricohs (GRDII if you like a fixed focal length, GX100 if you need a zoom). Having said that, if your wife is accustomed to SLRs, you might also look at the Nikon D40x. My wife has shot Nikon film SLRs for years and years. She *loves* the D40x because it has the Nikon 'feel', familiar controls, and it's really small and light. Can use all the old glass from her film Nikons. Not quite as light as the Olympus, but then, to her, the Olympus controls are all in the wrong place. [Also, some limitations on auto-focus with some generations of older glass.]

 

[navilluspm]

My wife loves her Fujifilm s6000fd. She loves the colors and look it produces (and Fuji's do have a different look with the SCCD sensor). Fuji just announced a new "bridge cam" that looks very interesting: S100FS. No reviews yet, but here is the DP review link: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0801/08012410fujifS100FS.asp

If your wife likes SLRs, and DSLR would probably be the best for her. I think the biggest question she needs to answer is this: What does she want to accomplish with the camera: Sports, macro, portraiture? Are fast lenses important? How compact is compact?

If you are looking for a P&S, I personally think that Fujifilms with the Super CCD are among the best.

 

[Ducky]

I went through a similar process--easier because I was picking one for my self!--and made criteria:
what I needed (not a whole lot, really) and what I wanted (rather longer list), and what I wanted to spend (not very much).
The camera that fits best to those three the best for me ended up being the Samsung NV7.
So far it looks great on paper--it should be delivered tomorrow and then I'll see how well it really fits me!
Rob

I'll be anxious to hear what you think of the NV7. I had my eye on them but decided it was too small for my hands. It gets mixed reviews but it sure is pretty.