My mother has become interested in getting a digital camera, and she wants my help selecting one. She wants a typical compact one, not an SLR. I am hereby soliciting recommendations for a good, straightforward digital camera. She wants to spend under $250. She can work with manuals and guides but she's not an expert in figuring out electronics, so ease of use would be a significant advantage. I have a Nikon (SLR) that uses SD cards, so I have a very small preference for those elements in case she needs help, but those are by no means required. I really would prefer that she not have a complete piece of junk, of course.

I'm looking for personal recommendations specifically; I'll do the CNET and Consumer Reports sort of research separately. If you've had good, bad, or middling results with any non-SLR digital camera, please drop me a comment here at your convenience. Thanks!