Need to indicate what you want to do with it, and what your priorities are:-
* Simple snapshots or more complex - e.g. wildlife, scenery, portraits
* Simple operation (point and shoot) or more complex controls with greater range of options
* Does size matter - range is from smaller than a cigarette packet to quite bulky.
* Do you want to enlarge to A4 size or greater, with no significant loss of quality
For me, the most important consideration is maximum zoom - the ability to range from wide angle shots to close-ups of a single person (or flower, bird, or building) from a distance. I would recommend that you ignore all cameras with less than 10x zoom.... but that inevitably means that the camera is quite bulky.
For a selection, go to , select digital cameras, then select bridge cameras for some of the best in this class