advice for new camera would be much appreciated

[shallowcrater]

hi

i just joined this forum because i'm trying to choose a new digital camera as a gift for my father.

he is used to an old sony cybershot 5mp with zeiss lens from about 7 years ago so i was mainly looking at the cybershots with zeiss lenses because the old one took fantastic photographs, much better image quality than any other digital we've used, but am open to suggestions.

he had a canon ixus which took horrible photos and then broke so probably would not buy another of those and this is why i was looking at the sony's, the pictures from the sony were just excellent quality

budget is £150 (hopefully less) but a good camera is important, he takes a lot of pictures outside in nature and also needs to be able to take very clear detailed close up pictures so a good macro would be very nice.

i think he would like something small and easily carried if possible, the old one was a chunky camera

is sony cybershot still the way to go or are there better options?

is it still possible to get get them with AA or AAA batteries, this is his preferred way to go as he has a lot of rechargeable batteries of this type

finding it very hard to pick a model and would very much appreciate advice

thank you

[wave]

Hi there are some very nice cameras around look here they range in pricehttp://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/equipment/reviews/1/compactcameras.html
as for batteries most come with a battery pack thats rechargeable and to be be honest they charge quicker than AA batteries