My wife is hard on cameras. In the past three years she has destroyed (i.e., physically damaged) two FZ model Panasonics and a pair of Olympus Stylus. Well, in fairness, the second Stylus did fail electronically (LCD screen no longer turns on)...

She wants a small, shirt-pocket-sized camera. She only shoots in full Auto mode, and recognizes just two controls: the power button and the shutter release. The only "fancy" setup I have done on her last two cameras was to force fill-flash for all shots.

I do not want to spend a lot of money (~$150, new or used), but would like something in a 7-10x (or more) zoom range. The fewer megapixels the better (cramming 12 or 14 MP into an inexpensive pocket-size camera is just a recipe for noise.)

While image quality is important, ruggedness, convenience, simplicity, and zoom range are of higher priority.

Suggestions?

tanstaafl.