Digital Camera Advice?

[beetiger]

Does anyone out there know enough about digital cameras to help me figure out what I need? I'm looking for something that can do good print-quality food photography, so

-good easy macro functions
-Can deal with suboptimal lighting conditions
-Not too bulky (carry in large purse)
-Easy to set up picture( need to get right shot within a minute or so)


Budget is probably in the $300 range, though I'm likely somewhat flexible on this. I'm not really a trained photographer, so having the default setup work pretty well is important, though having some flexibility would be good too.

Right now I'm using a $100 Kodak 10.2 megapixel point and shoot, and it's not quite cutting it.

Thoughts?

ETA I ended up with a FinePix 1800, which seems to be doing what I need. Thank you for the help.

Comments

[heron61.livejournal.com]

I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1. The marco goes to 3 cm, and it has 8x zoom, which are both wonderful, and it's very easy to use and fits easily in my pocket.

[momentrabbit.livejournal.com]

I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20, which is a slightly less capable version of the DMC-ZR1 - you can see them compared here. For your purposes, I'd think either would do a great job - I've been delighted with the FH20. Great macro, handles low light perfectly, tiny, ready to shoot in seconds from off and has an Intelligent Automatic feature that chooses settings instinctively and Just Works.