Im not sure if the Canon A710 IS will fit in 15k or not, but it is a brilliant camera. Also I would rate Canon compacts higher than the competition. Remember that higher Megapixels does not mean better Picture Quality. Anything with 6MP or more and you should be fine, unless you want to print big posters. Also try and get a camera with Image Stabilization (IS), this will compensate for shaky hands and blurry photos.... to a certain extent.