I want my pictures to look like what I see when I take them

[ukuleleman]

Point and shoot

A lot of good advice here and I won't add to it, but if you are just looking for a good point and shoot, the Canons are excellent, I have all Canon DSLR gear, but my point and shoot is a Fuji, this is a sort of legacy from my first digital camera which I still have, A Fuji MX1700, with an unbelievable (nowadays) megapixel count of 1.5 mpl
My point and shoot is a Fuji F100f, out of date now, but an incredible little camera, Face Detection, 12 Megapixels, 28mm lens, sharp as a tack and has all the adjustments, ISO White Bal etc but I just leave it on auto and blast away, and get some great pictures. if that's what you what you should seriously consider Fujis

 

[bocomo]

a good exercise to get you to slow down and look more intensely is to go out shooting one day, and just leave your camera on a tripod the whole time

 

[Doylem]

a good exercise to get you to slow down and look more intensely is to go out shooting one day, and just leave your camera on a tripod the whole time

That's how I shoot every day...

 

[marvlaw]

Thank you!

I just wanted to say thanks again to all of those that offered advice. I was able to find a Canon s100 over the weekend and so far I am having a lot of fun using it as I work through "Understanding Exposure."

Thanks again!