I have been pouring over a bunch of cameras and found this one, Fujifilm Finepix S8100 Digital, for $230 or less.
The macro sounds great at 1cm.
It also has a feature that I could have only dreamed existed in a camera. You can set it to simultaneously take two shots, one with flash and one without to compare. UGH, I could have used that over the years. Often when I am photographing my reefs and plants I will do a shot with flash and then without to see what I like and it gets very tedious. It is like Fuji was reading my mind!!! lol
Another neat feature is zoom bracketing where it takes three shots each at slightly more zoom. Awesome! Not useful for flowers but great for other things. Another think not useful for flowers is 30fps movies with sound only limited by the memory card you choose (and it lets you choose from three formats.)
Only thing is I don't think there is a panorama feature. While I love that feature, I admit I rarely have used it.
I am a BIG fan of the 4 AA batteries. I hate proprietary rechargeable batteries. They are expensive and you have to keep up with charging them. If I have a few sets of rechargeable AAs and forget to keep them charged, I can always keep some regulars in the bag and never fear whether I have charged batteries or not. I love that.
Here is a link to Amazon that has some specs on the camera.
Amazon.com: Fujifilm Finepix S8100fd 10MP Digital Camera with 18x Wide Angle Dual Image Stabilized Optical Zoom: Camera & Photo
What do you all think? I would love to hear from anyone who uses this.