sorry, forget to put my budget. not more than $450
Canon S110, now at $430 at Harvey Norman. Probably cheaper at the usual photo shops ( Alan Photo, etc). Or the newer Canon S120, but that's likely to be about $450.
The Canon S110 does not have auto-HDR, so take note if this is important to you (the S120 does, however).
The Canon Sxxx cameras are higher-end compacts which use the larger 1/1.7" sensor, which is almost 50% bigger than the usual 1/2.3" sensors of run-of-the-mill cameras, and offers more control than most. What you gain in picture quality and control, you lose in fancy features and zoom range (it's "only" 24-120mm, and does not have fancy features like high speed movie, high speed drive, take-photo-while-shooting-video, etc).