I'm buying a point and shoot for a gift for someone who shoots lots of flash photos of small children in her work. I looked at the Canon A1100 but discovered it could take 6 seconds between photos, which won't work.

Most Important:
Good photo quality with short lag time between flash photos
Some zoom
Easy to use and good auto feature
Compact but not ultra compact
Budget: $150-275

I've read lots of reviews which have mostly left me confused.
Thanks for your help!

llgusa-

Welcome to the Forum. Thanks for dropping by.

The best built-in flash on the many point and shoot cameras out there is the Sony H-20 camera. It has an amazing flash range out to 20+ feet. It also has 10X optical zoom, and as it uses a proprietary battery, it has a fast recycle time. That would be a good camera to take a look at for starters.

Have a great day.

Sarah Joyce