It's really how comfortable your Sis & Niece would feel holding and using the camera. The camera that you might choose because of its specs and feel in your hand may wind up being too complicated and uncomfortable in their hands.
My wife is in PR and takes lots of pictures that wind up being puboished in trade magazines and various corporate web sites. I remember when she wanted a reliable zoom point and shoot film camera, I did a little research and showed her the Pentax I thought would meet her needs. Then, we went to the store. Came home with an Olympus that she uses as though it were an extension of her body. It just felt right.
Since then, we've gotten an Optio 430 which she is comfortable with and uses a lot, but, when it really counts, she goes back to the Olympus. (This is with an SP, MX, SuperProgram, Z-1 and *ist D at her disposal.)
I sell lots of digicams that would meet your specs and I still recommend going to a reputable store, stating what your requirements are, selecting a group from what they present and then bringing in the recipient to take it for a "test drive."
The store should show you a representative sampling of Casio, HP, Optio, Kodak, Canon, Nikon, etc. Since you don't want proprietary batteries, perhaps you should avoid proprietary memory also (e.g., Sony's memory stick). Today's memory norm is SD.
Larry in Dallas
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