If you can afford it go with Jonnys D90 I had a play with one and they are a great wee camera
Don't rule out the second hand market either as camera owners do look after their gear
A decent nikon D200 can be got for buttons
I'm a nikon man myself but most makes are great just get something that feels right
You can get superb compact cameras which have all the manual settings like the dslr's
A canon s 90 is a super compact camera and is on my wish list for my fishing camera as the dslr can be a bit big to fit in the seat box at times with all the other gear
get a wee run over to
www.photographyireland.net and have a look through the forums there is loads of great info to be had on there
Cathal