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I'm hoping someone here will be able to offer a couple of suggestions or point me in the right direction, as I've been intermittently reading articles / reviews all day and I haven't made any progress. (It's related to selling, because I need a camera to take decent images :D).
Anyway, the jist is, my old camera malfunctioned today and I really need to replace it. I am not a skilled or knowledgeable photographer, and I'm not very rich, either, so what I really need is a budget-conscious compact point n' shoot digital camera that will take good, clear macro images (99% of my images will need to use the macro function) without too much fuss or fiddling between products (preferably none 
). I realise "budget conscious" can limit the options, quality etc, so I'm not expecting I'll be able to take magazine quality images, just looking for the best option under $300 (or $200 :D).
I'm looking to buy a new, non-grey import from an Australian retailer - I've searched and read (and searched and read!) for articles, first for recommendations, most of which are outdated (even the ones that had a post date of 2016 referenced model numbers I can't find anywhere), then for what kind of specs I should look out for when looking at a camera in order to determine whether it's suitable, but most websites just have overall reviews on specific models and don't tell what spec or feature of the camera is resulting in the relevant performance aspect, except for DSLRs etc....if that makes sense... Most of them also only seem to mention cameras in the $400 and above price bracket, so maybe what I'm looking for isn't possible or available?
So, can someone please save my sanity and help me understand what features a camera should have to take decent macro images, or offer a brand / model suggestion? (The now-passed away camera was just a Samsung ES55 - it was ok, but often a bit grainy / noisy).
TIA 🙂
Only just noticed your post and it's possibly too late now - if you've already bought something.
My photos are probably not the best advertisement for the camera, as I'm no photographer, but I use a quite old and very basic Panasonic Lumix Model DMC-FS42 which my daughter gave me when she up-graded to a better & later model. Pretty sure it was around $200.
I love it, because for the most part it self adjusts 
and it has a zoom which is more than sufficient for my needs.
I'm quite sure my photos could look better if I took the time to study the technicalities of how to use the camera to optimise performance
For what it's worth - back when we purchased them, JB had the best deals and quite a good range to select from
Thanks to all for the advice and suggestions 🙂 (sorry I haven't been back til now, unfortunately I didn't have much of a chance to visit the forums today).
I haven't purchased anything as yet, as I probably won't be ready to until next week some time, so I'm still very much in research mode. (My nearest specialist store appears to be at a Westfield centre, a place I avoid going to like the plague, but I might have to bite the bullet on this one 
). MB - I do have a JB in walking distance so that's a definite preference (especially if I can manage to pick out a camera without a physical trip anywhere 'cos then I can just buy online and pick-up within 24 hours).
I am a bit keen on Panasonic at the moment, as it seems to be the most highly and widely recommended for macro photography, so it's just a matter of whether or not I can get an appropriate model within my budget (that'll learn me to hold off on sorting and photographing some clearance stuff I wanted to put up at some point, this is the exact kind of thing I was saving that for, lol).
@penny - feel free to hijack, more info is always useful. I do recall some of articles I read mentioning remote capabilities, but unfortunately a lot of the time the reviewer was mentioning the lack of it in certain models. One thing that quite a few mentioned was that compact point n' shoots areen't really getting a lot of attention and development from a lot of companies these days due to mobile phone cameras taking their place and being able to match the average standalone camera in terms of capabilities and quality. (Mine certainly doesn't, and it's a bit awkward to hold for a photography session).
I'm like you and hate going to big shopping centres, I avoid them like the plague ! I did just realise though, I was wrong, it wasn't JB, it was a chain that went broke - WOW I think. But that said, if you can walk to JB, it's probably worth it - the guys at WOW were very knowledgeable and would always advise which was the best value for money for your requirements and from my dealings with JB, I have always found them to be very helpful too (mind you, that has been buying TV's etc).
Best of luck with your decision 
Do it quickly digi, finishes April 10 (just in case you didn't notice) 
I dunno if these are any good or not, found it somewere else
