I'm running around the woods with a Nikon 'Coolpix' L22... And I want to take better pictures.

Aside from being completely with low light level performance it's not that bad as long as your taking landscapes or daylight scenes at the camp. Oh... and there really isn't much of a zoom capability.

The other main reason for buying was AA batteries. The rechargable flat things seem to be a let down performance wise.

Can I get some real opinions on something reasonable? I see there are Cannon EOS users out there... How much do you safe guard it? Is it everything you hoped and more? Aside from risks is it a BWCA camera?

There are a lot of great photos that people have taken here. I have tried and some end up great and others a blurry mess. Any guidance appreciated for a rookie.

And if there's a primer I should read to become a better photographer... What could that possibly be?