I moved to the USA with my family in August 2002, it was really hot and humid summer in Miami, Florida -- too bad for Russians. I had no job and my wife had no job and we had no cars to drive, no place to live, etc. But, I bought the camera as soon as I could:-)
I decided to go digital and picked Sony DSC F717 5MP camera. Same swivel design -- like Nikon Coolpix 995. It was expensive at the time, $800. I have been in love with this camera for several month before turning back to film. Sony is wonderful camera, you can find full Phil Ashley's review here:

Sony Cybershot F717 Review

It is still in my bag, but I mostly use it for infrared now. Its also my backup camera. You can see some of the shots taken with Sony on this page and in my galleries.
[Added Sep 1, 2006]: The camera broke last month. Fortunately, Sony has repaired it at no charge, see the full story here:

Sony Cybershot F717 resurrection story