I was just elaborating on the “most”. 
dSLRs are still quite misunderstood by the general public. The ultrazoom cameras available today are probably a better fit for most people’s uses than a dSLR kit. But there are still things that only a dSLR can do, or can do better than any other type of camera.
Have you seen it in person, or looked at the dimensions? 4.5 x 2.8 x 3.1 inch is not very big - much smaller than a true dSLR.
Chappachula, I know the plural of anecdotes is not fact but I have a couple of wet digital camera stories. I had an Olympus C-2000 that I took into drizzly rains and fairly heavy snows without much protection (I’m not coordinated enough to hold the camera and an umbrella simultaneously.). I got a few thousand images out of it before bequeathing it to my brother in law.
The worst happened with the next cameras. I had a pair of Olympus E-100RS’s in the trunk of the car, one in a Tupperware-like container, the other in the leather shoulder bag. Inside the house, apparently I sat on the car’s remote and unknowingly popped the trunk. The next morning, not only was I surprised by the open trunk but also a few inches of water from the overnight thunderstorm.
I retrieved the limp-as-a-wet-noodle leather bag containing a waterlogged camera. After removing the battery and memory card, I shook all the water out. Somehow I resisted turning it on for the week it sat in the hot car. I could wait no more. It turned on, the lens zoomed in and out, pictures took and saved on the memory card.
I finally sold both three years after this. During that time they performed identically. No image defects, no odd noises, no other differences in performance between the two. I’d definitely notice: I took at least 3,000 images on each camera during that time.
I’m much more careful with the new big camera. It doesn’t come out to play in rain or snowstorms. The little camera goes where the Minolta doesn’t.
I know you didn’t ask, but the latter Olympi (E-100RS) and the Minolta had no problem handling subzero temperatures. I left the Olympi in the trunk during last winter (-40 and below). No problems, though I did keep the batteries inside on the charger. Battery life was incredibly short with the Olympi. And the power zoom got sluggish within about 5 minutes of shooting.
The Minolta spent many a late winter night in the car, battery included. The cold didn’t cause noticeable performance issues except for slow refresh on the LCD on the back. I think the coldest the Minolta saw was about -30F. Still didn’t get many Northern Lights photos, dagnabbit!
I got the Panasonic a month ago so I don’t know how it’ll handle extreme cold.
None of my digitals has had problems with heat. OK, I can’t vouch for the Minolta and Panasonic. They haven’t seen extreme heat like the Olympi, which had sat in cars in deserts all day long. I had to let them cool off because they were, literally, too hot to handle.
Bottom line: digital cameras can be a lot more durable than you’d expect.
In some ways, yes. Cold essentially has no affect on electronics, there’s not much it can do to damage them. Aside from batteries dying, severe cold won’t do anything to a camera. Film cameras are much more susceptable to cold since there are more moving parts and film can freeze and break. The key thing to avoid with cold temps is condenscation when you go from very cold to warm/moist. If I’m doing that I will put the camera in a ziplock bag until it warms up.
Water and impact, however, are really bad for digital cameras. Even a small drop can jar a sensor loose and completely hose your image. Another common problem is lenses jamming due to impact. And water, if it does get into the electronics, can kill a camera very quickly.
As others have said, if you do get water in your camera DO NOT TURN IT ON. That is the kiss of death. Take out the battery and memory card, open it up, and let it dry for an extended period of time.
I haven’t looked at it. I just got a Canon A700 and am deleriously happy with it. It is an order of magnitude better than my old Olympus 3030, and was half the price.
I have Canon SLR’s and a bunch of lenses, and am saving up for a 5D, so I wasn’t really looking in that segment. I just wanted a great rangefinder format digital, and I think I found the best one. The 6x optical zoom is as far as I know the best in that form factor.
Here’s a do-it-yourself idea: a camera zip-lock. http://www.instructables.com/id/EB1ZE1LEK7EP28641O/?ALLSTEPS
The other problem on a beach is sand. Took my old digital camera to the beach on a windy day - sand got into the focus mechanism and sliding shutter - had to throw it away as no amount of cleaning made it work again
An exception: Liquid Crystal screens. I used to routinely have these things crack in freezing weather back when I lived in Minnesota.
Another anecdote, incidentally, that FRESH water might not be as bad for cameras as you’d think. I was tipped out of a canoe and ended up not only completely submerging my small consumer video camera, but keeping it submerged for several minutes (the bag it was in to protect it wasn’t closed all the way, and became a swimming pool).
Took the battery out, let it sit a few days, and it works fine except that the small speaker on it (fake shutter click noises and the like) doesn’t make sound any more. The pictures are fine, and have been for more than a year.