To get a camera with that flexability you will have to spend more. I am not sure how inexpensive they get but when I was looking there was the Nikon which I bought, cp990 and a Canon, an Olympus, Sony and a couple others that I do not remember. Some of those 3+ mgpxl cams are now alot cheaper. I think you can get the nikon for at or about $800. When I bought 2 yrs ago it was 999. There was also the Coolpix 950 which was a 2+ mgpxl for 750. It had manual capability too. I do not know if it is still available but if it is it might be around 5 or 600. It was about 750 when I looked at it 2 yrs ago. The Nikon CoolPix 990 is capable of fully manual and offers control over the flash, ISO, Aperature, Shutter and has some settings for focus. I do not think you can actually manually focus the lens but you can set amongst a few presets. A never got that deep into the instructions to know for sure. The Nikon cp990 does alot more than I have ever needed. It does take some great pictures though. (see below)