I just bought a digital camera (Olympus C-750) with a 10x optical zoom. It' s a pain to carry and I always worry about it but it takes awesome pictures, especially with the 10x optical zoom lens (380mm equivelant). I just keep it in a quart-size Ziplock freezer bag to protect it.

However, for most I think the disposibles are the way to go. I even have a few that I use when conditions are really bad. My 1 piece of advice is to get the ones that are waterproof (for underwater pictures). That way you can use them in the fog/snow/rain and also when things are dusty/dirty. Only a couple bucks more but then you can really abuse them.