[Hampshire] digital cameras

Does anyone have any advice to offer on digital cameras? There are
a lot of web sites about this, but many appear to be out of date.

Tha particular requirements are:

1. It must work with Linux systems - something seen as a mass
memory device, like a USB flash memory stick, would probably be
best. I already have one of those, working with no problems. All I
would need to do is copy image files, not control the camera
remotely. A standard image format is also needed - jpeg for
example.

2. At least 10 megapixels.

3. Must do close-ups. One purpose of this is photographing old
documents, and some have "difficult areas". I have seen a Fuji
Finepix Z20FD; the macro mode could photograph text and display it
larger than the original even on the camera's own LCD screen: that
would certainly do very well. On the other hand, one review I found
said it was not so good for general use - there are problems with
overexposure, it seems. There might be a trade-off here, reviews of
other cameras say they are better for general use, but I'm not so
sure about macro mode or how well they work with Linux. The Z20FD
is very compact, which I liked.

4. Downloading images via USB connection: I only have USB 1.1, but
I understand this should be compatible with faster devices - am I
right about that?

5. Must be able to turn off the flash - bright light can damage old
documents.

I would be grateful for any suggestions on what might be best - or
what to avoid.

Peter Alefounder.