The camera mentioned was the Nikon Coolpix 5400. I bought it especially for the extreme macro capability. Jeff Day at 6moons bought one too. He occasionally complains about the auto focus not locking properly in dim light. Apparently this model doesn't use IR and seems a bit more sensitive. Personally, I hardly ever encounter this but it's fair to mention that it seems to be a generally considered weakness of this model. For my specific needs and budget, the Coolpix 5400 is everything I need - hey, the darn thing is way smarter than I am and can do things I'll probably never use. What I like most? The swivel monitor. It allows to take pix from truly odd angles or with the camera butting up to a wall, or from far above your head...The MUSEUM setting in the scene mode is great for non-flash dim light scenarios. I hardly ever use a flash to avoid reflections but do manipulate pix in Photoshop afterwards where lightening up an image, altering contrast and saturation etc. is easy...
Doug Schneider at SoundStage likes to use an auxiliary flash that points at the ceiling or some reflective secondary surface to get better light without reflections from the subject you're trying to capture. That's more advanced than what I do but I seem to be able to do okay without it.
