<p>Need input on point and shoot digital cameras.</p>
<p>I want to select one for DS (as a surprise). I agonize about cameras because there are no clear choices, and far too many options! Consumer Reports and online reviews help. Thought I'd also ask the experts in the CC community.</p>
<p>Last one I purchased for myself was the Canon 800is. It was highly rated. Photo quality is very good (not "great") -- although that may be the photographer. Wide angle is nice for my purposes. Extremely easy to use. I'd purchase the same updated model, except I think DS would prefer a slight telephoto (5-6x min.) instead of the wide angle. Small and compact is important, and telephotos are not as easy to find in small pocket cameras. He's not a photo expert, so it should be simple and "fool-proof", but with a little flexibility. 8-10 megapixels, which is the current standard, is just fine.</p>
<p>Has anyone been delighted with their recent choice in a P&S camera?</p>
<p>DPReview is one of the best online resources. Usually they focus on cameras for more advanced photographers but these special reviews might help. Camera models change so rapidly that few of us can keep up and of course we also are likely to only have experience with a couple of models.</p>
<p>Our mantra was that it if wasn't small enough, you wouldn't take the camera anywhere. Chose the Canon SD870 IS (there is probably a newer version now). Lots of features. Small size. 3'' screen. Very happy with it. Consumer Reports helped w/o being too technical. For more details went to DPReview.</p>
<p>I bought my current point and shoot on EBay because I wanted the OLD model of the camera... the Optio S6. It fits in an Altoids tin. It's not a great camera--there are newer ones that are better--but I do take it everywhere.</p>
<p>Nothing wrong with an older model for a fraction of the price (if you had one, would you throw it away?). My cousin has that Optio and he loves it (and yes, he keeps it in the Altoids tin). Most of the time the cameras have 90% more features than you need.</p>
<p>I absolutely love the Canon Powershot SD____ line. Best Buy usually has older models on their website at really good prices, and for $30 or so you can get a 2-year warranty that covers accidental damage as well.</p>
<p>A one or two year old model will take terrific pictures. Most point and shoot cameras are small and relatively easy to use. What made the difference for my Ds was battery life and the ability to shoot pictures inside without using flash. The Fuji Finepix F20 were excellent in those respects. Those would be eBay purchases today.</p>
<p>If you're going to be outside a lot, and weather/water is an issue, I'd go with my recently purchased camera--Olympus Stylus 1030SW. I'ts waterproof (I've dropped it in the water getting in and out of kayak, not to mention the general water spray, wet conditions), it's shock resistant--can drop six feet, no prob, and takes outstanding pics, some telephoto capability, not sure if it's enough for your D. Can take great pics with almost no light. Being so rugged, it lives in my bag so it's always ready for action. It's about 10 megapixels.</p>
<p>H gave it to me for by b-day last summer, and i haven't stopped raving about it.</p>
<p>My daughter and I both have the Canon Powershot SD870 IS; love the wide angle lens. She did have trouble with her lens not retracting so it had to be sent to Canon for warranty repair; she was only without her camera for a total of two weeks, and that included shipping both directions. I was very happy with Canon when I called to set the repair up.</p>
<p>We have 3 of the Canon SD... cameras with the large 3" screen on the back as opposed to the more common 2.5" screen. The larger screen is really nice to have. We've had better luck with the Canons than some previous similar Pentax cameras that would break inexplicably after a couple of years.</p>
<p>Take a look at something like the Canon SD790, SD870, SD880, etc. with 10 Megapixel and the 3" screen.</p>
<p>I personally have always liked the Sony cameras best because they do the best job of filling backlit areas In HI, with strong sunlight, backlighting is a MUST for a good camera. All the other cameras we've purchased or borrowed didn't have a strong enough flash to do a good job illuminating subjects faces. The Sony does a terrific job & makes the lighting look very natural.</p>
<p>I'd also recommend purchasing at Costco, since they have the best no Qs asked return policy--great for picky kids.</p>
<p>I just bought the Panasonic Lumix TZ5 from Costco for D. Overwhelmed and just wanting to make a decision, I relied upon the nice Costco camera guy who seemed knowledgeable and clearly didn't have any incentive to get me to buy from Costco (as evidenced by his "our selection is pretty limited" comment). He steered me away from Casio and Nikon digital point-and-shoots, mentioned Sony's proprietary memory stick, and pointed out one camera (a Canon?) that sometimes has problems with the lens not retracting. The Panasonic is a little larger and more expensive than I had intended but the 10x zoom should be good for travel photos. Of course I'm having buyer's remorse. Does anyone have experience with this camera?</p>
<p>zipyourlips -- I just bought the identical camera from amazon.com after doing quite a bit of research. It has very high ratings and an excellent Leica lens. It just arrived a few days ago so I haven't had much time to "test drive" it yet, but I'm sure you daughter will love it!</p>
<p>I LOVE my Nikon Coolpix S550. It's not the latest model - it was already not the latest when I got it this summer - but I think they still sell it. What I like about this one better than the newer ones is that the zoom is terrific (5x optical) and I'd rather have the zoom potential than to be able to take photos at 1 1/2", but that really is a matter of preference regarding what you like to shoot. It's small enough to carry around, easy to use, has a nice display and the color in the photos is great. It's 10 megapixels and I've gotten great portraits indoors and have blown up some scenic photos to 24 x 36 and they came out beautifully.</p>
<p>I think B&H Photos and J&R often have good deals online.</p>
<p>A big fan of Sony "soapbar" cameras here. Just like HImom noted, their Carl Zeiss optics and digital features are great for taking pictures in all sorts of lighting! Our touch-screen model allows filming video with sound (not all video-enabled point and shoots have a built-in microphone). We also got a waterproof casing for our camera for taking underwater pictures and video of colorful Hawaiian fishes! Canon cameras also have that option. And "proprietary" memory stick - pfft! We buy generic memory sticks made by SanDisk from Costco; every decent computer nowadays has a multi-card reader (or you can buy one from Fry's for $10-20). We have a Canon (CF memory), a Nikon (SD memory), and Sony point and shoots (memory sticks) and have never had a problem with downloading pictures.</p>
