New Camera Time

Canon or Sony I would recommend, our sony has lasted a while, only a 4MP but it's great for picture quality, video clips are good quality and not too large. How much roughly are you willing to spend? I'll try to find some US sites!

 

A couple of points to consider. Most of the small cameras are limited to 3X zoom. The advantage of the small camera is that you will take it more places than one that won't fit into your pocket. I read recently, that the cameras with the real high megapixel ratings aren't as crisp as the lower ones, because they are jamming to many pixels into an ever smaller space, by making the actual sensor bits smaller. It appears that Moore's law doesn't work as well with camera sensors as with chips. A little more research in this area might be worthwhile. A 4 megapixel camera will allow top quality prints up to 12 x 16 (could be slightly off on these numbers) but I have seen very large prints made from a 4 megapixel Canon, and the results were stunning. There are 4 megapixel cameras with up to 10X or 12X zoom in your price range, but they are slightly bulkier than the flat camers you are looking at. The zoom ability really makes a huge difference to the versatility of the camera, but again, they are bulkier, although not bigger. Having seen the difference even 6X zoom makes over 3X zoom (at the same event), our next camera will have at least 10X optical zoom. Just my opinion, and good luck with your search.

 

One other thing I would suggest, is if a camera store is available to you, rather than a big box electronics store, perhaps you should avail your self of the expertise available there. In my area there is a store that is staffed by knowledgeable camera people, and their prices are competitive with the big box stores. I purchased my camcorder there for the same price as at a big box, but the people I dealt with were able to answer all of my questions, and were able to confirm what I believed to be the case. They also had it in stock, while none of the big boxes did,possibly because it was higher end than the average consumer would buy. I wouldn't consisder going anywhere else to buy camera stuff. You, however, may not have that option; I'm certainly glad I do.Good luck on your search.

 

Major,

Steve's Digicams is an excellent source for reviews on any camera you might consider purchasing. They have very detailed information, it's also helpful after you buy, sort of gives you a headstart on all the features of the camera.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/

Steve

 

Oh yes nice camera you posted, wouldn't mind myself!

I know its a UK site, but has some info on a lot of cameras - www.internetcamerasdirect.com - they also have other stores for audio, visual etc, but we bought our sony dsc p-9 there and they gave a load of other stuff with it too.

 

As far is zoom is concerned, don't pay any attention to digital zoom, it's nothing more than a gimmick.

It's like blowing up a jpeg on your PC. It becomes blocky and pixelated, and is useless except to con people into buying a "10X" camera. You can always use software on your PC to do the same anyway.

Optical Zoom is very desirable, and like sex the more the better and you can never have too much.

Optical Zoom is done using the camera's lens, which is why cheaper camera's always lack in this department as it's more expensive.

Another important point is what flash card they use.

I don't like Sony for the reason they use their own genric memory-stick.

Also some manufacturers don't include rechargeable batteries and only supply alkaline ones which only last a few shots, so you will need to factor in the cost of rechargeables.

Steve's DigiCams linked above has about the best camera reviews I have seen.