Point and Shoot Camera Suggestions.

**diode** · November 22nd, 2009, 10:29 AM

Well Xmas is coming soon and my wife Has hinted she wants a new camera, at the moment we have a Canon A40 2 mp, has been a great camera, our only small whine is it is slow to re-take shots.
My budget is $200 is and it would be nice to get a kit form with an extra battery, mem card, bag etc
Looking for suggestions,
thanks.

**diode** · November 22nd, 2009, 10:46 AM

Any opinions on this model ?
Newegg.com - Canon PowerShot SX120 IS Black 10.0 MP 3.0" 230K LCD 10X Optical Zoom Digital Camera

**JLK03F150** · November 22nd, 2009, 11:03 AM

Do you really need Mega-Zoom? I think there are better point & shoot options in the 3x-5x optical zoom range.

**diode** · November 22nd, 2009, 09:18 PM

Your right, speed of retakes is more important in general

**JLK03F150** · November 22nd, 2009, 11:23 PM

BestBuy seems to have a nice choice of camera, case, extra battery combos. Need to check out some reviews to see which models have a good recovery time though.
Package Deals : Digital Cameras - BestBuy

**diode** · November 23rd, 2009, 10:52 AM

This is what I'm looking at, about $250
Newegg.com - Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS Green 10.0 MP 2.5" 230K LCD 3X Optical Zoom Digital Camera
Newegg.com - DOLICA 4GBWB10130 2-in-1 4GB SD Memory Card & Medium Case bundle

Is generic flash a Problem ? should I buy name brand ?

**Theophylact** · November 23rd, 2009, 11:56 AM

The one I'd really like to have is the Canon PowerShot S90. But that would bust the budget by a whole lot. The SD1200 is a good choice at half the price.

**zepper** · November 23rd, 2009, 10:58 PM

I have a Canon A590 IS and it works great for me. The camera alone can be had for under $100 now. Here's a link to some rainbow pix I took with it: Weather photos and videos | WSTM - down toward the bottom of the page. And here is another page: Community Gallery | WSTM with the two other pix of the same bow taken by the Darlings who are about 10 mi. east of me with a bit clearer sky..

.bh.

**ArcticFox** · November 24th, 2009, 04:58 AM

diode - If possible, stay away from cameras that use AA batteries vs the LiIon packs. Yeah, it might be an inconvenience if you forget the charger on a trip, but that's what a spare charger is for. Alkaline battery-using cameras are generally slower than those that use the battery packs.

As for that camera you listed, a couple things about it: It's got a noisy zoom motor, no USM like some of the other Canon's. It's also, like I said, a bit slower. The screen is pretty nice, it's the same quality as most of the recently designed Canon's and uses the same UI (good colors, easy to use IMO).

Doing this within your budget is a little tough, and this is a bit more expensive than the other one you listed (the SD1200), but IMO it's better:

SD780:
Newegg.com - Canon PowerShot SD780 IS Black 12.1 MP 2.5" 230K LCD 3X Optical Zoom Digital Camera

That one does HD video, and is super quick. It's pretty small though, (3.43" x 2.15" x 0.72" versus 3.48" x 2.16" x 0.86" in the SD1200) but the neat thing is the outer shell isn't shiny, but a light textured (metal IIRC) one that can't get fingerprints all over it unless you just ate a full plate of french fries. Screen is good too.

Also, what do you mean by "generic flash"?

**Chuckiechan** · November 24th, 2009, 10:58 AM

I got my wife a Sony Cybershot WS 230 - the small rectangular one. It's great!

You can save money if they still have some of the older ones - you don't really need 12.5 mega pixels.

**Flying JJ** · November 25th, 2009, 08:33 AM

Target is having a sale. Just bought one of these ( Kodak M340 ) to replace an old one.
m340 : Target Search Results

The spare battery is about $20 and just pick up a bag while you are there.

**bigBonehead** · December 22nd, 2009, 03:38 AM

The number of pixels is mis-leading... It's the size of the sensor that really makes a difference...

**ArcticFox** · December 22nd, 2009, 03:46 AM

After playing with more of the Nikon models in the shop, take a look at this one if you can:

Newegg.com - Nikon COOLPIX S640 Pearl White 12.2 MP 2.7" 230K LCD 5X Optical Zoom 28mm Wide Angle Digital Camera

It comes in other colors, but it's a solid-feeling camera that takes just as good of pics as any other P&S.

Remember, when you pay more in the same camera class, you are looking at:

Battery type
Speed
Lens size (to a point)
Zoom
Screen size
Value-added extras for marketing that you may or may not care about.
Low-light performance

Holding up any of the 10 some-odd Coolpix cameras in the shop, I can tell you which one to get. I can show you the little features of each one, what colors they come in, how much zoom they have, etc, but the best way is to hold it, use it, press every button and use every feature on it to get a feel for how it works in general.

Edit - Pointing out, that camera also has optical VR (Nikon's Image stabilization) that moves the lens itself, without any funky digital alteration the cheapo ones do.

**MegalosSkylaki** · December 22nd, 2009, 07:04 AM

Originally Posted by diode

Well Xmas is coming soon and my wife Has hinted she wants a new camera, at the moment we have a Canon A40 2 mp, has been a great camera, our only small whine is it is slow to re-take shots.
My budget is $200 is and it would be nice to get a kit form with an extra battery, mem card, bag etc
Looking for suggestions,
thanks.

Ok, well I bought this cigerette pack-size Lumix P&S which supports RAW for $200 a while ago, but it seems to seling at $300 now before the Holidays. If you could wait..well..

CompGeeks has a Refurished P&S with 1 year support from Kodak. "Refurbs" not marked B or C are often discontinued or unsold returns from dealers that go to Liqidators but are often brand-new. I bought brand new stuff frum GeeKs with -R suffix that were new. No promises.

Also Kodak is selling it for $200 with 2-day delivery.

Amazon.com: Panasonic DMC FX-150K 14.7MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black): Electronics

Kodak EasyShare Z915 10MP 10x Optical/5x Digital Zoom HD Camera (Black) Kodak Z915 EasyShare Z915

KODAK EASYSHARE Z915 Digital Camera

DOOGfurd of the Frozen Tail

PS. Look to see what File formats any digital camara supports. This might gain importance ion future if you develop preferences for certain file formats.