Great Camera for under $200?

[moopdog]

I need a camera that:
*has excellent picture quality in low level light (on stage)*
*Is not too bulky or heavy (could fit in a coat pocket or purse)
*Takes good pictures in motion and from a fair distance (youth basketball & football games)

*is around $200 or less

I bought the Sony Cybershot last year on BF, because Sony has always been a favorite brand of mine, but it is just not that good of a camera. It seems kind of chintzy, and the action shots are horrible.

Today there are a couple of really good buys on tigerdirect.com, in particular:

Olympus SZ-10 228725 Digital Camera - 14 Megapixels, CCD Sensor, 18x Optical Zoom, 5x Digital Zoom, 3" LCD, USB, Face Detection for $179.

and

Nikon COOLPIX L810 Digital Camera - 16 MegaPixels, 1/2.3" CCD Sensor, 3" LCD, 26x Optical, 4x Digital, 50MB Internal, SD Card Slot, HDMI, USB, Black for $229.

I'd wait until BF this year, but my son is going to Washington DC for a 6th grade field trip for 3 days in November and I'm chaperoning so we need something in the next 2or 3 weeks.

 

[Golf4food]

Here's the problem: small and cheap will not get you a camera that is good in low light or action. Low light needs a bigger camera of higher quality than most point & shoots can give you. That's your trade-off. Even many dSLR cameras struggle in low-light.

I'd suggest you head over to our Photography board for more assistance as well.

If you want to ensure quality photos you do have the option of renting a nicer camera, there are a number of websites that do so.

 

[hops&dreams]

I would suggest a Canon Elph. At work, we have Canon Pwershot Elph 310 and they work well in both low light (there's actually a low light setting) and action shots during DD's sports games.

There are so many features, I haven't even used half of them.

We got the cameras in January and they were $209. I got them at BHPhoto Video. They also had bundle deals, which is what I think I ended up getting. Maybe an extra $30 or $40 for an extended (awesome) warranty, 16gb card, and case.