Need recommendation for a compact digital camera!

[ttfn3]

My DH is the photographer in the family with the fancy camera with all the bells and whistles. I'd like to get a nice point and shoot digital camera - either a Nikon, Canon or Sony. It must be small enough to fit into my purse so I can transport it easily. I'd like to be able to take photos of my son's sports activities - as well as vacation photos.

Has anyone purchased a camera recently that they would recommend? I'm willing to pay up to $200-$250 for a nice one.

Thanks - in advance - for your advice/recommendation!

 

[mamacatnv]

I have a digital Rebel and a ton of lenses but its heavy.
Like you I wanted good quality and small. I bought a Panasonic Lumix DC Vario DMC-FH20 at Costco for about $150. I love it, it is in my purse at all times.
I bought DS the same camera the year before then after seeing his pictures I went and bought one for myself.

 

[MushyMushy]

I have a digital Rebel and a ton of lenses but its heavy.
Like you I wanted good quality and small. I bought a Panasonic Lumix DC Vario DMC-FH20 at Costco for about $150. I love it, it is in my purse at all times.
I bought DS the same camera the year before then after seeing his pictures I went and bought one for myself.

How are the indoor pics? I have a Pentax that would be a great camera except it takes lousy pictures indoors.

 

[Conservative Hippie]

I have a Canon Powershot SD790 IS and it is a great little point and shoot camera. I've had it for about 2 years, so there might be a newer model out by now. It's a little bigger than a deck of cards, I think, but still small enough to fit in even my little Coach swingpack.

 

[Tigger2252]

My DD has a Nikon Cool Pix and it is a great little camera. Takes decent pictures in low light too which is very nice.

 

[mytripsandraces]

I have the Pentax Option W60, which is waterproof and takes amazing pictures underwater. Here is a link to the pictures I took while snorkeling at Castaway Cay: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7411850@N04/sets/72157626306537129/. If you want something compact that will fit your purse and will take good pictures, I would get the updated version (W90, I think).

 

[cinabug]

I have a digital Rebel and a ton of lenses but its heavy.
Like you I wanted good quality and small. I bought a Panasonic Lumix DC Vario DMC-FH20 at Costco for about $150. I love it, it is in my purse at all times.
I bought DS the same camera the year before then after seeing his pictures I went and bought one for myself.

Just got the new Costco coupon book and there's an instant savings coupon (you don't actually need the coupon) starting on April 14 for the Lumix FH27 that I'm thinking of getting for the same thing. On costco.com, the camera is $200, so the final price should be about $150 for this newer model as well.

 

[mamacatnv]

How are the indoor pics? I have a Pentax that would be a great camera except it takes lousy pictures indoors.

It does really well. We took a picture at Christmas, the only light was the tree in the background, there were 22 people crammed into the picture, we set it up on the top of my entertainment center and set the timer. I was super surprised at how good the pictures are.

The version my DS has is a year older than mine and his had a better lens, a Lica I think it was but so far we have not noticed any difference in picture quality and we have used it indoors, outdoors and at night. I even used it in a large stadium (AT&T Park) where we were for a College Football Bowl game. Mine has a decent little zoom etc.

 

[Syrreal]

Also have a Canon Powershot. Love it. It's light, easy to use, and has tons of settings to play with.

 

[golfgal]

What ever you get make sure it has rechargeable batteries and doesn't use AA batteries. Get a spare battery too.

DD has a Sony whatever it is. It takes pretty good pictures and is easy to use. The negative with Sony is they use memory sticks vs cards so the memory cards for everything else we have are not interchangeable-not a huge deal but it would have been nice not to have to buy more.

 

[Binnie]

I've had several different generations of the Sony Cybershots. Never had any real complaints.

I tried a Canon Elph last year at Christmas, but I just didn't like it. It was a little slow and the pictures weren't as good as my Sony.

 

[MrsPete]

I teach photography, so I buy lots of cameras. LOTS of cameras.

Since you're talking about a point-and-shoot or an always-ready camera, you're not going to find a great deal of difference between, say, a $200 Cannon and a $200 Kodak. They ARE better as you move up in price, but all the major brands make a pretty good, pretty equal-for-the-dollar product. You can get a good product for $200-250.

Most of my point-and-shoots are Cannon Powershots, Kodak Easyshares, and Fuji FinePix.

I suggest that you buy something that takes AA batteries. You can always have an extra set of AAs in your pocket (or you can buy them anywhere), but you can't always stop and recharge your camera's battery. Also, in my experience, those ultra-small cameras don't have quite the quality of the slightly-larger cameras.

Most of the "features" on a point-an-shoot don't actually do much; for example, even if your camera has the little-guy-running icon, you're not going to get true sports action pictures from a point-and-shoot. One feature that's worthwhile is image stabilization; that feature is well worth it.

And when you're buying, don't forget to budget in a camera bag to protect your investment, and don't forget to buy a large memory card. Choose a fast-speed memory card, but name brand is unimportant. Those memory cards are easy to lose, so I prefer to have one large card rather than multiple small cards -- I never take my card out of my camera.

 

[elizke]

I just did a fair amount of research for my dad, who wanted a very light easy good camera to take with him on an upcoming trip, and I think the new Canon HS series is a great choice. They appear to be very fast and very good for compact cameras in low light. I'd get one too if I were in the market for such a camera.

Here are three in the series.....

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consu...are=0901e024802713a6&compare=0901e024802713a7

 

[msjprincess]

I have a digital Rebel and a ton of lenses but its heavy.
Like you I wanted good quality and small. I bought a Panasonic Lumix DC Vario DMC-FH20 at Costco for about $150. I love it, it is in my purse at all times.
I bought DS the same camera the year before then after seeing his pictures I went and bought one for myself.

I got the same one for Christmas. I love it, it has an 8X optical zoom and a wide angle lens.