Ugh... Need a new Digital Camera any Recs?

[m 'n c]

I think my Canon finally bit the dust. I had some issues with it last year and was able to breathe new life into it. Today I had a different issue and think its time to retire it. So anyone have any recs? I'd prefer Canon or maybe Nikon. I'm not too fond of Kodak based on some of the pictures my friends have sent me off of theirs.

Also any good deals going on out there? I'm going to scour SR merchants after the play this afternoon to check for coupons. Good thing I just got a spot bonus at work.

[askomsky]

Mine is 18 mos old, but I love my Sony Cyber Shot. I did a ton of research and I'm a huge camera person / picture taker. I liked the Canon that was equal to it, but I was going with a mid range model basically one step below a digital SLR so we were willing to spend a little more. the Canon was just bigger and slightly more bulky to hold/handle. Amazon had the best deal going at the time we bought ours. Once I narrowed my choices down I went into Fuji and Best Buy to play around with them before I made my decision.

I agree Kodak cameras are nice for the point and shoot users, not serious but want a decent camera.

You should get at least a min. 6 mega pixels, any lower and it's not worth it.
Mine is 6 which is fine bc I always take all of my pics at the highest resolution but I also opted for the 12x optical zoom. Of course since I got mine they've come out with much better cameras. My next camera will be a SLR, probably an Olympus, their excellent higher end models.

I would compare prices to Amazon, I know there's no % back but they were cheaper by almost $100 when I bought mine.

[Hedy]

I love my Canon SD1000-it's slim, has 7.1MP and modes for fireworks and nighttime. However, my nephew and DSIL both just got A720 IS and like it a lot. It uses AA batteries, rather than the proprietary battery mine uses-which might be something to consider in terms of use (you'd HAVE to pack a charger/adapter for England with mine, theirs they can just use normal AA batteries).
I got mine in August, and founds new egg's camera with free memory card deal to work well for me.

[jl8595]

I have a Canon Powershot A530 and love it. My DH is a camera buff and has a fancy digital SLR, so I wanted an inexpensive point and shoot that was small enough to stick in my purse but still used AA batteries (I can't be bothered with camera specific rechargables because I'm FAMOUS for forgetting to recharge and it's always easy to find AA's anywhere I am) - I do use rechargable AA's with it, but love having the option of using regular AA's if need be...battery life is pretty decent, extremely decent with the display off. I liked the super slim Canon's, but decided against them because of the red eye they tend to elicit (because the flash is so close to the lens), so this one ended up being a happy medium. It takes beautiful pictures as well and is super fast to advance to turn on and advance to the next picture (another thing I wanted - my old camera was soooo slow in between pics). Good luck with your search!!!! Doesn't it just figure that your camera would die RIGHT before your big trip to London, LOL! So frustrating!!!

[m 'n c]

The one I have now is a powershot A95 and uses 4 AA batteries which I agree is awesome when you forget to charge. I do hate how it is bulky but it does a great job taking pictures so I'd trade the slimness for the bulky any day. I'm just wondering if 4-5 years is the average lifespan on digital cameras or if maybe there is a better lasting brand out there. Nikon's just cost about $100 more for the same exact thing. Not sure if its worth it. I think this one is ~4 years old. I know my brother's first Sony lasted 2-3 years which was disappointing for him as well.

[mollyeilis]

I don't know what style you like, but if you like a camera that looks like a "camera", I absolutely adore my Canon S3. It's not one of the square skinny put-it-in-your-wallet kind of cameras, it has heft, but it's really terrific, IMO.

I wish you better luck than I had in making the purchase a sunshiney one! I tried for a month to make the best total price a sunshine price, but I couldn't.

[jl8595]

The one I have now is a powershot A95 and uses 4 AA batteries which I agree is awesome when you forget to charge. I do hate how it is bulky but it does a great job taking pictures so I'd trade the slimness for the bulky any day.

My A530 uses 2 AA's, so much less bulk...and the battery compartment is tucked into the hand/grip of the camera (albeit small grip). Honestly, not a lot of bulk. Definitely not as thin as the Canon SD's, but not much heavier from a weight perspective. I can easily tuck it into my inside jacket pocket or even the pocket of my stretchy jeans (not my hoochie jeans though...nothing gets into those pockets, LOL!).

[spring]

I have a Canon SD600 Digital ELPH which I bought last year specifically because I wanted something very small for traveling. The plus side is it takes very nice vacation shots and weighs so little that I almost always carry it in my purse. It also fits easily into a shirt or pants pocket. The down side, as Lori mentioned, is the red eye in the close up shots of people (and pets). It does have a red eye position for the flash which helps, but I frequently forget to use it. Other than this snafu, it takes wonderful pictures of scenery and even non close-ups of people. It also has a special battery that needs a small charger for it. The charger would not be a good idea for your London trip, however I do go a long time between charges. On our 16 night Alaskan trip last year, I only recharged once. I took well over 1000 pictures on that trip, if that gives you a point of reference. I definitely would not try to recharge in London, even with a converter. I have a battery charger for another piece of equipment that died during a European trip a few years ago, even though I was using the proper converter. I ended up having to replace it when I came home. That being said, depending on the amount of pictures you might be planning on taking, I'd go with a camera that takes easily purchased batteries.

[m 'n c]

Ok I've found a couple of possibilities so far. Just not sure which one to go with for the price:

1. Canon 8MP camera 6x Optical Zoom
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16830120226

2. Canon 8MP camera 4x Optical Zoom
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16830120256

I thought about Nikon as well but didn't like where the zoom is placed on the cameras so think it'll be Canon again.

[askomsky]

Hey Catherine here are the websites, (I thought I better check before I went to bed or I knew I would forget!)

The first one is the main one I used, I thought it was the best. The others kinda just re-enforced everything else. (Not sure if all are valid, this is from an email over a year ago!)

HTH!
April

www.dpreview.com

http://reviews.cnet.com/Digital_cameras/

www.megapixel.net/html/cover.php

www.digitalcamerasource.info/

www.digitalreview.ca/index011.shtml