My first instinct on pretty much any new tech purchase is to check out Cnet's reviews to get an idea of what to look at.
Their first page of reviews in the $200-$300 price range is pretty straightforward.
http://reviews.cnet.com/4566-6501_7-0.html?filter=100021_10061972_&tag=dffl1_6&sort=edRating7+desc
The Sony Cyber-shot, or the Cannon PowerShot
I'll be using this for general point and shoot, I have no photography experience worth mentioning, and plan on shooting and storing at the maximum quality. The last digital camera I had was damn near 6 or 7 years ago. Is it safe to assume that 8 MP is good enough for me? I don't think I'll want to blow something up to a canvas sized image, but you know, quality and all that. I have a video camera, so that ability is pretty moot to me.
http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/sony-cyber-shot-dsc/4505-6501_7-32331737.html?tag=pdtl-listhttp://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/canon-powershot-sd850-is/4505-6501_7-32441340.html?tag=pdtl-list
What are the important difference between these two? My initial worry is the Sony name honestly. I never really liked any of their bulky software, and that whole proprietary media format thang they do. Other than that... fuck if I know the difference here. The reviews basicly say that the Sony is smaller and is quicker on the photo taking. But if the software is required and bloaty and obnoxious and the memory is expensive et all, then it's not worht it. Does anyone have experiences with these?
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Also, as long as your not planning on blowing images up to huge sizes, lower MP is probably better, it means less noise in low light higher ISO photos
Personally, I would go with Canon over Sony because Canon is a camera company and Sony is an electronics company. Also, Nikon is a pretty good camera brand, if you find something in your price range that you like.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16830124040
Wii Code: 1040-1320-0724-3613 :!!:
The summaries range from "Rocks for the price" and "Great for when you can't carry your DSLR with you."
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
If you don't need the 5x optical zoom on the T100, you might want to look at the new t70 which has the touchscreen LCD. It also has a "smile shutter" feature which automatically takes a picture when someone smiles, although this is much more of a gimmick than something I've actually used. The only real caveat I have against Sony is their use of the relatively expensive proprietary Memory Stick format. However, Sony products are pretty ubiquitous these days so it's not too hard to find support for Memory Stick. I was impressed enough with the T70 that I've bought 3 of them as gifts for my siblings.
The best thing to do is to actually go to the store and try out the cameras. It was there that I was able to test out how quick the camera was in taking the first picture that convinced me to go with the Sony over the Olympus, Canon, and Fuji (which on the other hand had awesome face detection).
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