(Probably) buying a digital camera. Halp?

QuarterMaster

To make a long story short, the camera on my cell phone gave up the ghost, so I've decided that between the $75 out-of-warranty repair costs and buying a point & shoot, the latter would probably be the best course of action. But that's about as far as I've gotten. I like photography quite a bit and currently have a not-quite DSLR (hopefully a D40 is in the near future), so I don't want a really crappy camera. However, I can't decide between just getting a low end, $100 model or just sucking it up and spending some more for a good one. Manual control would be nice, but I know that's not an option in the low-low end route. I also have a $25 GC to BB, so I'd like to get it there if I can. Anyhoo, just wondering if all ya'll had any suggestions! 8-)

Talondel

This would be a good hold out until you can afford a D-SLR:

http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/digital-cameras/fuji-finepix-s700_reviews.html

In general this site and a couple others do really good reviews. If you don't like my suggestion, check out your price range on those sites and go with one of theirs:

http://dpreview.com/

QuarterMaster

Hey, thanks for the links! I guess I should clarify though - I'm looking more for a point & shoot that I can carry around with me easily. This is the "almost" dSLR that I currently have, which has worked great for me so far. It's just really big. :P

Edit: I've been eying this Fujifilm Z5fd. Reviewers seem to like it, and I like the small size. And I might as well admit that looks are at least a little important.

UnknownSaint

I'd say go with either the Canon G9 or the S3IS. Basically when it comes to camera and whatnot Canon and Nikon are your best bets - both in quality and reputation, as well as compatibility with equipment later on. Both the ones I suggested are pretty high end point and shoots with all the manual controls. Shit, I think the G9 even shoots in raw. They are damn close to dSLR's, at about 1/2 to 2/3 the price of an entry level dSLR.

QuarterMaster

UnknownSaint wrote: »

I'd say go with either the Canon G9 or the S3IS. Basically when it comes to camera and whatnot Canon and Nikon are your best bets - both in quality and reputation, as well as compatibility with equipment later on. Both the ones I suggested are pretty high end point and shoots with all the manual controls. Shit, I think the G9 even shoots in raw. They are damn close to dSLR's, at about 1/2 to 2/3 the price of an entry level dSLR.

Yeah, I've looked at both of those. But like I said, what I'm looking for right now is a point & shoot. Besides, the D40 is cheaper than the G9 on Amazon, and only a little more than the S3IS.

Dark Moon

Big 3 page thread about P+S camera suggestions. It's really quite hard to go wrong if you pick a budget and get the nearest Canon A series camera, especially considering it will just be a backup/pocket camera after you get your DSLR. Remember, MP mean nothing on smaller cameras and 8+ on a point and shoot should be considered a negative point, not a positive. They'll only increase noise by a massive degree.