Looking for a Digital Camera Recommendation

maximumzero

My girlfriend has been using my Kodak C340 alot, and while it's a fine camera, the battery life is pitiful, and in general it's in need of a replacement.



So I'd like to get her something new for Christmas. She's your average camera user, so no SLRs please. I'd preferably like to get her something that uses a SD card (Which rules out Sony), and I'm looking for something under $250, and even under $200 if possible.

Thanks.

ArcSyn

The Casio Exilim Card series is pretty decent. My sister-in-law and cousin have them and love it.

Battery life is decent, though it has a HUGE LCD screen on the back so that drains it a bit. I think it's rated for 2 hours of constant use?

3x Optical Zoom
10.1MP
Face Detection
Video Recording for Youtube or iTunes
SDHC memory
$230 retail


The EX-Z150 is a slight step down at 8.1MP and $200, but has a 4x Optical Zoom and Wide Angle lens.


Canon has always served me well, and the Powershot SD1100 IS is pretty decent for $200.
8.1MP
3x Optical Zoom with Image Stabilization

All of these are pretty small and thin, which is perfect for people who love to always keep a camera with them.

protozoider

I have had a Canon for a while and it is by far the best point and shoot camera you can buy. I don't like the quality of plastics on Casio's cameras. Kodak, is really low quality.

The Canon Powershot 850IS is $239 and a great camera. It has a custom manual mode which helps you take even better pictures. The macro shots the Canon can take are amazing. Look at sample pictures people have taken and posted on amazon.

Canon Powershot SD1100IS is $159 and great for the price. Both cameras are 8MP.

Canon cameras have amazing built-in flash. The flash is far superior to other point and shoot brands. The CMOS is the best and the clarity is great. Amazon has the best prices for these cameras by far. Battery life for me is typically near 300 pictures per charge.

ZackSchilling

Like everyone so far, I love the Canon Powershot series. The cameras have a great build quality, the interface is great, the flash is bright, and the batteries last a lot longer than competing cameras (plus you can buy 3rd party extras for next to nothing). Pictures are nice and clear. Canon lenses and sensor processing are second to none.

Just stay away from the Canon A and E series. Those are the cameras you get from your cheap godmother who doesn't know any better. They're not bad in any particular way, they're just... bulky. Actually, they have nice lenses and generally a better feature set than the Powershots. But when you get a point and shoot, you want to be able to slip it into your pocket.

maximumzero

Wow. The SD1100IS looks great. And it's in pink, too. I'll probably pick that up in a month or so for her on Amazon. Can't beat $160.

ZackSchilling

As excellent choice. It's a very light camera on top of being small, so you slip it into your pocket and it doesn't sag or bulge. Also, it does come in pink.

bash

Canon cameras FTW. I've used a number of P&S cameras and I've found Canons to be the most usable by far. Even the relatively limited firmware in the SD series PowerShots is more flexible and capable than most P&S firmwares. Whatever you do don't bother with a camera with more than a 7MP sensor, even that is a little too high for the physical size of their sensors. With high density sensors the individual cells are not very sensitive for a lot of signal boosting is required to take shots in even moderate lighting. This leads to extremely noisy low-light images. You would be surprised at how many situations will result in noisy images. I really like the SD990 since it has a fully manual mode but it has an absurdly dense 14MP sensor.

GrimReaper

I'd also like to add that it's almost impossible to go wrong with Canon cameras.