Need advice on buying a point and shoot digital camera

Its really time to upgrade my digital camera as I have been using the same Canon for several years. While it is a great little camera, my canon elph S110 just doesnt cut it anymore. It is I believe just 2.1MP and I can't get alot of shots I want. I was going to go all out and get a Nikon D50 but I can't justify all the additional costs that go along with it. So I am now looking at nice point and shoots. The three that brands that I am focusing on are Sony, Casio, and Canon, in that order. I am attracted to Sony because I have a 2GB Pro Duo card already that would save me cash. Casio has some great reviews too so they are in the running as well as Canon. What are you guys using, and what would you recommend?

I have used all three and can say without hesitation that the Canon is by far the best. Look for any SD model....Powershot SD630 comes to mind. I take a lot of photos on the road. I travel for a living. I personnally use a Pentax Optio S6 but that is another story. As far as cameras go the best advice anyone ever gave me was to get something as small as possible. If it is big and heavy, you are much less likely to have it with you. If you can put the camera in your front pocket of a pair of jeans, you will have it all the time. Also, if you are familiar with a certain brand, i.e. Canon, it might be easier to use a new one of the same brand over learning the usability of a different brand. I know you mentioned the Sony because of the memory stick you have and that is great but keep in mind you can get a Sandisk Ultra 1GB from Cosco or Sam's club for only about 60 bucks. Good luck with you purchase.

Gavin

I agree that the Canon SD line is nice as that is what my current camera is, just an old model. The other thing I like about the Sony is that it is so thin I would stick it in my back pocket and take it everywhere like you mentioned. I am going to look around online and see what I come up with. Thanks for the input.

I put a thin phone in my back pocket once and tripped, fell, and broke it and my a**. neye: Be careful with that one.

Gavin

I have the sony dsc-t1 and i love it. It is very thin and the picture quality is great. I haven't had any problems with it yet and it was even an open box. I just bought the Nikon D50 and i must say that i love this camera. The picture quality is great and the different type of shots you can take are endless. I really recommend this camera. But if you are looking for a cheaper camera i would purchase a sony one. I have had 4 sony digital cameras since 99 and i loved all of them. I never had any problems with any of them except one the battery took a dive. Sony and Nikon are the ways to go. IMO

missingbite said:

I put a thin phone in my back pocket once and tripped, fell, and broke it and my a**. neye: Be careful with that one.

Gavin

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I have been reading a ton of reviews and couldn't really decide, but came across what I thought was a deal. The local Circuit City had an open box Casio Exilim EX-Z750 7.2MP camera for $250, $100 cheaper than a new one. I looked the camera over and it is flawless so I picked it up, along with a 1GB SD card for $50. I will play with it tomorrow but it has a ton of features and was very highly rated, even at its original intro price of $450. Anybody have any experience with this camera? I still may take it back as I have 14 days if I don't like it. I was going to get a Sony DSC-W50 5MP that was $250, but they were out of stock along with everybody else in town.

I have the sony cybershot 5.1 megapixel and its a nice camera, I like it alot, but I can't tell you which on is the best of the 3 you are looking at as I have not used the other 2 brands.

EDIT: Did not see that you actually bought one.. cans you post any test shots of something? close ups, far away pictures.. what ever, just would like to see the quality.

sounds like a good deal. i think i'm going to be picking up a canon sd ~400 soon. i've played around with my cousins and think the pictures are great and the short video clips are always fun.

if you get chance post up a few test shots.

I just keep finding awesome reviews on this camera. Alot of sites pair it against the Canon SD500. The nice thing about this Casio is that it has full manual controls, unlike alot of the other point and shoots. The video it takes is amazing. It is 640x480, 30 frames per second, and stereo sound. I will post some pics tomorrow as we are gonna go drive out to some of the horse farms and a winery that isn't far from the house.

well, after the fact anyway, i must say that canon is by far the best camera brand. They have taken over digital. I would have recommended for something something like the 510 or 520, or even a S2 IS. The S2 is a little more costly but has a 10x zoom and its 5 MP. This allows for great pictures no matter where you are. Anyway, I hope you like your choice, and maybe we can see some pictures?

I am gonna have to disagree with Canon taking over the digital camera segment. While they make a great product, I don't think they are always the best by any means. In fact, the camera I am replacing is a Canon Digital Elph S110. It has been a great little camera, just dated. I will post some pics once I get a chance to go out and take some. I had looked at getting an SD600, or SD500, but the Casio beat them in many regards. I also ONLY wanted a camera that can be carried in my pocket. While the Canons you recommended are nice cameras, they just didn't fit the bill.

If after sales and support are important to you then stay away from Cannon.
I bought two Cannon cameras for my Son & Daughter and both developed a screen lock out code within a year of purchase and Cannon did not want to know and wanted silly money to clear these faults, so I would not buy anything else made by them.
For my money I would go with Nikon every time. Superior cameras and better support.
Good luck with whatever you buy.
Del

well, before you say that casio is better, wait a while and use the camera. I'm pretty secure in that canon is by far the leader.

I am not saying Casio is better. I think in this market, you can't judge companies as a whole but rather by the product at that time. All of the major suppliers have duds and grand slams. Don't get me wrong, I love the canon line as my older camera is a digital elph. I just came across a camera that had a better price, better features, and better reviews than the same priced Canon, so I bought. I still have another week that I can take the Casio back, and havent had a chance to really use it yet. My girlfriends mother is flying in today so we will go out this weekend sightseeing and I will shoot some pics then. I am still really leaning towards returning it towards a D50, but I don't want to get into a money suck.