$200-300 Budget, Amateur Use

[dizzynoise]

I have been putting off getting a new camera because when I got my first one in 2005, testing different cameras and reading reviews about those cameras led to my being able to choose one that I felt was a great camera and a great camera for me. These days most cameras seem so similar that I do not know how to even go about choosing one. I try out cameras and read reviews and still cannot find significant enough differences to be able to decide what to buy. Which is why I am here.

Budget

What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.
$200-$300. The cheaper the better, really, but up to $300 is fine, as long as what I'm getting is worth the money.

Size

What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?
Compact cameras are convenient, but size is relatively unimportant to me.

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you?
My last camera had only 4 MP, and I thought it took great pictures, so I'm not too sure how much of a difference I will notice between 7 and 10 MP. I do want the best quality camera I can get for the money I am spending, but if a 7 MP camera satisfies that over a higher MP camera for other reasons, that is perfectly fine.

What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x)
Standard would be fine.

How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
10. Nothing is as important as this.

Do you care for manual exposure modes (shutter priority, aperture priority, manual)?
I would like to have these manual settings to play around with if possible, but if the cameras with these features aren't as great in image quality as others I am willing to settle without them.

General Usage

What will you generally use the camera for?
The main reason I will use my camera is to take pictures when I'm with my friends. This means indoors with both good and poor lighting as well as outdoors during both the day and night. I would like to be able to take movie clips and for the camera to have a self-timer. It would be nice if I could take the camera to an occasional concert and have decent quality photos. I also do like to attempt to take somewhat creative photographs. Not in such a way where this camera is my first step to becoming a professional, but the more creative freedom I have, the better. I don't expect a camera in my price range to have a manual focus, but clear, crisp images in these photos is definitely a priority, as well as as many other manual settings as I can manage.

Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
In the past I never used my camera to make prints bigger than 4 x 6 inches and I can't imagine myself doing so now.

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
Yes.

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
Not primarily, but yes.

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate?
No. My last camera was a Kodak (DX7440), and while I loved it, what I have been told over and over again is that Kodaks are no longer top-notch quality. I have been told on quite a few occasions that Canon, Sony, and Olympus cameras are the best in image quality at this point, but really any brand will satisfy me, so long as it takes great photographs.

Are there particular models you already have in mind?
Not especially. The Canon PowerShot SD750 is one that has caught my eye time and time again, but it looks like it might be a bit outdated? The Olympus Stylus 850 SW also has intrigued me because it can be taken underwater, but most reviews I have found for it say that for its durability it sacrifices image quality. If anyone has opinions on either of these cameras I would be happy to hear them, but otherwise as many new recommendations as I can get would be nice.

Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
Image Stabilization seems like a nice quality to have in a camera, although my old one did not have it, and I never noticed any significant blurring of my photos without it. So, I'm not sure how necessary it is? But if it compatible with my other requests, then why not?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me

[Andy Stanton]

If you don't mind a camera that's a little larger, there are some excellent all-purpose cameras available for about $300 online.
The Canon A650IS has excellent picture quality, optical image stabilization, a swiveling LCD and a moderately long zoom.
The Canon S5IS has a long optical zoom (36mm to 432mm), optical image stabilization, a swiveling LCD and very good picture quality.
The Panasonic FZ18 has a wide angle view and very long optical zoom (28mm to 504mm), optical image stabilization and very good picture quality.

There are many excellent smaller cameras that are available for under $300 but none have as many features and the overall quality of the two Canons and the Panasonic mentioned above (in my opinion of course).

[usapatriot]

There's always the Fuji F50fd and F100fd cameras to consider, both solid choices as well.