point and shoot cameras

[c.lee]

from all the compact point and shoot cameras that are out on the market now, which camera is the best one?

im looking for the best point and shoot camera out there that has pretty good optical zoom. doesnt have to be great. and is just a great camera overall. some manual controls would be nice

i thought the canon a520 was the best out there but now im not sure.
how is the nikon coolpix 7900 in comparison to the a520?

and also.. would megapixels be a big thing that boost the picture quality of an image? (the nikon is a 7 megapixel while the a520 is only 4 ..)

seperately, how are these cameras by themselves?
what are there pros and cons.

please help me out guys!
especialy to those who own either cameras!

[jessie25]

I own the A520 and it's a great camera, takes amazing pictures and has full manual controls to boot. I'm very happy with it. Its only drawbacks are that it's not the speediest camera out there, and the movie mode leaves what to be desired.

Megapixels actually have very little to do with an image's quality, and more to do with how big a print you can make from your images. If you're planning on making 4x6s only, you don't need more than about 3 megapixels. 4 will give you very nice 5x7s and extremely adequate 8x10s. If you're going to be making a lot of 8x10s and 11x14s on a regular basis, though, you might want to go with 5, 6, or even 7 megapixels.

Different cameras have different pros and cons; there isn't one camera that's "the best". It would help if we knew what you were planning on using it for.

[c.lee]

i;ll be doing both indoor and outdoor shots.
pictures of the family... nature (my moms garden and some trees)
alot of people pictures..

basically pictures of anything.. not much sports photography tho.

i also own the s400 canon powershot.. the 2003 model.
is there a big difference between that one and the a520 or the other cameras i listed?

i wouldnt want to own 2 cameras that were basically similar in use.