Help a noob buy a camera

[mah2002]

Budget

* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.

I want to spend less than $200

Size

* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?
Prefer compact

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you?
no idea
* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify) No idea

* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
7
Do you care for manual controls? no idea

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for?

Taking pics when Im out with friends stuff like that, going to the beach for springbreak in a couple of weeks will be using it then ( main reason Im getting one now b/c I dont have a camera)

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?

no big prints, mainly just putting them on the computer

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
possibly
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? no

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate?no

Are there particular models you already have in mind?
not really
(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)

[bascom]

There aren't any subcompacts for $200. They are $350-$450 mostly. But there are small point and shoots for about $200. Some good 05 models are the Canon A510, A520, Sony DSC-S90, Nikon 4600, and maybe some Kodaks like C340.

You may be able to find new 06 models in stores before Spring Break, like the Canon A430, A530, Kodak C533, C643, Nikon L4, L3, Panasonic LZ3, Pentax M10, Sony S600, W30. I think these are all about $170-$230.

The 06 models will probably do better in low light and indoors than the 05 ones. Where are you going for Spring Break?

[mah2002]

thanks, Ill be going to South Padre

[bascom]

I just learned about the Casio Z110. Sounds like a good small camera for $250.

[speaklightly]

The Casio Z-120 is also very good and sells for around $230. Here is a photo sample from the Z-120.

Speaklightly