Need camera with these specs

[kberm07]

Can anyone give a suggestion here?

Budget

* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.
Definitely under $250 for a subtotal price.

Size

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

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you?
At least 5 or 6

* What optical zoom will you need?
At least 4x, definitely not 3x

* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
8

*Do you care for manual controls?
Some, Don't want a fully auto camera

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for?
Family/friend portraits, vacation- about 350 pics in 2 week time period

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
About 5x7 or 8x10 every once in a while

*Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
a good chance yes

*Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
not very often

Miscellaneous

*Are there particular brands you like or hate?
no

*Are there particular models you already have in mind?
powershot A620(a little too bulky), coolpix L1

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
no, but would like a nice lcd screen

[episodic]

There are several cameras you should research.

The 'newer' canons, specifically the a540.

This Casio has a 5x zoom and has great reviews
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16830124124

This panasonic has all your wants - PLUS OIS - Image stabalizations (great for low light indoor shots)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16830134029

another panasonic with all your wants plusi OIS AND 6x zoom
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16830134048


All of these would be great choices.

[capedeci]

3x 4x does not make a big difference, don't get away from a good 3x camera just because it's not 4x. except the extra 1x contributes on the wide end. like 28-112 (4x) Vs. 38-114 (3X) THIS DOES have a big difference, but if the difference is on the tele end, say 38-114 (3X) Vs. 38-152 (4X), the difference is minimal, you can achieve it by a simple little cropping

[kberm07]

One question for capedeci: How do you tell if the zoom is on the tele end?

Also: I forgot to mention that I tend to shy away from Kodak for some reason. Does anyone know about the quality of Kodak digital cameras? (I know beginners are quick to buy them, but don't really know about the quality and endurance) but I also wonder about Casio and Panasonic. How do they rate in the digital camera field? Thanks for the advice.

Any more suggestions will be appreciated! =)

Thanks again!

[David Metsky]

3x or 4x doesn't tell you a lot about the lens. Look for something like:

Focal length (35mm equiv.): 35mm - 140mm

That is what the focal length of this lens would be like on a 35mm film camera, and is the basis for all comparisons.

Numbers above 50mm represents zoom, numbers below represent wide angle. Most cameras have a wide angle of somewhere in the 32-38mm range. If the low end of the focal length is below that, it represents a good wide angle camera. Down to 28mm or even 24mm would be quite good.

-dave-