Small camera decesions...Canon (bad battery life), Panasonic (noise), Sony (mem. stk)

[joshlane4]

This is a first digital camera purchase - I want an all around solid performer

Budget

Under $500 u.s.

Size

ultra-compact or compact

Features

at least 5MP

* What optical zoom will you need?

at least 3x

* How important is “image quality” to you?

VERY IMPORTANT (8+)

Do you care for manual controls?

they're nice

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for?

point & shoot

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


Are there particular models you already have in mind?

Canon SD600, Casio EX-Z7/850, Panasonic DMC-FX01, Sony DSC-W50, Fuji F30

[bascom]

Yes those are the best small cams and you got their differences right: Canon (bad battery life), Panasonic (noise), Sony (mem. stk). Also, Canon and Sony are the only ones with a viewfinder and Sony is the cheapest. FX01 has IS and F30 has anti-blur. Fuji F30 probably has the best photos and batt life but it costs the most. Wait for the Z850 review here in July. It's a question of which features you want. Here is a list in order of price:


W50 - $250
pro: VF, ISO 1000, MPEG video
con: mem stick

Z750/Z850 - $325
pro: full manual controls, MPEG-4 video, batt life

FX01 - $325
pro: IS, ISO 1600, 3.6x zoom
con: noisy?

SD600 - $350
pro: VF
con: batt life

F30 - $400
pro: full manual controls, ISO 3200, batt life, anti-shake
con: xD, price

I'd go for the Sony because I'm cheap and like a VF. Looks at the HP R817, also.