I have know Idea what to buy

[lance125]

Budget

* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible. $300-$400

Size

* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?
Not really sure. Something small so that it can be put into a pocket. Have been looking at the SD700-800 IS and the A710 IS which either would be small enough.

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you? Don't care. Just want good quality pictures

* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify) Doesn't matter

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

Do you care for manual controls? Not really. might be nice but I don't know what to do with them.

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for? mostly scenic, outdoors

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

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? not really, some maybe but mostly outside

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? some but not alot

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate? I have mostly been looking at the canons, but am not limited to them.

Are there particular models you already have in mind? have looked at the SD 700/800 IS, A710 IS and seen alot of people talking about the Fujif30/31

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD) Need them? I don't know. First cam and don't know what I need. Me and the wife just want a good cam that will give us good pictures and easy for her to use.

[tim11]

A710 IS is the largest of your choice. As a general camera, it is the most handy for it has alll the manual controls one can wish for. But since you don't really care for such controls, and if you want compact cam why is it in the list? (It would have been in my choice though.)

SD800 IS has 28 mm wide angle meaning it is handy for using in a confined space. 4x optical zoom. and stabiliser.

The Fuji, as you might already know, is the performer of lowlight. 3x optical zoom. No IS.

Both are easy to use, I guess. You can't go wrong with SD cams for outdoors shots. Why the hesitation?

[lance125]

is that I just want to get the best cam I can for the money and as I do not know much about the diff. types on the market I have been trying to do some research. I came across this site and have been trying to see what people recommend, but I just get more confused. Also when I brought up the A710 is was to say that was the size I did not want to get bigger then. Anything that size or smaller would be fine for me. I do not really care what brand it is thought, as long as it takes good outside shots and is easy to use for the wife. Thank for your response by the way.

[lance125]

is the SD800 IS really that much better then the SD 700 IS. I have seen reviews that suggest that the 700 is better in most ways and cheaper.

[tim11]

I heard of the SD800 IS criticisms though it is never my way to check images edge to edge like some people. I hear that SD 800 images are softer on the edge and that maybe so but if you only make small prints, the difference won't be noticeable. It's really up to individual to decide if such difference matters but to me the wide angle will come handy.

[tim11]

Personally, I prefer A710 IS. It will be handy should you want to explore photography further down the track.

Buy SD for lifestyle compact camera.

You don't know what rotating LCD is? Here is an example:
http://www.focalfix.com/reviews/digital/g2swivel.jpg
You can swing LCD to shoot over a crowd, taking ground-level shots or take self portrait. Canon A630 is one you should also look at if you want swivel LCD. I don't think it's much different to A710 with respect to size.

[bascom]

You said it doesn't matter how much zoom it has. The main feature of the A710 is 6x zoom, but there are cheaper ones with 3x-4x zoom that will take photos just as good or better within their zoom range:

Canon A540
Canon A630
Fuji F30
Sony W100

Here is a good place to start: http://dcresource.com/buyersguide/

[lance125]

I have looked at the A630/640 but the rotating LCD didn't really matter to me. All that matters to me is that it takes good pictures and is fairly small and easy to use for the wife. That is a good thought Tim about later down the road being able to expand my use of the A710 a little. That has been the cam i have been leaning towards, I just was no sure weather I wanted it or the SD 700/800. Is there really that big of a difference b/w those anyways. I like the way the A7120 uses batteries rather then a the card. Thats what is swaying my thought right now. Again thanks for your help guys.