Looking for an ultracompact

[mike817]

Budget

* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.
Camera quality is more important to me than price.

Size

* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?
Ultracompact. Small enough to fit in my pocket.

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you?
7+

* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)
Standard

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

Do you care for manual controls?
Not really

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for?
Random pictures

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

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
possibly

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
occasionally

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate?
No sony products.

Are there particular models you already have in mind?
I've been looking at the Nikon S7C and the EX-S770 so far.

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
Image Stabilization would be great.
I'd also prefer a camera that uses SD cards.

[jleonardjr]

I would recommend reading the dcresource.com review for the Canon SD800IS. I just bought one recently and have been very happy with it. It has image stabilization, 7.2 megapixels, and fits into all my pockets. I have been very happy with the image quality in the auto mode.

One question for you. Why do you want 7+ megapixels if you are not planning on making larger prints? More megapixels doesn't mean better pictures. You really only need more that 6 if you are planning on making large prints.

[coldrain]

Read the reviews of teh Nikon S7c and then still see of you are thinking about it :eek:

The Canon SD700 IS, SD800 IS, Fuji Z5fd, Sony W55 and so are a LOT better than the two you have been eyeing.

[mike817]

I haven't seen any real bad reviews for the nikon s7c. Where did you see them?

[flippedgazelle]

I haven't seen any real bad reviews for the nikon s7c. Where did you see them?

Right on this website. Actually, most Nikon Coolpix cameras get rather tepid reviews. I've used several and have found them all to be disappointments to Nikon's lofty reputation.

[mike817]

How's the casio?

[jleonardjr]

Look at the ultra compacts in the "Buyers Guide" from this website. I think this will help you out a ton. I think you will find you can narrow your choices down to Sony, Canon, or Fuji.

[Wirraway]

Ditto the above post.....Sony, Canon or Fuji.

[mike817]

Does anyone know if the image stabilization in the fuji F40fd is hardware or software based?