Need advice on "upgrade"

[Rad17]

I've had the Sony DSC-P93 (5.1MP) for a couple of years now, and have found that this is one of the most frustrating cameras to attempt to use. I can *never* get the Manual settings to synch for good photos, and the Auto settings are not giving me the photos that I want. Never have, really.

So, I'm looking for recommendations. The type of camera that I'm looking for would be similar to the Canon A710 IS in size and features, but I'm not sure if I'd just be getting another camera that operates like the Sony -- otherwise I would have already bought the Canon. But before I plunk down the money for another camera, I thought I'd ask advice here.

One more thing -- I need something with movie mode, 640 x 480 @ 30fps minimum, and something that will take a BIG SD card (like 4GB), so I've got enough memory available. And, something that doesn't weigh a ton in a belt-loop camera case (the Sony *does* weigh a lot!).

I'm not asking too much, am I? :-)

I'd prefer at least a 6X optical zoom, IS, and something that gets great photos on Auto setting.

Any recommendations appreciated! Thanks....

[Rad17]

Budget

* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible. 150-250

Size The smaller the better

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

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you? 6 to 8 should suffice

* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify) At least 6X OPTICAL

* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10) 9

Do you care for manual controls? Not necessarily

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for? Shots containing movement (without blurring!)

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? Possibly 16 x 20, but usually no more than 8 x 10

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? Maybe 20%

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

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate? I'm frustrated with Sony

Are there particular models you already have in mind? A couple of the Canon's

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)

**** Image Stabilization ****; good size LCD; full menu (including remaining battery life and remaining memory)

[John_Reed]

It's quite small, has a bright 3" LCD, 10X zoom, optical image stabilization that really works, a true wideangle of 28mm in each of its 3 aspect ratios, 4:3, 3:2, and 16:9. It's priced ~$300, but it comes with a battery and charger in the kit, so that may offset your price ceiling? Take a look at my TZ3 gallery; (http://john-reed.smugmug.com/gallery/2762845) that should give you some idea of things it can do?

I would say of your desire to capture moving objects (or athletes) in anything except broad daylight, you'll be hard put to find a camera within your budget range to freeze subject motion. For that, you're flirting with a need for DSLR capability, and then the $$$ go up considerably. You might have noticed in my gallery if you looked at it, there are several birds in flight there; I shoot them with my TZ3 by using an auxiliary rangefinder called a "Red Dot Sight." This lets me track the birds as they fly, so I can still get sharp shots of them, even though they're moving. I've also used this technique at football games. If you need more info about that particular technique, check out http://www.photosolve.com for details.