Canon or Panasonic....which model should I pick?

[sistergray]

I'm looking for just an every day camera to supplement my Rebel XT. It's gotta have pretty great photo quality and be relatively easy to use. (:

Budget<180 (I'm buying from Amazon)

Size Small-ish, doesn't have to be itty bitty.

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you? 8-10, no more than 10

What optical zoom will you need? Standard or Ultrazoom

How important is “image quality” to you? 9-10, I know p&s aren't perfect, I've got a Rebel for better quality photos

Do you care for manual controls? Some might be nice

General Usage

What will you generally use the camera for? everyday shooting

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

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? probably quite a few

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? maybe on occassion

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate? I love Canon!

Are there particular models you already have in mind? I'm debating between the Canon SD1100, the Canon SD770, the Canon SD790, and the Panasonic Lumix TZ4. See my blog (http://chanceandclaire.blogspot.com) about this.

[SpecialK]

None if the cameras you mention have manual controls.

Try a Canon "A" series...such as the A1000 or A2000.

[sistergray]

I'm just not a fan of the A series and would rather get one of the ones I've mentioned above. I've researched fairly extensively, and those are pretty much up my alley.

[Turn]

for 180, all you're probably can get is either Ixus or A series.

there's nothing wrong with either :)

[sistergray]

On amazon, the options that I've posted are all under 180. Does anyone have any advice about any of those, particularly the canons? 770, 790, 1100?

[David Metsky]

None if the cameras you mention have manual controls.

Try a Canon "A" series...such as the A1000 or A2000.
Neither of those have manual controls either.

[Phill D]

Seems to me that if you want an optical vf then the 790 is out but if you want the bigest LCD then it is the 790. If you do want an optical vf then the other choice is in focal length the 770 has a slightly wider angle & the 1100 has more telephoto. Possibly at 8MP the 1100 could have slightly better low light noise performance. To be honest it's splitting hairs with these cameras. If it was me I'd go for the optical vf the longer telephoto & lower MP of the 1100 if I was sticking to canon but as a panasonic user I love the zoom of my TZ1 so would go for the TZ4 in your group every time. But it's your choice.

[speaklightly]

SisterGray-

Of the cameras making up your "group," I would choose the Panasonic TZ-4, provided that having no viewfinder nor HD video is not a problem to you.

Sarah Joyce