help me find a good camera

[gwenfiend1]

Budget

* approx. $300

Size

* not too small, but not large. medium size is perfect

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you? 6-8

* What optical zoom will you need? standard at least, but the best i can get for my monies worth.

* How important is “image quality” to you? 7

Do you care for manual controls? not really

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for? outdoor photos day/night, concerts.

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? no

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? not a lot of indoor, but maybe low light at concerts

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? no heavy movement, but some, maybe

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate? no

Are there particular models you already have in mind? cannon sd1100 elph, lumix tz25

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? image stabalization would be nice

[David Metsky]

Low light concert photography is very difficult. It's going to be hard to do with anything short of a DSLR. Most compact cameras aren't good in low light if you are too far away for your flash to illuminate the subject (8-12 feet).

So, how important is concert photography to you? If it's important then it will dominate the decision process.

[gwenfiend1]

concert photography wont be the main reason for my purchase, but id like to get some good shots when i do attend. i always get front row, so as far as distance issues, im ok on that part. main reason for purchase will be for everyday(day/night) normal use.

[David Metsky]

You can get a Canon A1100 or A2100 for well within your price range. Either one would fit your needs.

The two cameras you mentioned are pretty different. The SD1100 is an ultracompact which you seemed to indicate you didn't want. And it has limited zoom. Did you mean the Panasonic FS25? That's not a bad choice either but I haven't seen any reviews of it yet. Also look at the Sony W-230/290.

[KCook]

Also "night normal use" can mean very different things to different people. Can be with flash, which may be near or more distant. Can be a brightly lit clubbing district, or cars cruising, or distant city lights. Each of these factors lead to different camera choices.

Kelly Cook