Christmas Time calls for a nice Point & Shoot camera on my wishlist.

[misterjuju]

Budget

* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.
<$300. Maybe $350 at the most, but I want to be able to get a bigger memory card too.

Also, it must be bought at Bestbuy, or a store that I can actually go to and buy the camera. Buying online is not an option (unless absolutely needed).

Size

* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?
Must fit in my pocket. Jacket pocket at most.

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you?
That's what I'm hoping you guys will be able to tell me .

* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)
Whatever is within my price range. Probably 3x-4x?

* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
8-10. I want the best "bang for my buck." I am mostly concerned with blur in my photos.

Do you care for manual controls?
If you guys can help me learn how to use them to get take the best photo possible.

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for?
Photos of friends/family, random landscape, random city photos, etc.

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
I don't think so.

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
A combination of both. I want to say 65%/35% maybe.

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
Probably not. May come up though.

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate?
I like Canon & Sony from what I've read from online reviews.

Are there particular models you already have in mind?
Canon PowerShot SD1000
Sony Cybershot W55
I can't determine which one is better. Please let me know which one is better, and if you can include something better for around the same price. I need to know which is better of the 2 though :P.

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
N/A. But I would like to mention that I probably will not be purchasing a tripod, so I need a camera that can take non-blurry photos in low light photos with, and especially, *WITHOUT* flash (as flash usually bleaches out the person's face, which I do not like).

[pas49ras]

But I would like to mention that I probably will not be purchasing a tripod, so I need a camera that can take non-blurry photos in low light photos with, and especially, *WITHOUT* flash (as flash usually bleaches out the person's face, which I do not like).[/b]

Most P/S cameras will not take very good low light/no flash shots. The Fuji 40fd is about the best bet given your wants. I'm not sure if Best-Buy sells it though.

[AndyfromVA]

Misterjuju,

If you don't like the Fuji F40fd (or can't find it at the big box stores) cameras with an effective optical image stabilization will be best at letting you take indoor photos without flash. Panasonic cameras and many Canons have optical image stabilization that are considered to work very well.

The Canon SD1000 and Sony W-55 that you mentioned in your post do not have optical image stabilization.

[pas49ras]

Misterjuju,

If you don't like the Fuji F40fd (or can't find it at the big box stores) cameras with an effective optical image stabilization will be best at letting you take indoor photos without flash.

As long as you can have everyone/everything in your picture hold still..the better high ISO performance of the Fuji's allow for a higher shutter speed and will freeze the action while IS will minimize your hand movement holding the camera it will result in blurry subjects.

[misterjuju]

Thanks everyone, you really helped a lot.

Misterjuju,

If you don't like the Fuji F40fd (or can't find it at the big box stores) cameras with an effective optical image stabilization will be best at letting you take indoor photos without flash. Panasonic cameras and many Canons have optical image stabilization that are considered to work very well.

The Canon SD1000 and Sony W-55 that you mentioned in your post do not have optical image stabilization.

I will try my best to find the Fuji F40fd, but what is a Canon camera that has optical image stabilization around my budget price?

Also, is the Fujifilm FinePix F50 considered an upgrade from the F40fd? I really don't know about the Fuji camera series. If so, should I get the Fujifilm FinePix F50 instead?

[AndyfromVA]

The Fuji F50fd has received some very good reviews and some fair reviews. If you buy it, make sure you can take it back.

There are many Canons with optical image stabilization. The Powershot A570IS and A720IS can be bought for under $200. Other Canons are the SD850IS, SD870IS and the SX100. All are good cameras that take great-looking photos, though the indoor shots are noisier than the Fuji F40fd and probably the F50fd.

[misterjuju]

The Fuji F50fd has received some very good reviews and some fair reviews. If you buy it, make sure you can take it back.

There are many Canons with optical image stabilization. The Powershot A570IS and A720IS can be bought for under $200. Other Canons are the SD850IS, SD870IS and the SX100. All are good cameras that take great-looking photos, though the indoor shots are noisier than the Fuji F40fd and probably the F50fd.

So out of all of those, which would you suggest I should get?

Is the lack of image stabilization worth it for the Fuji F40fd? I want my non-flash photos to come out non-blurry and as natural as possible (which will be taken in various lighting conditions, but I want to be sure it can take nice photos in low light & indoors).

[photography555]

I'd definitely say the F50fd is better than the F40fd. Even though it has higher megapixels (and higher noise), you could always shoot in 8 megapixel and it would prob look better than the F40fd. Plus, it has image stabilization, which will help in low light.

Of the Canons, I'd say the A720 IS is the best bet. If you can live without an optical viewfinder (I can't), the SX100 IS is good too.

[AndyfromVA]

If it's important to you that the camera be small and thin, my order of preference would be:

Fuji F40fd
Fuji F50fd
Canon SD850
Canon SD870
Panasonic fx55

[misterjuju]

I'd definitely say the F50fd is better than the F40fd. Even though it has higher megapixels (and higher noise), you could always shoot in 8 megapixel and it would prob look better than the F40fd. Plus, it has image stabilization, which will help in low light.

Of the Canons, I'd say the A720 IS is the best bet. If you can live without an optical viewfinder (I can't), the SX100 IS is good too.

So I can adjust the F50fd to use lower megapixels? I didn't know that.

Would you recommend the F50fd over the A720 IS?

If it's important to you that the camera be small and thin, my order of preference would be:

Fuji F40fd
Fuji F50fd
Canon SD850
Canon SD870
Panasonic fx55

Is that order just based on size? Because if you can, I'd rather it be ordered in which they take better pictures in low-light without flash.