Please help me decide!

[Weezie77]

I'm looking for a new camera for my husband to buy me for Christmas. I currently have about a 4-5 year old Sony P&S that for the most part works great, but as of late has had a serious battery eating problem.

I have an 18 month old son, which is the subject of most of my pictures. He's pretty active, so probably the most important thing I'm looking for in a camera is the shortest shutter lag possible. I know I can't get instant without going to a DSLR, but I'm not quite ready for one of those yet. I'm just tired of missing shots.

I'd also like something that does better indoors and in lower light - I took some great shots of my son by the Christmas tree without a flash that would have just been stunning had I had a little better camera!

Here is the info from the sticky:

Budget

Under $400, I'd go a little more if it was worth it

Size

Doesn't matter too much, but nothing huge

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you? Probably at least 8-10

* What optical zoom will you need? Standard would suffice

* How important is “image quality” to you? 9-10 - I'd like the highest quality possible without going to a DSLR

Do you care for manual controls? some basic ones would be nice, but nothing overly complicated - enough to help me learn a little about this stuff and to get better pics

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for? Mostly taking pics of my son, both indoors and out, but I also like to take natures shots

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? Once in a while, but not many

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

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? Not sports, but action shots of an 18 month old!

Image stabilization is a must.

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate?

Are there particular models you already have in mind? I was looking at the Canon SX10 IS and the Nikon P80, but after reading some reviews and consumer reports, I'm thinking that a higher end compact like the Canon SD790 or even the SD1100 might be just as good if not better for me - I'm open to suggestions!

TIA!

[KCook]

The Canons you listed are good all around ultracompacts. But for an indoors godzilla, consider the Sony H10. Strong flash on that one, not too shabby in the other regards either. Otherwise, back to the SLR types ....

Kelly Cook

[speaklightly]

Weezie-

I agree with Kelly. The Sony H-10 is a good choice, and it is selling for aroun $(US) 210.00. If you want to pay more there is the Canon SD-880 which just won the premium compact competition. However, it is all metal with a larger imager and costs more. However, it is still in your stated price range.

Sarah Joyce

[Weezie77]

Thank you. I went and looked at the 880 and a couple others and ended up having my husband buy me the Canon DS110 IS. It seemed to have the shortest amount lag and I loved the kids/pets mode and continuous shot feature. I just got it last night and haven't had a lot of time to play around, but I'm pretty excited about it.

[speaklightly]

Congratulations, Weezie-

...on your new Canon SX-110 camera. Hve fun with it and post some photos when you have a chance. Happy Holidays to you!

Sarah Joyce