Clearest shots w/ point and shoot?

[Christine]

I am trying to find the camera that will give me the clearest pictures possible in the $450 range. I will be using this camera to primarily take pictures of my kids. I have been doing lots of research and cant believe how many different cameras there are to choose from. I dont need alot of bells and whistles, movie mode is not really important, but like I said, I want something that is great for taking really clear pictures, with a quick shutter speed. Preferably 5 megapix? I think I like the canons - I have read alot of good things but would consider others. (Canon's memory seems to be significantly cheaper to purchase)?

Some of the cameras I have been looking at are the:
Canon S60
Canon G5
Canon A80
Olympus 5050C

I like the swivel feature of the A80's screen but its probably not as good as the others.

Recommends would be greatly appreciated.

[JDR7171988]

I wouldn't consider any of these to be point and shoot.

Try the Canon S500, Canon SD10, Sony T1, and the Olympus Stylus 410. They're all nice compact cameras that take excellent pictures.

[Christine]

I shouldnt have said point and shoot - I guess I meant easy to use.

[Nick]

Easy to use, right.

Canon's memory isn't cheaper - the Canons you saw probably use Compactflash media, which isn't as expensive as say, xD or memory stick , but just as if not better then.

I'd look at Canon's Powershot S50, a very nice and proven camera, my aunt took it with her to Hawaii and came back with a load of very, very pretty point+shoot shots. It also offers a large array of manual controls should you ever need them. Canon's A70-A75-A80 series are excellent cameras also with very fine image quality. Should you get the A80, you will not be dissapointed with it either. It is cheaper then the S50, but I would not take it over the S50.

[Christine]

Thanks Nick, I think I am going to go with the S60 (might as well get the newer version, right). And for my mom's birthday I am going to get her the A80. I hope we will both be very happy with our pictures. Thanks so much for your help!

By the way, why do you always write "Nikon...." at the end of all your responses? Are those your #1 picks or the cameras you use?

[JDR7171988]

That's his sig, n00b.

[JDR7171988]

And Nick, those are some cool cameras

[D70FAN]

Christine, Go with the A75. Good all-around DC for under $300.

[jamison55]

I'll put my vote in for the 5050. I've owned both it and the A80, and the Oly has the clearest pics right out of camera. Canons are known for slightly soft images (intentionally so) so I always had to apply a little sharpening before printing. Not so with the Oly. Sharp, ready to print pics right out of the camera!

[Nick]

Originally Posted by Christine

Thanks Nick, I think I am going to go with the S60 (might as well get the newer version, right). And for my mom's birthday I am going to get her the A80. I hope we will both be very happy with our pictures. Thanks so much for your help!

By the way, why do you always write "Nikon...." at the end of all your responses? Are those your #1 picks or the cameras you use?

Very welcome! Like JDR7171988 stated, that's my signature. If you want each and every one of your posts to include something in the end, you can set it to do so here

And yes, those are the cameras I own/use