Advice on decent point & shoot digital camera?

[Gerrinson]

I'm looking to get my wife a new digital camera for Christmas, since her newest one disappeared when we were moving.

She likes the DSLR camera my sister-in-law has, but I know my wife, and she will not want to be bothered with carrying around a tripod & extra lenses. Or at least, it won't get more than 1 or 2 uses before the extra stuff is 'too much bother.'

I want to get a nice solid point & shoot, better than the 5 year old camera we still have. But what I know about cameras ain't much. I was hoping someone with more knowledge and experience could point me at a nice point & shoot camera. Most of what I'm looking for is: Good picture quality, ease of use, and a good optical zoom.

So, any suggestions?

And thanks in advance!

[Sapphire Silk]

If you have access check out Consumer Reports. They usually have good recommendations.

My camera, that I've had for years, is a Fujifilm digital camera. It looks like an SLR but isn't. I can't remember how many megapixels, but not what cameras now have, yet it takes GREAT pictures. I've taken some stunning nature shots and landscape shots with it. So I like the brand well.

The human eye can only see so much, so don't get obsessed with megapixels. Look for ease of use and handling. Take a few test shots and see if you like what you see.

[gremcint]

fuji cameras tend to come with a 2 year warranty whereas other brands just give you 1 so that's in their favor.

[Shannarah]

I just bought a Fuji Finepix S2980 (to replace the Fuji S1500 that I dropped)
14mp 18x optical zoom. was about AU$158, so pretty cheap, looks like a dslr, has auto settings, ans some manual options. When recording video, the zoom is audible

[mikoyan29]

My mom still uses the old Panasonic I had. It was pretty decent and gave me the bug to get a DSLR.

What do you intend to use it for?

[TheSHAD0W]

If you're willing to spend the money, you might still want to consider a DSLR. They are still better for low-light and fast response than any of the P&S cameras, thanks to the size of the imagers. There are also lenses which are flexible enough that you'll nearly never want to switch it out; an 18-200 zoom lens (on a camera with a 2/3 size imager) will take most any shot a casual photographer will want.

[Gerrinson]

Thanks for the advice so far.

As for how we would be using it: The pictures would mostly just be at family gatherings and the occasional trip out; photography isn't even at the 'hobby' level for her, which is why I don't want to sink my money into a serious camera, just one that's a nice upgrade to what we have now.

[protege]

I too would recommend Fuji digital cameras. I'm actually on my second one. I picked up a Finepix S3200 to replace an older S3100. One feature that is awesome...is the "super macro" mode. That means I can get extremely close to whatever I'm photographing

[It's me]

I always point people to Steve's Digicams:
http://www.steves-digicams.com
It's got reviews and recommendations...

[mikoyan29]

Thanks for the advice so far.

As for how we would be using it: The pictures would mostly just be at family gatherings and the occasional trip out; photography isn't even at the 'hobby' level for her, which is why I don't want to sink my money into a serious camera, just one that's a nice upgrade to what we have now.

In that case go with one of the mid to higher grade Point and Shoots.

[BlaqueKatt]

I got one of these on amazon black friday/cyber monday sale-it was $199 on sale, best optical zoom of any compact point and shoot, 20x

[Rapscallion]

I've had some pretty good results with an Ixus 230 by Canon.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2011/8/23/canonixus230hs - different name in the US mentioned in here.

I'm no professional, but it's made a load of my shots look pretty damned good. Fine resolution, great zoom, and if you're on my FB friends list then you'll see some of the snaps I've taken of bits of castles.

Rapscallion

[Chromatix]

I currently use a Panasonic Lumix. It has a Leica lens (which is the important part of any camera) and works respectably well. It's even small enough to fit in most pockets and even some phone/iPod cases.

The lens is *far* more important than the megapixel count. A three-megapixel sensor with a really good lens will take better pictures than an eight- or twelve-megapixel sensor with a poor lens.

[crazylegs]

The human eye can only see so much, so don't get obsessed with megapixels. Look for ease of use and handling. Take a few test shots and see if you like what you see.

This, most certainly this. The size of the sensor, the quality of the lens and the ability of the processor all have important parts to play in the ability to take good images.

Even if they don't have a review of every camera on the market most digital camera magazines will have a 'what to look for' section somewhere so you know what you're looking at with P&Ss.

[TheSHAD0W]

The human eye can only see so much, so don't get obsessed with megapixels. Look for ease of use and handling.

This, most certainly this. The size of the sensor, the quality of the lens and the ability of the processor all have important parts to play in the ability to take good images.

Thirded; in fact, I think many cameras have gone too far in the megapixel count. The smaller the pixel size, the fewer photons it can receive, and the more it runs up against the laws of physics. That's why I like DSLRs, since with a larger imager they can devote more real estate to each pixel.

In your case, though, for just taking pictures of people at family gatherings, a good P&S is likely to be adequate.