Digital Camera Recommendation

[SRA7594]

My parent's anniversary is coming up and I would love to get them a nice point and shoot digital camera.

The last one they purchased was about ten years ago and was a Sony Cybershot 4.1 mega pixels.

Its run its course and now looks very outdated.

Any recommendations ? I am looking to spend around $250.

Thank you in advance.

 

[blary54]

I would stick with Canon,Olympus, n...., Sony or Panasonic. Here is a good Canon for the price:

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerSh...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1277243103&sr=8-1

Also this is consumer reports best value camera is:
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMC...7?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1277243198&sr=1-7

and

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerSh...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1277243627&sr=1-1


Anything is gonna be 1000 times better than what they have. Dont worry about the Megapixels. With a sensor that small it doesn't improve the quality after about 6 megapixels.

 

[voerman]

I highly recommend you look for a camera with an optical viewfinder. There will be situations in bright sunlight where you will not be able to see an image on the LCD screen. With an optical viewfinder you will at least have the option of using the viewfinder or the screen.

Unfortunately optical viewfinders are disappearing from low/mid range point and shoot cameras.

Lou

 

[BigHairyGuy]

Canon 1000 series. Great image quality, easy to use.

 

[Blue_2]

I've been using this site for info for awhile. I like the test pictures he does, mainly because they're all of the same subjects. It removes one more variable and still kind of allows for an apple/apples comparison.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/

 

[Legion]

I'm not sure about prices where you live but I strongly recommend one of the Panasonics with the Leica lens. Great value cameras.

I was going to get myself the LX-3. (I just blew the budget on a second hand SLR instead so that is going to have to wait.) That might be a little overkill for what you are after but one of the next models down would give them great shots. Make sure its got the Leica lens, though. Very sharp and worth the extra.

 

[moumou]

I own both a Canon EOS 50D DSLR and a Canon PowerShot SD960 IS

I absolutely LOVE both of them

 

[Seraphim]

I had a LX3, which is an awesome camera, but is not compact enough for my style (i.e.- sticking in my pocket...).

I'm eyeing this gem as a possible new purchase....

They just came out.

 

[ackvil]

The Canon Powershots are good deals. The prices for theses are flexible and will fit your budget.

 

[Legion]

I had a LX3, which is an awesome camera, but is not compact enough for my style (i.e.- sticking in my pocket...).

I'm eyeing this gem as a possible new purchase....

They just came out.

Yeah, that looks good. OP, get your parents one of these!

 

[fidjit]

Another vote for the Panasonics.

Nice compact cameras, Leica lense, good image stabiliser worth a couple of stops in most circumstances.

Their IA mode is very good for people who don't know much about cameras. Automatically chooses the "right" mode ( landscape, macro, portrait etc ) when taking a picture.

Still not "foolproof" ( or some of my friends are actually just above "fool ) but goes a long way towards minimising blurry photos.....

 

[WaltherPPK]

Some of the Pentax are very nice also.

 

[Carnivore]

We have a Canon A2000IS, which is a great little camera. Its sensor has slightly fewer photosites than some, but 10MP out of a P&S sensor is quite a lot.

It has a long zoom range and a large LCD on the back, as well as the image stabilisation. I don't think that the lack of an optical viewfinder is bad at all--when they're present they tend to be of very low quality and end up just being in the way.

Make sure you get them a big, fast memory card as well. I got an 8 gig one and it's large enough for entire trips.


Have fun!

 

[AlexAD]

Another vote for the Panasonics.

Nice compact cameras, Leica lense, good image stabiliser worth a couple of stops in most circumstances.

Their IA mode is very good for people who don't know much about cameras. Automatically chooses the "right" mode ( landscape, macro, portrait etc ) when taking a picture.

Still not "foolproof" ( or some of my friends are actually just above "fool ) but goes a long way towards minimising blurry photos.....

Lenses made Panasonic perfectly approach for Olympus E-PL1. A good choice for today. http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_digital_slr.asp?section=pen
LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm/F3.5-5.6 ASPH./MEGA O.I.S., LUMIX G VARIO 45-200mm/F4.0-5.6/MEGA O.I.S, LUMIX G VARIO HD 14-140mm F4.0-5.8 ASPH, LUMIX G 20mm / F1.7 ASPH , LEICA DG MACRO-ELMARIT 45mm / F2.8 ASPH. / MEGA O.I.S.