Buying advice needed - P&S for under $250...

[raintrap]

Ok, I'd prefer under $200 but I guess I can deal with spending a little more.

To be honest, what I know about the Canon P&S collection could fit on the head of a pin, aka nothing. A friend has the Powershot SD800 and I'm constantly amazed at the photos it takes, but its just out of my price range. I'm saving for another lens, so I'm trying to keep the budget as low as possible but while still able to grab some good images when out with friends and other situations don't that don't lend themselves to the dSLR. This is particularly timely since I'll be in the US next week and will have access to some of the retailers that might have some good deals. I'm not set on Canon, but figure that you all will have more experience with the Canon cameras, for obvious reasons.

[d123]

What about the 720IS ? I've only seen good reviews for it.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canona720is/

[AutoXer]

Here's another vote for the A720 - amazing image quality.

[frazzm737]

I am also very happy with my new A720IS! I chose it for travel as I want a smaller, lighter camera for travel. I like my A630 very much but find it a bit heavy and bulky.

[GimpyPoop]

I just ordered the SX100 and I've read very good things about the IQ it produces . . . and of course it has quite the small following here.
It's currently $223 with shipping included on buydig.com

[pointerDixie214]

I tried an A710IS once and wasn't very impressed. My brother just got the SX100IS and this is a great choice if you don't mind the lack of a viewfinder... just LCD on the back (this is a good LCD though and you can see it in the sun)...

If you don't mind the size, I would go with an S3 IS though. (I would say S5 IS, but this is out of your budget)...

[raintrap]

At the very least, this is helping me narrow down my researching as opposed to browsing camera websites with no direction.

SX100 - anyone reading this annoyed by the lack of view finder. I've never taken pictures from the LCD on a regular basis so I'm not sure if this would beg or not. Maybe I'd even like it? But won't that zap the battery incredibly fast? I will admit to liking the 10x optical zoom. My old olympus had a similar zoom range and it came in handy...but now that I think about it most of the stuff I used it for, I'd be inclined to use the dSLR now.

The A720 seems like a good choice too. Hmmm. Why do I find the difference between compact cameras to be so subtle? I must be missing something.

[RubenAlonzo]

Raintrap, I was fortunate to have a wife that bought me a Canon S2 IS, and I can tell you now from messing with it, that is is a superb P/S but also the manual focus is there as well. Not sure how many mega pixels you are wanting, mine has 5, and the low light capabilities are actually quite startling.


off ebay for $145 with the shipping i think, the actual camera was high $130's, and i got it in a matter of 3 days after we used the buy it now option. We also bought a 2 gig SD memory card for $20 at bestbuy, and 8 rechargable energizers with twin chargers (NiHM, 2500) about $35 at home depot as a package deal, as well as a tripod from bestbuy for $19 and i can tell you, i am crazy happy with my camera. All this will well fit into your budget. great point and shoot with the auto feature. Though i prefer the manual mode now actually. The 12x zoom is fantastic. The Macro mode will put a smile on your face.

But good luck regardless whatever route you wish to take, i personally am gonna step up to the Nikon D300 next year as i get more and more comfortable with manual focusing my shots for a certain look. Cheers.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0504/05042201canons2is.asp

[Echo_]

Which P&S would be best for low light settings? I want to get a P&S for music festivals and concerts where I can't take my SLR. I want a decent zoom and low noise.

[GimpyPoop]

This SD750 might be within your price range:
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/506115/Canon-PowerShot-SD750-Digital-ELPH-Camera/

Echo_ you would want something with a high ISO - possibly the SX100 (I'm whoring this cam and I haven't even received mine!) but it can get noisy . . . it does have 10X zoom. Or look into the S5 or something along those lines.

[pointerDixie214]

My brother took almost 400 pics yesterday with his SX 100 IS with NiMH batteries... good battery life!

I still say this is the way to go if you can live without a viewfinder and want something small. If you don't care about size, get an S2 or an S3...

[gkas]

My wife has the Canon SD800. I also got one for my son this last Christmas. Excellent camera. Beach camera has it for $239.99 and BuyDig has it for $249. Both are good places to buy from.

[canotographer]

SD850IS: around $200 now
SD1100IS: around the same price sas SD 850IS