Advise on a cam

[0ozma]

Looking for advice on a small point and shoot that I can get for the girlfriend. The one she has now dies after 20 minutes or so!

All it needs is basic functions and a long battery life (preferably with AA batteries - not special camera batteries)

Decent sized LCD would be a plus too, and nothing too expensive!

Thanks:p

[mlav]

Canon A cameras use AAs.

Canon SD cameras are smaller and offer great time between charges with the Li-Ion batteries.

The Canon SD880IS has wide angle and IS. I recommend IS for any super amateur after seeing my mom's A530 non-IS pics vs. the mother-in-laws A590IS pics. I bought both cameras and didn't expect much from IS on a P&S. I have shot sharp handheld shots on my G9 at 1/2s and after 12 beers. :)

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-SD880IS-Stabilized-Silver/dp/B001G5ZTN6

The wide angle is slightly less wide than my 40D + 17-40. My SD550 will no doubt get replaced by one of these newer wide angle SDs. Not sure how much lense distortion there is on these.

[Sports_Dude]

I just picked up an SD790IS for $135 at Office Depot. It's an older model released in 2008, but meets my needs for a P&S.

[0ozma]

thanks :]

[Jon]

Don't expect long battery life in a digital camera if you're using alkaline AA cells. You need rechargeables for that; they're better suited to the power needs of digital cameras.

[bishoy]

For my A570 IS, I got four 2000 mAh AA batteries, I charge all of them and I use them for enough time for me. May be 2200 or 2500 can do even better.

[bishoy]

By the way, as I keep saying: the A570 refurb is on Adorama for less than 80$. Very cheep and all features are there :)

[EvanBB]

For a basic P&S I would suggest either the Canon A470 or the Canon A480. Both are great basic cameras that take good quality images and are easy to use.

The A470 is a basic easy to use 7.1MP camera. You can see it here: http://www.berger-bros.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=CAN2506B001&Category_Code=Canon-D&Product_Count=68

The A480 is similar to the A470 in that it is a basic point and shoot, however the A480 is a 10MP camera and in my opinion, the better option. You can see info here: http://www.berger-bros.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=Canon_A480&Category_Code=Canon-D&Product_Count=3

Both cameras come in different colors too (I think pink is even an option!)