New at photography - need help deciding on which model...

Hey, guys. I'm looking to see if anyone here can help me decide on which model camera to buy. I'm not exactly set on a brand, but the two I've been thinking about are both Canon... PowerShots, I believe.

Anyways, I'm looking for a point-and-shoot camera that I can use in family gatherings and hanging out with my friends. I'm not looking into SLR cameras as of yet because they seem much too expensive for me considering my price range. Speaking of price range, I'd say it would be around the $200 benchmark.

It'd also be nice if my camera had a decent video camera. I'm kind of looking into video logging on YouTube. However, it's not too important whether the video camera is important.

And one final 'spec' I'd like my camera to have is that I'd like it to have some sort of 'artistic development' to it. I guess that's what artists call it. I'm talking about taking pictures of scenery and making it your desktop wallpaper, etc.

So now, I'll tell you the two models I'm thinking about. I'm still not decided, and I might not end up deciding until summer when I'll really end up buying a camera. The two models from Canon that interested me are the Powershot A720 IS and the Powershot SD1000...

I'd appreciate any type of response that would help boost me towards the right direction of photography. Thanks.

I'd suggest you also consider the SD750 which has a larger LCD than the SD1000, and the A570 IS which has Image Stabilization (but a lower resolution screen).

I started out with the Canon Rebel series for SLRs. Film and digital.
For point and shoots, I do no believe you can beat the line of Powershots by Canon.

I don't know what the price is for the a570 in your parts, but I purchased mine at best buy at an open box sale for $150. Something to consider also is the price of the extras. I purchased an extra memory card ,$20...the stock one is 16mb, if I recall correctly, far too small for anything. I also purchased a set of four recharge ables for $20. I also purchased a card reader for $20, not mandatory but I just like the ability to read the pics directly from a drive. The camera has three levels of quality for taking video, tried them out but I'm not really sure how to compare the 'quality'. Most camera's, I believe have the ability through there packaged software to manipulate the pic to be uploaded. Should you run into troubles about pic development, plenty of people here to point you in the right direction or link.

My camera is into me for about $210 and I'm pretty happy with it.

libidesigns wrote in post #5169381
And one final 'spec' I'd like my camera to have is that I'd like it to have some sort of 'artistic development' to it. I guess that's what artists call it. I'm talking about taking pictures of scenery and making it your desktop wallpaper, etc.

Any digital cameras will give you jpegsnto use as wallpaper or a desktop. Any of the cameras you're looking at will give you suitable video (much better than you need for YouTube).

Since you mention creativity and advancing in photography, the logical choices would be the upper end of the A-series Canons, which give you what Canon terms "Creative Modes". The A570, A590 and A720 allow you control over ISO, aperture, shutter, white balance and flash, just as with any DSLR. If you read up on and use the Manual and semi-automatic settings, you will be ready if/when the time comes to step up to a DSLR.