camera recs?

[jaina]

Alas, our camera has gone to the Great Electronics Pile in the sky-- it did not survive its fateful fall to a freezing Philadephia sidewalk. :( And we definitely need to buy a new one before we go to New Zealand in six weeks!

So I thought I would ask you, dear flist, if anyone has any camera recommendations. We would really like something that can take good pics under convention conditions (most of our hall costume D*C pics turned out grainy and not-great quality). Bonus points for something that's small and not insanely expensive.

Comments

[econopodder.livejournal.com]

Several-year-old Canon PowerShot SD700 IS, here.

What I like:
* really small; can fit in a jacket pocket
* powerful zoom
* satisfying to hold
* (important!!) viewfinder as well as big back screen. (If you ever want to take pics outdoors, make sure you have a viewfinder! It's hard to see a screen in sunlight.

What I don't like:
* shadows in flash photos look harsh compared to flash photos taken by non-digital cameras. This may be artifact of the form factor, since tiny camera means flash must be suboptimally-close to the lens
* short battery life, esp. as camera has gotten older

Put it this way: next time I get a dig camera, it'll probably be a Canon again!

[brightcupenny.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Much useful info there. :)