Would like to purchase a new small camera for next trip. But don't want a million bells and whistles. Just something easy, small and that takes great photos. Any suggestions?

Check out these sites:
http://www.dpreview.com/
and
http://www.dcresource.com/

I recommend a small point-and-shoot camera. Personally I prefer more zoom over more resolution.

Hi bashful,

I agree with lin. Unless you need to make prints larger than 8x10 you don't really need more than 2 Mpx.

3:1 optical zoom is very useful, 4:1 is even better.

Don't bother with digital zoom, all it does is enlarge a fuzzy picture.

I have a Canon A60 that I like very much. It has lots of overrides, should you ever want to use them, but does very well on "auto".

The only thing you have to learn is how to turn off the flash.

You can find one on www.amazon.com for about $150.

Go to a store displaying many different digital cameras. Go back several times. Buy one and try it for a while. If you are not happy return it to the store. I did this several times. But you do have to do your homework to see if it what you want. Some really good ones are not too expensive, $98.00 to 179.00

One general recommendation, since model recommendations get obsolete quickly: the digital cameras, especially point and shoot, have very poor wide angle capabilities. In Europe I found this lack of wide angle capability to be most annoying as many shots needed to be taken at close proximities.

bashful,
I recently purchased a Nikon Coolpix 3100. It is a small, lightweight, point and shoot. 3 mp, standard 3X zoom. It is very easy to use, takes very nice pictures and has some additional features that come in very handy and are very easy to use. The one feature I like the best so far is a 'museum' setting. It takes great pictures without using the flash. Hopefully, will come in handy on trip this summer. I think it is selling for around $250, but may be less since they just introduced the 3200. No benefit, IMO, to newer model. They added sound for a video feature that I will never use and changed the memory card to a more expensive type. I bought mine online and paid no tax and no shipping.
Hope this helps.

I have a Minolta Dimage Xi (3.2 M pix, 3.0 OPT AND 3.0 DIG ZOOM) which I bought in 1/03 - since updated.
It is 4.6 oz and fits in my shirt pockets. Needs a 128 or 256 SD card to be really amazing.
M

Hi bashful,

Just saw an ad for the minMinolta Dimage Z1 3.2MP with 10X optical zoom.

$317 at amazon.com. If this is your price range, it is a good buy.

I am a reasonably technically challenged Aussie! I recently purchased my first Digital camera which is a Ricoh Caplio G4 - it has various functions including a wide angled lens - is extremely easy to use and I am thrilled with the results.

I would recommend the Minolta Dimage G400. It is small, very easy to use for a beginner, takes good pictures and the camera looks pretty. I friend of mine has it and I have used it. As a basic point-and-shoot it's one of the easiest I've tried.

I've had a Dimage since last July and I just love it -- it's so tiny, there's never any reason not to have it handy to capture hte moment.

Bashful,
Ira is right on. If you aren't going to enlarge prints to 8x10, don't spend a lot on more megapixals. I have a Nikon Coolpix 2.1 (2 megapixal), a Nikon Coolpix 3.1 (3 megapixal), and a Minolta Dimage A1 (5 megapixal). I have taken the same shot with all three cameras and cannot tell the difference when viewed on a 4x6 print. The 2.1 Coolpix was just over $100 US and the A1 was just under a $1000 US.

I really like the Coolpix because you can put it on "Auto" or you can do some really creative stuff with all the optional bells and whistles. You can use AA batteries and it also uses the less expensive compact flash card.

As long as you have a good optical zoom, a 2 megapixal will do just fine. There are lots of deals out there on 2 megapixals as manufacturers are unloading last years models.

here's a question from a digital dummy:

If even standard film these days can be processed into prints and/or a CD or disk, what is the advantage of having a digital camera?

elaine, in the past 30 days, I took well over 1,000 photos. Consider the cost of film and processing.

Other advantages of digital:

1) If you intend to use the photos online, they are ready immediately without your having to have them processed. You can put them on a web site or email them minutes after you take them.
2) You can see immediately if there is a problem with the photo.
3) It is easy to take many additional shots and then delete the ones that do not appeal. I take 2-3 photos for every one I keep.
4) Easy to store and transport.
5) Compact and lightweight cameras

Keith

we bought the cannon s410. i think it was $324. it is teeny tiny and fits in your pocket that you wouldn't know it is there. we also bought a 256mb card. we took about 200 pictures on the card. it has 4.1 megapixels. it takes beautiful pictures. we blew some up to 5x7 and 8x10 printed them at home and they look great. i wouldn't get any more megapixels.

thank you Keith
the digital photos I've seen especially when printed, and taken with a top-of-the-line camera, have a strange quality to me, as if they were enhanced beyond reality. I suppose it's a similar reaction to when some music fans criticized the sound of CDs when they replaced LPs.

Elaine-
I love my P10 Sony Cybershot, it's 3X Zoom, 5 Megapix (which I love because I could tell the diff in the pixel when you stretch it on your comp), easy to use, very durable (I dropped it way too many times and it still works great), very compact (I can fit it into my evening purse), and has cool features that weren't hard to get accustomed to. Check out sony.com or bestbuy.com, their price has gone down since I purchased it, so I dont know how much it goes for now.

Overall, it was an excellent buy for me, and I have been telling people to get it. Good Luck.

Stick with an optics company for your camera: Canon, Olympus, Nikon, Kyocera (Yashicas and Contax), Leica, Konica/Minolta. Don't get a Fuji, Kodak or Sony: Fuji is a film company and its digicams are hit and miss; Sony uses its memory stick for saving the photos, but no other company does (i.e., return of Betamax without superior quality); Kodak's digicams are only so-so.

Check out cnet.com's reviews too. In general, Nikon and Canon fare the best. Canon's ELPH series has small cameras that take good pictures with minimal bells and whistles. If you want to spend a bunch for excellent pics with few bells and whistles, look into the Contax line.

Before you spend a lot of money on a cam, you need to decide what you are going to do with the pics.

Unless you are going to enlarge and frame your photos, you may not need much in the way of megapixels.

It's the photographer that takes the great pics..not the camera.

I used to be involved with high end cameras and darkroom development Many years ago and now use a point and shoot fim camera. I have kept up with computers but not cameras.

I am a digital camera dummy who needs rehab! Do they post the lens quality on digital cameras i.e. 6.0 vs 2.8? Also can these chips be brought to most film finishing stores and put into a kiosk where you can choose and print your photos while you wait? Or what do you do?