jerirl

To answer your original question, here is a web site that has loads of camera reviews for cameras of all types<BR><BR>http://www.camerareview.com/<BR><BR>Personally, I used 35mm for years, but recently have become a convert to digital. It's just so much fun to see the pictures instantly (&amp; delete the duds) not to mention playing with them afterwards on the computer. The biggest disadvantage is that you can't just stock up on film before a trip. The pictures are stored on memory cards which are reusable, but very pricey.

Lucy_of_Oz

A vote for the seemingly unpopular APS from me! My Canon elph 2 took FANTASTIC photos on my trip to France - I've received many complements from them. The smaller negative size is not an issue for standard sized prints but will be if you want to get enlargements. One of the benefits found on some APS cameras (apart from choice of print size) is the ability to change films mid roll - I loved using this to swap between colour &amp; B&amp;W film so effortlessly! The elph 2 is so tiny too so can easily be put ina pocket &amp; easily whipped out when those 'kodak moments' happen. If you decide to go with 35mm instead I'd probably go for an olympus.

AP6380

any more thoughts?

kaudrey

Hi AP,<BR><BR>Although I don't have a specific camera to recommend, I would like to echo Jim's suggestion to get a camera with a lower zoom (meaning 28mm at the low end vs. 35mm). I just got back from London, and mine was 35mm and my sister's was 28mm. You'd be amazed at how much more you can get in your picture with the 28mm. I'd have to back up quite far to get pictures of tall buildings, such as cathedrals, and sometimes it was impossible to get full shots because there are things in the way (such as more modern buildings across the street).

Kavey

Jor you are quite right that lens quality is paramount.<BR><BR>However Ron is also correct - the number you mention is the aperture - and is not a measure of speed or lens quality.<BR><BR>Shutter controls the duration of the exposure - aperture is a measure of the size of the hole allowing light into the lens.<BR><BR>Some lenses can only open aperture up to 5.6 or so - others can open right up to 2.8 etc. Allowing more light in by opening the aperture up further allows the photographer to choose faster shutter speeds - useful in low light sitations where there is no tripod available.<BR><BR>Generally speaking lenses that allow larger apertures are more expensive but this number is not in itself indication of the quality of the lens.<BR><BR>In any case this is really not very relevant for users of automatic point and shoot cameras. It is something which is much more relevant to photographers who use SLRs and work in Manual or Priority modes.<BR><BR>As mentioned above, the main (but not sole) reason that APS prints are _generally_ poorer than 35mm prints is the reduced size of the negative. Printing a similar size print from APS negatives is effectively what would be considered an enlargement from 35mm film. There is simply not enough resolution on the film to get as good a record of the scene as 35mm. Likewise when comparing 35mm with medium format etc.<BR><BR>Some film processing labs have certainly got more skill than others and can get as much out of APS as anyone but I'd still recommend against it.<BR><BR>What if you take that one image you adore - with APS you won't be able to get a really large print made without serious loss of quality.<BR><BR>I recently had a 35mm image of mine blown up to 14x11 inches - given that I was selecting an area from within the negative and not blowing up the whole image I was seriously impressed with the quality of print achieved.<BR><BR>Anyway, I do not believe there is ever a need for rudeness - surely one can disagree without it becoming a slanging match?

HowardR

Thanks, Kavey. Not only is your information on the mark, but your civility is very welcomed!

julies

I have been very, very happy with my Olympus IS-30. (there is a newer model out with a diferent suffix than 30.) It has a range from 28 to 110. I also purchased an extender that will allow me to zoom to 180. This is considered a &quot;bridge&quot; camera because it is between a point and shoot and a regular 35mm--meaning I can set everything automatically or manually. The only downside is that it is closer in size to a regular 35mm. I can get nice shots of interiors because of the larger aperture even in darker areas, it has a panorama feature, the wide angle allows for great shots, the zoom is more than adequate, there is backlighting for portraits, and it has a marvelous lens quality. I researched long and hard before I bought it 3 or 4 years ago. And, I was looking for a good camera because I was unhappy with the outcome of the photos I'd taken on a European trip. This one has accompanied us on a half dozen trips and been a gem. As i said, it is not pocket size, but it fits easily into my purse or a fanny pack or my husband's &quot;purse&quot;--an Eagle Creek shoulder bag. By the way when I bought this camera, APS was all the rage and I vacillated about buying one of those, but was discouraged because of negative comments from people who really knew photography.

Jim_Tardio

Karvey gives a great explanation. One thing I'd like to add is that a faster lens in a point &amp; shoot camera can be very useful if you turn off the flash. This allows the camera to pick an aperture and shutter speed based on the available (ambient) light, as opposed to just shooting everything with the flash on...which usually sets the camera to a wide-open, default mode. This is true of a slower lens, also, but the speed of a faster lens allows the camera to operate more in the lenses sweet spot, which is usually two stops down from wide open. In other words, it just provides a more useful range.<BR><BR>AP6380, I'd really recommend that you have a look at the Minolta Freedom Zoom Explorer...if you want a zoom model. It gives you a wide angle lens (28mm) to a short telephoto (75mm), it has several flash modes that are quite useful, and it has a panoramic mode. It will also fit easily in your pocket.<BR><BR>Go to www.bhphoto.com for the best price.

Jim_Tardio

A correction: It seems on the current incarnation of the Minolta FZE, they ahve left off the panoramic mode...sorry for the mis-information.<BR><BR>But the good news is that it's about $50.00 cheaper. B&amp;H Photo currently has it on sale for $119.00. Here is the link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bh1.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist _html___203308___MIFZEEXK___REG___CatID=2729___SID =F34B9464C70___call=features#goto_features<BR><BR>