So you need a digital Camera

I'm not a photographer, but i do very much enjoy photography so we are only going to look at point and shoot cameras. Some day i hope to get more into it. For now, here are some recommendations...

I pretty much only look at canon cameras. To me, they're a brand somewhat like Apple or BMW, nearly everything they make is awesome. Occasionally, they release a bad or sub par product, so, like all technology, you gotta read reviews and opinions about each model being released that you're interested in. That being said, since in general they fall in that rare category of a brand that rarely makes mistakes, if you're lazy you can be somewhat safe with just going to the store and as long as you end up with some canon camera you will be happy. But since you're here, and reading a few more sentences isn't too difficult, i think you will be happy with these choices.


Top choice, the Canon HS 310 $250

Basically you get a a great lens, great sensor for a great price.
This article compares it to its bigger brother the HS 510 and explains a bit why its a good deal

http://www.popphoto.com/gear/2011/08/canon-elph-510-hs-and-310-hs-are-skinny-compact-cameras-lots-zoom

Second Choice is the Canon Powershot s100 $430

This one is pretty pricey, but is at the top of the list of compact cameras. It will produce better pictures than the HS 310. It also has GPS built in, so every photo will be geo tagged.... how awesome is that for the traveler!

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/09/canon-powershot-s100-is-a-low-light-hotshot/

And finally we have the Canon HS 510 $350

this is the upgraded version of the HS 310 i mentioned earlier. As far as i can tell the only advantage you get with this camera is a larger touch screen interface. However, that interface isn't that great and i don't feel the extra cost is worth it. So this is just here in case you gotta have the latest and greatest. In my opinion, once you're spending the $350 for this camera, you might as well get the s100 which is a better camera.

On a final note, the new Apple iPhone 4S has probably the best camera in a smart phone right now. According to early reviews, it just about good enough to replace your point and shoot. So, thats something to consider depending how serious you are about your photos.

http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/11/iphone-4s-review/

Note that he is comparing the iPhone to his canon s95, which was the predecessor to the s100, so thats pretty impressive to say the least. (and who knows how detailed his eye and opinion is) Of course it still won't be as good and will still be horrible in low light conditions.

Also, all these cameras, (including the iPhone) shoot video in 1080p, which besides being awesome, makes me wonder what the future of consumer compact camcorders will be if still cameras can do great (enough?) video.