Help me choose a cheap P&S

[Jesters]

Hey guys,

I'm going on vacation in about a week and would like to purchase a digital camera for this trip. I'm very inexperienced with digital cameras so any purchase advice on things to look for would be greatly appreciated.

If possible I'm looking to spend under $200, thus the 'cheap P&S' . I was leaning towards a cybershot initially either the W180 or W220. I mainly just want to share the photos online and maybe make some smaller print outs, thus salesman at futureshop said MPs probably wouldn't be a huge concern to me as the difference between 8-12 mp would be negligible?

So really any suggestions for a cheap camera under $200, things to look for? to avoid?

Thanks in advance,

[The_Rural_Juror]

Fuji F50fd?

[FiveFreshFish]

For vacation pics, get a camera with a wide lens. like equivalent to 28 mm. You will use the wide-angle range of your camera way more than the telephoto range.

Some P&S cameras don't have a viewfinder so you depend solely on the LCD display. Without an optical viewfinder, the extra space on the back of the camera allows for a bigger LCD. I never use the viewfinder on a P&S; always use the LCD.

If it can shoot videos clips at 30 fps, that would be a bonus. Often, shooting a video clip beats taking a bunch of pics.

For small prints and sharing online, there's no difference between 8 and 12 MP.

Buy a spare battery if the camera takes proprietary batteries. You'll never be caught with a dead camera.

Not sure if you can get optical image stabilization at your price range. Good to have if you can.

Get the smallest camera (dimensionally) that you can. The smaller it is, the more likely you'll take it with you if it can slip into a pocket or purse.

Also consider getting a Gorillapod. It's about $25 and it's the most useful P&S tripod I've ever used.

http://www.tech-styling.com/wp-content/gorillapod.jpg

[clem24]

I personally think the Sony's are great cameras. They are very user friendly, are very fast (biggest selling point for me), have fast flash recycle times, and are built very well. Recently, their latest release in the W series (one of the ones you mentioned, W210 or W220 I think) finally incorporates a wide lens (30mm equivalent). Not extremely wide, but way more useful than their usual 38mm.

I would easily recommend that. I think the 210 has a smaller screen. Personally, I think smaller screens allow you to better grip the camera since there's more surface area on the back to grip, so I usually opt for those. I think cameras with a screen that fills the entire back is rediculous. Absolutely no where to get a good grip on the camera. Looks impressive and makes friends go "WOW" but is an ergonomic nightmare.

[Jesters]

Thanks a lot for your help guys.

With my budget in mind I've narrowed my search down to 2 cameras pretty much the Panasonic Lumix 8.1MP - FS6 and the Sony Cyber-shot 12.1MP - W210. I should be picking one up within the next couple days.

The Panasonic
-8.1MP
-4X Optical Zoom
-2.5" LCD
-33mm-132mm (35mm equivalent)
-Video up to 640x480 @ 30fps

The Sony
-12.1MP
-4X Optical Zoom
-2.7" LCD
-30mm-120mm (35mm equivalent)
-Video up to 640x480 @ 16fps

Chances are I'll take the Panasonic because I might be able to pick one up for only $118.99 + tax

Thanks again!