I'm looking to get a digital camera (most likely the pocket kind).

Aiming at the 300-400 pricerange, but of course lower is better, but higher is also possible if its *really* good.

Generally most concerned with stationary picture quality, but would like one that can do shots of things moving as well.

Battery life is also important.

I'm not overally concerned with extra features, or software packages, as long as its easy to take the picture out of the camera.

Any Suggestions?

Thanks in Advance

Make sure to factor in either a) disc space or picking up a card for storage into your price as well.

I wasnt looking at moving pictures so I was looking at 6mp's and about 3x zoom. Was going to either make sure the media player I purchased could store pics or get a 2 gig card myself.

You can check out newegg for some decent reviews on digital cameras once you narrow down your search a bit.

I would suggest a lower end digital SLR.

Of course this is out of your price range, 500-1300.

The Canon(30D, newer version of 20D) is the fastest camera in this range. And has a hundred different lenses one may use. Shutter speed is fastest, as well as CCD to memory transfer.

The Olympus is lighter and less expensive.
inolta is too heavy for my tastes, and slow shutter speed.

The problem with low end digital cameras is that they all will take great images if they are on a tripod. But have any slight movement of unit, and you will get tell tale digital streaking. Much more pronounced than film cameras.

You need to actually shoot the camera to see it, or hopefully NOT see it. You will not see this characteristic on any feature or stat sheet on your prospective camera. But you will see it on your images.

There are tons of decent snapshot type cameras in the $200-400 range, usually loaded with gizmos and features, including simple movie capability. The picture quality is obviously not going to match a good quality SLR, but that's not what you're looking for. Take a look at Nikon's Coolpix line, and look at www.dpreview.com for some good in-depth reviews.

I usually look for good price and then good features. However, once I find a good deal, I normally look up the camera on www.megapixel.net to see how they rated it.

I have used a digital camera to document field conditions and have a reference picture. 5MP is about all you need for "normal" pictures. An optical (mechanical not digital) zoom is desirable for high quality long distance pictures. The next feature I would look for would be a low light sensor for the flash. This feature allows you to take a picture in near dark conditions with the use of the flash.

The last feature is battery usage. I used one digital camera where I had to change 4 AAA batteries every 4 pictures or so. I had to literally carry 32 batteries with me to finish my job.

One thing to look for on Digital Camera is the Zoom feature. That is if you go for an all in one over a D-SLR. Many cameras tout very large zoom features, but the real number to look for is the Opticle Zoom, anything else is just software trickery.

To be honest, I'm with Fyyr on the D-SLR route. I just picked up the Nikon D-50. It's definately out of the price range listed, but the camera body and a reasonable lense will run no more than $599.
http://www.ritzcamera.com/product/SLR1133.htm

If Ritz sells it for that price it shouldn't be too difficult to find one for much cheaper. If you can find the same kit for $500 to $550 It is definately worth going for. Just don't forget to pick up a $12 1A-UV filter to protect your lense.

Like I mentioned, I just picked one up myself. It's an absolutely fantastic camera. It replaced my Minolta DiMage Z3. Features that make this camera great are:

-It uses standard SD media.
-Very large LCD display on the back.
-An outstanding built in flash.
-HUGE battery life. I took it to a wedding recently with a partially charged battery. I took over 100 photo's and the battery still had most of its charge left.

Just be aware that there are a couple of things you can't do with Digital SLR's. No Digital SLR is capable of doing video clips. You can't frame the shot using the LCD. It's only for controlling the camera and reviewing photos.

Even with those limitations, D-SLR is just so much more flexible than any all in one. I haven't touched my older camera since I got the d50. Here's a review with more info:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond50/

SLR cameras are not pocket cameras. That was in the original post:
(most likely the pocket kind)
If portability is your most important factor, SLR is not going to work. They're big, like traditional cameras. They're big because they need the extra facilities to hold the lenses, flash mountings, etc. They're aimed more toward the professional end of the spectrum than the point and click digital cameras that fit in your pocket.

But, you trade off convenience for quality, like the above posters implied. Given the same technology, the smaller the camera, the worse (on average) the picture quality.

Of course you're going to see deviations in quality among different makes and models, but it's a rule of thumb. I got a Minolta Dimage X1 8mpixel camera and it's slow and blurry, and I regret getting it, but it was one of the smallest available at the time, and had the highest mpixel count.

Profession quality digital SLRs start in the 4K range.

Personally, I am happy with my cell camera for pocket, quick, down and dirty use. It is almost always with me.

I was saving for the 20D Canon but had to spend the investment on auto repairs. As mentioned the Nikon is a good SLR to look at, I forgot to include it.

Profession quality digital SLRs start in the 4K range.


Nah, the camera's themselves are much cheaper than that these days. The D70 is considered "professional" and is under the 1K mark. The 10.5 megapixel d200 is around $1700. Only the 12+ megapixel stuff, which is overkill for most photo uses, including professional, is in the 4K range. The D50 is pretty close pro level as well. But, it's missing a few features that would really put it in that category, but many pro's recommend carrying a d50 as a backup.

Glass, on the other hand is insanely expensive for professional quality lenses. "fast glass" is just nuts. You can get a consumer 17 to 55 zoom for $150, but add a few extra f stops and that same zoom would rocket up to $1600.

But as kalth pointed out, It sounds like he's looking for a "pocket" digital camera. There are definately some nice ones out there. I would avoid konica/minolta at this point. They just recently announced that they are dropping out of the camera market all together and will be focusing (sorry about the pun) on office technologies.

I would never recommend a DSLR to someone uninterested in photography and just wanting some decent snapshots in a small package they can carry around in a purse or pocket. They are big, expensive, and lack most of the gizmo features of the pocket cameras (e.g., video capability, framing the image on the LCD, wireless networking, and so on). If you don't know how to take advantage of an SLR, you won't get much more out of it anyway, and you'll be annoyed at the lack of convenience features.

I would not consider any camera with less than a true 35mm CCD, professional.

But that is just me, I am not a professional; so what do I know.

I don't even own a camera yet. So I don't mind getting good infos here, either.

I would never recommend a DSLR to someone uninterested in photography and just wanting some decent snapshots in a small package they can carry around in a purse or pocket. They are big, expensive, and lack most of the gizmo features of the pocket cameras (e.g., video capability, framing the image on the LCD, wireless networking, and so on). If you don't know how to take advantage of an SLR, you won't get much more out of it anyway, and you'll be annoyed at the lack of convenience features.

I did mention the LCD framing and video being feature, but While they certainly are bigger, they aren't that big. The d50 is smaller than my old 35mm nikon. If all you want are snapshots, then a pocket camera is fine, but, I have found that zooming with a basic D-SLR lense to be much easier than on my all in one and typically results in a much better photo. I also have found that the CCD in D-SLRs to be, far and away, better than any but the most expensive pocket cameras. And at that price, you are pretty near the cost of D-SLR. with a D-SLR in automatic mode they are extremely simple to use and will still get you a better photo.

In practice the only feature I miss from my all in one is the video abilities. I always found framing the photo in the LCD to be a PITA. At least outdoors where bright sunlight causes you to use the viewer anyway.

I did forget to mention one thing that applies to buying a camera (non-slrs) and it's definately worth mentioning. Make sure that the optics are actual glass and not plastic. Some lower end cameras use polycrapinate lenses and the image quality is noticable between glass and plastic. Typically not a problem with names like Canon, Nikon but some of the lesser brands use it to cut costs.

I would not consider any camera with less than a true 35mm CCD, professional.Why? Just because 35mm happened to be the predominant film size in the past doesn't mean the digital sensors must be the exact same size to compete. All other things being equal, a smaller sensor is much better than big one, because you can design smaller, lighter, and cheaper lenses with the same quality (e.g., compare DX lenses for digital with regular full frame lenses).

any (maybe most?) professionals today use APS digital. It saves a ton of time and money, makes for easy post-processing, and takes a lot of guesswork out of complicated shots. Looking at the improvement in digital sensor quality over the years, it's getting harder and harder to rationalize old-style film.

with a D-SLR in automatic mode they are extremely simple to use and will still get you a better photo.If all you're going to do with an SLR is put it in auto mode and take snapshots, you don't need it. It's like buying a top of the line gaming system just to read e-mail.

The newer pocket cameras are much better than they used to be. I tested one that was about the size and weight of a flattened pack of cigarettes and cost maybe $250, yet ~5 megapixel with pretty good quality. The average person taking a snapshot isn't going to notice the difference, but they will notice the size, weight, convenience, and price difference.

Thanks for the advice all.

That websites for reviews are espcially helpful.

Video isn't really a big concern, if it has it, its a bonus, but really.

Really its a combination of Portability/Picture Quality (and battery life) that concerns me the most.

I prefer for the most part for the camera to just "work," but ability to change settings before taking pictures for more customization for special shots is nifty.

I've been leaning towards the Canon PowerShot SD700 IS so far, it seems to be a pretty good combination, at a decent price.

Again thanks for the advice all...

I bought a Canon Powershot A530 this summer. I wanted something cheap so I wouldn't feel bad when I broke it, but still takes decent pictures. I am more then happy with the camera. It was about $280 and then $40 for a huge memory card.

I've taken a little more than 500 pictures, all of which fit on the 1g memory card, copied them to my computer, shown them to friends on the camera and I am still on the same 2AA batteries that the camera came with. I'm a fan of using AA batteries and carring extra instead of being worried about if my camera is charged. AA batteries are sold about everywhere anyway.

I think it takes good pictures. http://home.comcast.net/~oddjob1244/fullsize.jpg (it's about 2 megs in size 56k warning) Although I'm no professional and I'm sure one will point out everything that's wrong with that image. So I'll leave it up to your opinion.

I don't treat it very good and it's put up with a lot of punishment. It's been to the top of 3 mountains and through the sand and rocks of southern Utah. I've dropped it, smashed it, kicked it, and slid it down a glacier and it still works. So pretty sturdy.

If you're not into SLR I think it's a fantastic point and shoot.

$40 for a huge memory card.A side note: if you want a fast and CHEAP SD card, Newegg sells Ridata 150X cards for $17 for 1Gb or $32 for 2Gb. They're nearly as fast as the top-of-the-line Lexar and Sandisk models but about 1/3 the price.