Looking for a point and shoot - please help!

[creisinger]

I'm trying to find a little point and shoot that easily fits in a purse (no 200mm optical zoom please...) for around $100 or a bit more. Minimum 6MP. No need for TIFF or RAW (if those things already exist at $100...???)

Preferably Nikon and if worse comes to worse Canon (there I said it).
If there is another outstanding manufacturer that has to be mentioned, please let me hear it.

I'm going bonkers trying to read reviews about these things not knowing who actually wrote them.

Looking forward to your responses!

 

[lamergod]

I've just bought a casio z-90 for 270 Singapore dollars which inturns changes to ard 150 USD yesterday.The camera is full of functions like make-up mode,720p HD recording,spots a 12MP sensor(not sure if it's CCD or CMOS)Loads of functions as I've said,but the optics is quite lousy.Blue fringing at some edges,focus is kind of rubbish.
That being said,I used to own a 600USD casio camera and that was fabulous!Manual mode,f2.8 aperture and all that.

Here are a few brands I've heard are good at compact:
Fujifilm(Fantastic colours from the super CCD)
Canon(Great optics)
Olympus(tough,underwater and shock proof)
Casio(loads of fuctions,easy to use,down to earth menus)
Sony(spots a Carl Zeiss lens,which should means great optics)

 

[creisinger]

Thanks for your feedback!

 

[bigtwinky]

Keep in mind that the image stabilization that Nikon puts on their P&S cameras is a digital IS while Canon puts an optical IS.

Difference is that the digital IS is simply software that is on there that will automatically up your ISO to ensure a faster shutter speed.

Optical IS is true IS.

While there are alot of choices to be made, I think that IS is a key component for a P&S camera. The next thing is price.

Canon A1100 IS - 129.99 at Best Buy
Canon - PowerShot 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Silver - A1100IS

 

[creisinger]

Keep in mind that the image stabilization that Nikon puts on their P&S cameras is a digital IS while Canon puts an optical IS.

Difference is that the digital IS is simply software that is on there that will automatically up your ISO to ensure a faster shutter speed.

Optical IS is true IS.

While there are alot of choices to be made, I think that IS is a key component for a P&S camera. The next thing is price.

Canon A1100 IS - 129.99 at Best Buy
Canon - PowerShot 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Silver - A1100IS

Good call - thanks for that.