Sony and "memory stick", yuck. Stick with a camera that uses SD cards, cheaper and much more useable in other mediums.

Mike, I got the Admiral a Canon SD750 for Christmas – she loves it – easy to use – takes great pics – found it for $219 thru Circuit City online (and picked it up at the local store). If I had wanted to go as high as $300, I would have gotten the Canon SD870IS.
My daughter (13 yo) bought the Fuji Z10 for $179 and that also seems to be a great camera.

I think you can't beat the canon point and shoots. You just need to decide on whether you want a really small thin one or the larger one with a bit better optics.

I really like my Canon A540. It's a year old model, but works perfectly for most of the time.

One feature that I like that they seem to have dropped from some of the Canon's is the Panoramic mode - you can take several overlapping photos in a row, and the panorama software will stitch them together for you automatically. I've taken some really neat photos that way.

Don't get too hung up on megapixels. The difference between 6 MP and 10 Mp is really not very much, and almost unnoticable in picture quality, and not worth paying more for - The camera companies have conditioned us to watch for it - but other features are much more important.

I had a quick look at that Fuji Z10 in the store. As minimalist camera designs go, that thing is really elegant! Would be tempting as a carry-at-all-times cam.

Kelly

I really appreciate the ongoing input... no final decision yet. I looked at a couple of the Canons yesterday but they didn't have all the candidates in stock to touchy feely with.

Know what you mean about trying to find specific models. When I was in my WalMart I did not see a single Panasonic there! Also agree, emphatically, that the touchy feely evaluation is very, very important. The Canon SD1000 looks VERY good in the reviews. But in person the dull finish on the case made it look like a 3rd world product ...

Kelly

PS - More play in aisle 13, this time at Target. I will be the first to admit that this is a very superficial thing to pick on. But during a fast zoom the Canon, Fuji, and Panasonic jobs would all "bloom" way out of focus, then refocus when you stopped the zoom. Sony held focus during a zoom. I did not check all the different brands for this. Now back to your regular programming ....

Recently, I have been looking at the Kodak Z812IS 8.2MP camera as a higher resolution and 12X optical zoom replacement for my current DX6490. (Which takes great pictures) I don't particularly care for the look of the flat ones, and I like the higher zooms available with a slightly thicker shape.

You can find it on the BestBuy.com website for details. It was about $250 a few weeks ago.

I agree with the comments about Sony hardware. I have had a couple of disappointments with them lately and the fact that they use those memory sticks is a turnoff since everything else uses SD cards.

I think the winner is...




Not the perfect camera, and not as small as what I've become accustomed to. But, having a little more zoom available will be nice. For an all-around use camera I think it's a good choice. I think it strikes a good balance between features, image quality, price, and size. I'm also thinking a lot about a comment someone made awhile back (I think it was Al) regarding the fact that digicams are still "growing up;" image quality and overall size will be in a whole new class in a couple of years, so unless you just feel like throwing money out the window it's probably best (in the P&S class) to keep to a reasonably priced unit.

One thing I realized is that in all the talk about some P&S' being "really small" and others being "larger," they're ALL tiny given their capabilities. While the 720 looks large compared to my Casio (due in part to the shape IMO), it still fits in the palm of my hand. How much smaller do we want them to be?

If anyone feels compelled to scream out, "Nooooooooooo!!!!" you have about 3 hours to do so before I order it.

Thanks again to all for your input, it was VERY helpful.

Get at least a 1G SD card or more, and some rechargeable AA Batteries and charger.

Rechargeable batteries should be rated at least 2300 mAH or more.

Good luck. I have an A630 now and an older A80 lying around here somewhere. I like the Canon A-series cameras.

No complaints here. I got the A720 as a Christmas present. I love it so far.

I've been using Powerex high-caps for several years and will order another set for this. I charge them in a Maha 8-bank charger. I use these in my GPS, 2-way radios while boating, other radio equipment, etc. They're great.

As to cards, I've got a couple of 2GB cards, but I'll pick up an SDHC card for this.

Same ones I use. Sounds like you're set!

As a Canoncaholic you get a huge thumbs up from me. Wish my fancipants S3 had that optical viewfinder. The only thing about the A-series I don't cotton to is the, err, styling. Everything else about them is terrific.

Kelly

I agree about the styling, but it was clear I wasn't going to get everything. It isn't bad, it's just a bit dated looking. When they can get the capabilities of cameras like the A series into the models the size of the SD series, we'll be closer.

Nice camera Mike. That should do a nice job for you. We have several Canon's around the house, My SLR and a couple of P&S models. All are film cameras however.

Now let's see some pictures !