Camera Suggestions

[sarahsmf21]

Yes, I know, it’s still a little 3 months until Christmas, but my birthday is also 3 months away, and since I’ve worked it out with my parents to have a combo gift this year, I’m trying to decide what/which to get. I’ve already decided that I want a new camera, but now to decide which to ask for ;)

Looking at:

1. Sony Cyber-shot DSCH50 9.1 MP
2. Kodak Easyshare Z812IS 8.2MP
3. Canon PowerShot A590IS 8MP
4. Canon PowerShot SX100IS 8MP

I currently have a Nikon Coolpix L4 4MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom which I love, but the poor thing has been to hell and back, .

The rubberband is what holds the batteries in, . It fell of an end table at Mark and Julie’s, during the bridal shower and has yet to recover. In fact, our rechargeable batteries are still under the couch, I think ;) Besides that, it loads slowly, and the zoom sucks. I love taking sky pictures, and shots of my kids, but when I have to wait up to 20 seconds for the camera to flash? That’s the loss of 3 or 4 good pictures, and I usually end up with one I toss anyway. Does not work for me.

I’d rather not spend more than $250 for it. That’s my parent’s budget. If I have to pitch in $50, I think we can finagle that. So, a max budget of $300. If it’s one I can find at Best Buy or Walmart (or Target), that’ll be even better.

Biggest requirements:
No less than 8mpx. I’ve got a 4 now. Doubling it would be nice, since I know that a 2mpx compared to a 4mpx is a dramatic difference.
Adjustable flash settings. Okay, not completely required but nice to have.
The ability to not have blurred crap pictures if I turn off the flash manually. That’s my biggest complaint with the CoolPix I have right now.