I'm not looking to spend more than $300 or so, and found a few (reputable) websites selling the following couple of cameras:
1. Pentax Optio A20 (manf. link)
I dig this one because of the manual adjustments I've been reading for this and the overal quality of the camera from what few reviews I've been able to find. Doing a simple search, I haven't been able to find any local retailers that carry it, so as to do an on-site check. It claims to have some really great anti-blur and anti-shake features (including a "Kid" mode for snapping photos of your kid while they run around). I also dig the fact that it makes MPEG-4 DIVX at 640x480.
2. HP Photosmart R967 (manf. link)
My brother has this camera and I liked it a lot, but I did read some negative reviews about its inability to handle low light. I really was impressed by some of the built in features and shooting modes, especially the end-result quality of the built-in red-eye remover.
Various retailers all sell these for under $300 (although the HP is hard to find at an e-tailer that won't tack on sales tax in my area, since it looks to be a Best Buy exclusive).
Has anyone had any experience with these or significantly similar cameras? Any opinions?
I plan mostly using this for portrait and landscape shots, plus shots of my kids playing, sports, etc.. I'd like to use it for shooting SD video. I realize that it's tough to get quality still and video in the same camera, especially at this price point, but my current video camera is a 3-year-old Sony DV8 handicam. 640x360 @ 30fps is pretty decent, though.
1. Pentax Optio A20 (manf. link)
I dig this one because of the manual adjustments I've been reading for this and the overal quality of the camera from what few reviews I've been able to find. Doing a simple search, I haven't been able to find any local retailers that carry it, so as to do an on-site check. It claims to have some really great anti-blur and anti-shake features (including a "Kid" mode for snapping photos of your kid while they run around). I also dig the fact that it makes MPEG-4 DIVX at 640x480.
2. HP Photosmart R967 (manf. link)
My brother has this camera and I liked it a lot, but I did read some negative reviews about its inability to handle low light. I really was impressed by some of the built in features and shooting modes, especially the end-result quality of the built-in red-eye remover.
Various retailers all sell these for under $300 (although the HP is hard to find at an e-tailer that won't tack on sales tax in my area, since it looks to be a Best Buy exclusive).
Has anyone had any experience with these or significantly similar cameras? Any opinions?
I plan mostly using this for portrait and landscape shots, plus shots of my kids playing, sports, etc.. I'd like to use it for shooting SD video. I realize that it's tough to get quality still and video in the same camera, especially at this price point, but my current video camera is a 3-year-old Sony DV8 handicam. 640x360 @ 30fps is pretty decent, though.
