Digicam $160 - $330: Canon A70/SD100, Fuji Finepix 210, or 4 MP Canon/Nikon?

[DaveSimmons]

I'm a digicam n00b looking for a nice point-and-shoot replacement for my ancient Olympus stylus 35mm.

In last week's YACamT camera gurus like RossMAN recommended the Canons for under $300 (and S400 for $330).

So, for 3.2 MP, do the Canons really take better pictures than the $100 cheaper Fuji Finepix A210?

Or if I talk myself into 4 MP, is the new Canon PowerShot S45 a better amateur camera than the Canon S400 and Nikon Coolpix 4300?

 

[DaWhim]

go to bestbuy and look at the size of s400 and a210, you will know where the $60 went. another $40 went to the pic quality and reputation.
if you are going to get s45, why not get s400? it is smaller too.

 

[RossMAN]

Take a minute to read Dave's Picks.

Pick 5 or so digicams you are interested in then go to their digicam comparison guide, select the digicams by holding down CTRL and clicking on each one. After clicking the Compare button, some have sample photos you can view and compare side by side to judge with your own eyes which you think has the better quality.

Bang for your buck wise the Fuji A210 is hard to beat.

I would also look at the Canon PowerShot SD100 which is an awesome compact point and shoot digicam. If you can wait a week or two, OfficeMax.com may have it on sale as a bundle with FREE media.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Those test shots at Imaging-Resource really help -- to my n00b eye the Canon SD100 does do a better job than the Fuji A210 on most shots, though not necassarily a $100 better job. For 4 MP the Canon S400 & S45 also looked better than the Nikon 4MP and much better than the 3.2 MP cameras.

Now I just have to decide between OK-and-cheap for $153 (Fuji) or spend twice as much for a Canon 4 MP S400 or S45.

 

[RossMAN]

Ask yourself if you plan on PRINTING a lot of pics?

Most people use a digicam, view the pics online, send e-mail, post them on a web site or save on their hard drive.

If you do plan on PRINTING a lot of pics then go for 4MP or higher.

Nikon, Olympus and Pentax are also good choices.