A note about Mega Pixels (MP). No longer should you choose one camera over another because it has more MP. Recently some camera manufacturers have reduced the number of MPs in order to increase low light performance. The SD400 and S90(both listed below) are two 10MP cameras that offer excellent low light performance for a P&S.

Super Budget
Panasonic Lumix LZ8K 8MP 5x Zoom Lots of features, easy to operate and image quality is excellent.

BudgetCanon PowerShot SD1300 IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Silver) Lacks some of the frills of the other cameras but provides the Powershot reliability and excellent image quality in a variety of situations

Mid Level
Panasonic Lumix ZS7 12 MP 12x Zoom 3.0-Inch LCDHuge Zoom, HD video recording and excellent image quality in a form factor that slips into a pocket.

Between these twoCanon PowerShot SD4000 10MP 3.8x ZoomVery similar to the S90 below but with HDvideo. You lose the slick control scheme and a tiny bit of low light performance. But if you are looking for a traditional P&S form factor with excellent quality in video and stills this camera is hard to beat!

High end
Canon PowerShot S90IS 10MP 3.8x Zoom Extremely high quality images with very little noise, even at higher ISOs, almost DSLR like quality. Genius control scheme lets you have as much or as little control over manual shooting.

Hope this helps and please let me know if you have any questions.

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• 10.1 MP & RAW File format
• 2.5x wide-angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized lens
• 3.0-inch high-resolution LCD screen
• HD video capture
• Manual control options

This camera is consistently mentioned as one of THE BEST point and shoots you can buy. DPReview.com Highly recommends the camera based on its image quality and lower light performance. The noise levels are very low and almost rival some DSLRs. The wide lens plus the maximum aperture of f2.0 allows for great low light performance. Overall reviewers at both DPReview.com and Amazon are very pleased with the image quality. With the ability to capture RAW images and full manual control you have an almost DSLR like camera without the bulk. However, it is still a point and shoot, and a slightly bulky one at that so you will get noisy images at the higher ISOs and you are stuck with a lens with a fairly small amount of zoom (2.5x)- The majority of complaints concern the lack of zoom.

When you look at image quality and performance this is one of the best, if not the best point & shoot cameras you can buy.

Buy the Panasonic DMC-LX3K 10.1MP

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• 14.7 MP
• 5x zoom and moderately wide angle lens
• Complete manual controls and RAW file format
• 3.0 inch LCD screen
• Excellent movie mode

The Canon G series has a strong history of excellence and the G10 continues the tradition. The G10 is marketed toward the advanced amateur, someone who enjoys having complete control over the creative process of using their camera. The ability to shoot in the RAW format and to be able to add an external flash like the Canon Speedlite 270EX Flash makes the camera a very powerful tool. Despite the wealth of features it remains an easy camera to use and work with. If you are moving up from a lower class point & shoot this camera will be a huge upgrade.

For the 96% of you on this site, this camera will be a fantastic and impressive camera to own and use. The other 4% need to just go ahead and buy a DSLR.

Buy Now!

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