Ann is looking for a stylish cam that takes good photos and great movies. Budget is $100-150

Casio Exilim EX-Z80 8MP Digital CameraCamera highlights: 8MP | 2.6" LCD | 3x Zoom | Excellent video includes a Youtube ready mode - fit 2 hours on a 2Gb memory card.

Possible Alternatives:

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ10K 10MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Camera highlights: 5x wide-angle optical zoom | 2.5" Intelligent LCD screen | Face Detection | 848 x 480 Movie mode, 30fps | iA mode = a suite of technologies that ensure the best settings for the scene

Canon Powershot A1000IS 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Purple) A little less stylish but hey it's purple. Other camera highlights include 640 x 480 30fps Movie Mode | 10 MP | 4x Zoom | Excellent user reviews | Canon reliability

Sony Cybershot DSCW130/P 8.1MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom with Super Steady Shot (Pink) It's PINK! | 2.5" LCD | 4x Zoom | 640 x 480, 30fps movie mode | Smile Shutter technology takes pics when subject is smiling and Face detection help optimize lighting and focus on subjects faces

If you are not Ann and want your own personalized recommendation

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Samantha is looking for a camera under $200 that is portable, has a big zoom and an excellent movie mode. It should be easy to use too.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4K 8.1MP Digital Camera with 10x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom This camera has excellent near-perfect reviews on Amazon and dpreview.

Why this is a great camera for Samantha:

• Compact enough to easily fit in a small camera bag or jacket pocket.
• 10x Leica zoom with wide-angle coverage out to 28mm
• Several movie modes to select from 640x480/320x240 (4:3) or 848x480 (16:9) all with audio
• Advanced Intelligent Auto (AiA) which consists of 7 technologies that work together to make sure you get the shots you want. Bottom line- Easy to use & get great pictures
• Great Battery life

Buy the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4K 8.1MP Digital Camera with 10x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

If you are not Samantha and you want your own personalized recommendation

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Rocio wants an ultra-compact camera that will allow her to print at very large sizes and has a decent zoom. The camera needs to look good while doing this and cost ~$150.

Camera prices have fallen while features and quality have increased. Case in point is the new Olympus FE-5010 12MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Dual Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7 inch LCD

Why this is a good choice for Rocio:

• Three colors to choose from including Plum
• 5x zoom in a slim camera
• 12MP will let you print Ginormous (20" x 24") high quality prints

At this price point you do make some sacrifices. This camera is not speedy, it takes a few seconds to turn on and the time between shots is a little on the slow side. Not a huge difference from other digital cameras at this price point. Battery life is also on the low side; depending on how many photos you might shoot in a day, more than 180, you might want to buy a spare battery but that does cost another ~$30 (Olympus LI-42B Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery)

Buy the Olympus FE-5010 12MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Dual Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7 inch LCD (Plum)

Possible Alternatives:

Canon PowerShot A480 10 MP Digital Camera with 3.3x Optical Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Deep Red)

• Comes in Red
• 10 MP
• 3.3x Zoom
• Uses 2 AA batteries

Canon Powershot A1000IS 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Purple)

• Comes in purple- which looks like purple/grey to me
• 10 MP
• 4x Zoom
• Uses 2 AA batteries

Nikon Coolpix S560 10MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Zoom with 2.7 inch LCD (Graphite Black)

• 10 MP
• 5x optical Zoom-Nikkor glass lens; Optical VR Image Stabilization
• Auto adjusts up to ISO 3200; Shutter and Blink Warning

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• 8MP
• Face Detection, Intelligent ISO, Intelligent Scene Selector & quick AutoFocus
• Easy mode and Full Manual Control

A excellent camera at a very nice price. 5x zoom with optical image stabilization and intelligent ISO combine to give you blur-free photos. Face detection and scene selectors insure that the camera settings are are correctly matched to your subject(s). And finally a really nice wide-screen movie mode at 30fps, something you don't see in other cameras at this price. This camera has excellent reviews and if you use a set of good rechargeable batteries(see note below) you can get nearly 500 shots on a pair If you have someone that is trying to learn photography this camera is not a terrible place to start as it offers full manual control.

A solid performing camera at an excellent price.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ8K 8MP

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