Ultra-compact |

May

Personal Recommendation for ProGression

ProGression wants an ultra-compact between $200-$250. It is important that the camera has a solid movie mode and a decent wide angle lens

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5S 9MP Digital Camera with 10x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Camera Highlights: High resolution 3" LCD | iA mode - 7 features work together to pick the perfect settings for each shot, includes Auto red-eye removal and image stabilization | 10x Zoom & Wide Angle (28mm) Lens | HD Movie Mode | 400+ Near perfect reviews on Amazon Site

Possible Alternative:

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX500S 10.1MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized ZoomCamera Highlights: 3" Touchscreen LCD | iA mode - 7 features work together to pick the perfect settings for each shot, includes Auto red-eye removal and image stabilization | 5x Zoom & Wide Angle (25mm) Lens | HD Movie Mode

Panasonic dominates the ultra-compact wide-angle market. Especially when you are looking for a camera that also does high quality video. The Powershots in the price range cap video at 640 x 480 - decent but not exciting and some new models from Samsung and Nikon are too new for me to be comfortable recommending them.

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

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May

Personalized recommendation for Robert

Filed under: Recommendations by toby

Robert is looking for an ultra-compact camera that takes great video, has top notch image quality and costs $150.00-$250.00

Sometimes it amazes me the features and quality you can get in a digital camera today around the $200 price point. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35K 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Zoom is an excellent example.

Why this is a great camera for Robert-

Great HD video & options for smaller resolution movies all at 30fps
The FX35 is a true ultra-compact and slimmer than many in its class
Many positive reviews regarding image and movie quality
Scene modes and lots of image options to customize
Nice & Bright LCD Screen on the back for composing/image review

Downsides to this camera? Just two- No manual controls and HD movie clips have a 2GB limit ~8.5minutes. Lowering the movie resolution will allow you to take longer clips.

Buy the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35K 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)

Possible Alternative:

Canon PowerShot SD1100IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Doesn't have HD movies, No wide-angle lens and a little less zoom. It is however an incredibly popular camera with positive reviews to support. And it is cheaper, leaving room in the budget to buy spare cards/batteries.

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May

Personalized Recommendation for Sara

Filed under: Recommendations by toby

Sara wants to spend less than $200 on an ultra-compact camera with top notch image quality, a solid movie mode, decent zoom/wide angle lens and looks fairly stylish to boot.

Canon PowerShot SD890IS 10MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom There are several reason why this camera has been consistently in the top ten bestselling cameras on Amazon for many weeks.

Why this is a good choice for Sara:

10 MP is plenty of mega pixels for printing 8 x10s and even higher
A nice 5x zoom, most cameras in at this price point only offer 3x, a few 4x
A decent(standard) movie mode - 640 x 480 at 30 fps
It's good looking, sleek with nice curves and will slip in a jean's pocket

Buy the Canon PowerShot SD890IS 10MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

Possible Alternative

A strong contender that may even been slightly better. It doesn't have the sales numbers that the 890IS does but the reviews are consistently excellent. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35K 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black) A solid camera with good reviews and is actually a little slimmer than the 890IS

Canon PowerShot SD1100IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Blue) Less zoom and fewer megapixels but cheaper and same form factor/size

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May

Personalized Recommendation for Rocio

Filed under: Recommendations by toby

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)