Preferred camera??

[Craig123]

Canon and Panosonic pretty much dominate the compact camera market. Either of their top models would be excellant choices.

[RockRobster]

Canon and Panosonic pretty much dominate the compact camera market. Either of their top models would be excellant choices.

I'm not sure how to respond to this except to disagree. Sony, Olympus, and Fuji are major players in top-end point/shoots. You forgot the big dog on the block...NIKON. How could you think that Canon and Panasonic dominate and not consider NIKON?

Either of Canon or Panasonic's TOP models are going to set you back MAJOR bucks, but at least Panasonic has better lenses on their top shelf gear. I've had very bad luck with the bulky, temperamental, battery-sucking Canon point/shoots. YMMV. My last Canon POS p/s fell victim to some 00buckshot...on purpose.

Remember, it is almost all in the lens. There is something to be said for a great processing engine...but it can only do so much. Look for quality lens for quality shots. Here are some reasonably priced, great lensed cameras:

1. http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-Sens...607055-4126413

note the Leica lens...

2. http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Cyber-Sho...2952853&sr=1-4

Note the Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens

These are just a couple of choices. Remember...look for the fastest lens you can afford, i.e. the lowest f-stop potential. Minimum acceptable optical zoom is 5x. Digital zoom is not only meaningless, it is deceptive. Olympus cameras less than $300 are real junk. Above that, real beauty. I don't understand that marketing strategy....

Oh, Nikon makes pretty good lenses....I just feel you are paying a big premium for the name.

There are no cheap point/shoots with decent lenses. That's because fast lenses cost $$$$.