Which is the best deal for a digital camera?

Question

I am looking to buy a digicam for thanksgiving for myself. Based on my needs, I guess I would need a 5 MP camera with a memory of about 256MB. There are several products flooding the market and I am confused on which one to choose and from where to buy. Should I go for a Canon or a Samsung or a Panasonic?
Should I base my choice on the cost only as all the brands have various prices with the same specs?
Also which would be the best place to buy one? CircuitCity or Walmart or Office Depot or Target? (these are the only places accessible to me).
Pleasse help me out b4 Black Friday.

Answer 1

Consumer Reports for November 2006 has ranked the Canon Powershot A620 as the best compact digital camera. It is becoming almost a legend for longevity at the top of various consumer lists. It looks like this model has been replaced by the A630, which I would expect to be just as popular. The A640 appears quite similar and shares the "600" series numbering, so I guess it's just another upgraded version of the now-classic A620. It looks pretty much the same except for being a 10 MP camera.

I own a few Nikon DSLR's and I'd buy the Canon A630 or A640 for myself.

The A620 was rated about twice as good as any as far a battery life. I hope the A630 and A640 are just as good. Use Energizer e2 LITHIUM batteries and you will be happy with battery life.

With this camera, you will find the memory card is a cute little token of thanks from Canon, but not much more. Buy a 1 GB Sandisk Ultra II or Extreme III card. You will NEED the increased capacity and write speed to fully realize the benefits of your camera.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=canon_a620%2Ccanon_a630%2Ccanon_a640&show=all

If you want to trim the budget a little, the Canon Powershot A430, A530 or A540, are all great choices. You will need a decent memory card, though. I'd say get at least 512 MB.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=canon_a430%2Ccanon_a530%2Ccanon_a540&show=all

Answer 2

With digital camera prices falling, you can pick up a decent camera for a good price. You should steer clear of proprietory batteries because they are usually expensive to replace and as time goes on the company eventually discontinues making them. Go with cameras that use AA Nimh batteries, because they are cheaper to replace and always available.

I think any type of brand name camera is a good choice. Try it out and see if it feels comfortable. You might want to consider a memory card bigger than 256. With Memory cards also dropping a 2GB card looks more promising.

You might want to purchase at a store where they offer extended warranty. You might not ever need it, but it's nice to have and not need it than need it and not have it. (Did that make any sense?)