unrelated to audio- digital camera buffs please


sorry for the unrelated to audio thread, but I need some quickly dispensed advice on buying a digital camera, preferably less or way less than $300 for a upcoming vacation. it needs to be compact, good battery life & best pic quality possible. My wife already has a Fuji S5200 that way too big & complicated for a luddite like me. she said we already have fine pix viewer on our computer (whatever that is & buy a Fuji, it'd be compatible w/that). it will be carried on a motorcycle & see some harsh treatment based on where I'm headed. (Oregon & burningman so you get the picture) thanks & cheers!
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Showing 1 response by jebe1

Rugged and compact usually don't go together so I can't speak to how durable a digital point and shoot will be on a motorcycle. Also, the Fuji S5200 goes to 380mm so you won't get that kind of zoom range in a compact digital camera. But if you are interested in a compact with a wide angle zoom, you might consider the Canon SD800IS which goes for about $300. It has a wide angle zoom from 28mm-105mm and has image stabilization.

This camera just became obsolete this week with the introduction of the Canon 870IS which I don't believe is available yet. Still, you might be able to get a good deal on the SD800IS. You can read a review on SD800IS from Ken Rockwell here.

You can read Ken Rockwell's other suggestions here.

If you need a little bit longer zoom, the Canon SD850IS goes from 35mm-140mm, but I find the wide angle 28mm much more useful than the zoom of 140mm. You can read Ken's review here.