a good point-and-shoot camera for a gift

[luckyducky]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and very new at camera purchases, but I'd really like to buy one as a gift for my boyfriend. I've done a lot of googling, and I've been finding that Canon's Powershot SD1300 is perhaps the most popular/highly-rated-by-users camera out there. Here is what I am mainly looking for:

- my budget is under $200
- not really meant to be used by someone with an intense interest in photography or professional background... it's more for a college student to use on a daily basis for a typical point-and-shoot purposes. something that takes fairly high-res pictures (and not blurry) in general, and something that takes good pictures even in low-light settings.
- a nice, sleek design that can fit in a pocket (ie. not something that looks like Sony Cybershot DSC-H5)
- perhaps a minor point (and something I am not really knowledgeable about) but a camera that uses the same memory card as Canon's Powershot SD1300 is also important... as I understand it, Sony's cameras use a different "kind"??

Is there any other option besides the Canon Powershot SD1300, or is this probably my best bet given the things I'm looking for?? Is there any other camera qualification that's important that I'm forgetting? Thanks for the help!

[Photo-John]

I think the Canon SD PowerShots are a good way to go. They are designed for the kind of use you describe - straightforward point-and-shoot photography. The new Sonys use SD cards as well as the Memory Stick format. But I'm not sure you'll find a new one in your price range. Besides Canon, I would also recommend Fujifilm, Sony and Panasonic. Canon generally has the best image quality but I like Panasonic's features and camera design a lot. Fujifilm and Sony fall somewhere in-between.

As for the Canon SD1300 IS, I think it's probably a fine choice. I don't have any hands-on experience with that camera but I've generally been pleased with the Canon SD cameras and that is an "IS" model. The IS stands for Image Stabilization. I think that's a critical feature and I would recommend not buying a camera that doesn't have it. All Panasonic cameras have image stabilization and some Fujifilm cameras do. With Panasonic you don't have to look in the specs to find out since they don't make any without it. With the other camera makers I'd make sure any camera you buy has image stabilization - and not "digital image stabilization." That's ok but it's not the same thing and not a replacement for optical or other forms of mechanical image stabilization that compensate for camera shake.

[pixelmantis]

I would suggest the Panasonic compacts, their user interface seems to be mroe intuitive based on friends' feedback. I also fidn the Panasonics better cos they have better video recording options.