pls help me pick a compact digicam

[rigel]

I've been spending so much time looking for the right camera, my head is starting to spin

I have a 7-month old baby that I want to take a million pictures of and be able to e-mail to relatives abroad, so I've decided to get a digicam.

Please help me!

My preferred specs below:

- $300 or less
- compact to sub-compact
- at least 4Mp [3.2Mp OK]
- at least 3x optical zoom
- good image quality [at least 6 on scale of 1 to 10]
- can use AA batteries [2 preferred; with batteries & charger included in the sales package?] --> very important! no proprietary batteries please!
- good battery life
- some manual control although not totally necessary [white balance, ISO, maybe focus, aperture priority... to give me some room to "grow" in my photo skills ]
- fast start-up and minimum shutter time lag
- AF assist preferred but not totally necessary
- usage: family shots, some landscape, some indoor, occasional action shots [kids at play]
- will mostly print in 4R [4"x6"] but would like the option to print good images up to A4 [portraits] or option to crop; e-mailing
- preferably SD/MMC
- A/V out

Some of my current considerations (cons in parenthesis):
- Casio QV-R61 (no AV out; questionable lens quality) - note: I can get this for less than $300, and it includes 2 AA NiMH and charger, so you can see how attractive it is
- Nikon CoolPix 3200 (too simple? very little manual controls)
- Nikon CoolPix 4100 (too simple? very little manual controls)
- Canon A510 (slow shutter lag?) --> EDIT: I've just read a few more reviews of this and have realized just how good the features are -- full manual controls at such a low price! [$199 MSRP]; this may be the camera I'm looking for! [no rechargeable batteries in the box though ]
- Canon A520 (slow shutter lag? above my budget?)

Is Kodak any good when it comes to digicams? The only reviews I've read of them give mediocre to average ratings. Maybe the new models are better?

I've been wondering if there was a website that had a sort of comprehensive database that would help me pick a digicam by simply ticking off the specs that I wanted. dcresource.com has something like it, but the database isn't very exhaustive.
Sorry for the long post, but I need all the help I can get.

Thanks in advance for any and every suggestion! ;)

[trog100]

dont dismiss kodak just cos they are kodak..

trog100

[rigel]

dont dismiss kodak just cos they are kodak..

trog100

I don't. Like I said, most [if not all] of the Kodak digicam reviews I've read don't give very impressive ratings. Maybe if I wait a little, newer reviews of newer models will be better.

[almo]

I don't. Like I said, most [if not all] of the Kodak digicam reviews I've read don't give very impressive ratings. Maybe if I wait a little, newer reviews of newer models will be better.

What are you talking about? Kodak gets great reviews. You must not be looking in the right places or at the good modles. Every major camera manufacturer out there makes at least a few crap cameras, and most of them Kodak included make very good cameras as well.


Here is just one of many good websites for digital camera info:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Kodak/

Now I put up the Kodak page on purpose, but you can find practicly every digital camera out there today on this site.

Plus you can look at our own Digicam Reviews here on PR.com

Don't dismis an entire company just because of a few bad reviews. Remember my friend opinions are like sphincters, everybody has one and they all stink!

Also also if you have a memory card of your own already I would go and try the camers I am interested in to see just how good they are. That way you have some pics that you can take home and compare to others from other cameras.

Godd luck!