So Many Cameras!

[RachelDenise]

Hi
My name is Rachel, I'm a college student in Texas.
I'm looking for a digital camera. Right now I use a Canon Elph 490Z and I love it to death, but it is becoming expensive.
I mainly take pictures of people and scenery, and use them on web pages and DVDs (slide shows, video clips, etc.) and scrapbooks. An occasional photo may show up in a frame around my room, but never larger than 8x10.
I'm looking for something small and durable, but that can live up to the beautiful panoramic pictures my Elph can produce. It is also a plus if it can record video clips w/ audio, and be able to zoom further, too. (not just digital zoom)
I'm having a tough time deciding, so I knew to come to the experts.
Right now I'm between the Canon Digital Elph and the Olympus Stylus 410.
I even considered a Nikon Coolpix but they look so bulky, same with the Olympus C-765 Ultra Zoom.
Any suggestions are appreciated!
Thanks!
Rachel

[Photo-John]

RachelDenise-
Welcome to the site! There are a lot of cameras and I understand how it can be difficult to make a decision. Since you're used to a Canon ELPH, I think that would be a good way for you to go with a digital camera. The quality will actually be much better with a Canon S400 or S500 than what you're used to with your old APS ELPH. The Olympus would be a good choice, too. We don't have any reviews for the 410 yet, but Olympus makes great digital cameras and the Digital Stylus is a continuation of their proven Stylus film camera line.

I would encourage you to consider one of those "bulky" cameras, though. The reason they're larger is that they have more features and better lenses. The Olympus Stylus Digital 410 and the Digital ELPHs have very limited exposure control. Larger cameras will give you more control and allow you to learn more about photography. I'm not saying that the ELPH isn't a good camera, just that it's limited in some ways. It sounds like even though your current camera isn't anything fancy, you're pretty serious about your photography. Why not give yourself room to grow, improve, and have more control over your photos? The way to do that is to buy a camera with better exposure, flash, and metering options. That may not mean anything to you now. But I bet you'd start to use those tools if they were available to you. And if you don't feel like using them right away, every digital camera has a full auto mode that works just like your current ELPH.

Hope that helps. I like to encourage photographers to step it up. And this is a good place to do it. And when you buy a new camera is a good time to consider expanding the tools that are available to you. Let us know if you have more questions. We're happy to help you spend your money