I would like to buy a new camera and I was wondering what suggestions you all had.

I've got about $300 set aside. I'm planning on taking it traveling and to concerts mostly, but I would also like it for it to take pictures of reasonable quality in day-to-day situations (hanging out with friends, indoors and out mostly). I'd like for it to be decently small, not necessarily pocket size, but not huge, and for it to have a decently long battery life, something that could last a day traveling or for an entire day of concerts at a music festival.

Thanks for any advice you can give.

No matter what price you say is your limit somebody will come up with a camera that is over it. Fuji recently released a F200 camera that takes great photos in available light. For really great low light capability you have to switch from 12Mp to 6Mp, but a 6Mp shot will make a very nice 8 X 10 print and will be plenty for most use. It has a 5X optical zoom and goes from wide angle to a medium telephoto. I think the price is too high right now, but it will hopefully come down. It is probably the only camera on the market other than a DSLR that would give you the indoor shots you want. And it is reasonably small. The F100 is in your price range, but isn’t a really great low light camera like the new F200.

This is dpreview’s holiday roundup of what they thought were the best available cameras. These are just the conclusions page. The full articles are around twelve pages each and worth reading if any group has a camera you might be interested in.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q408...oup/page13.asp

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q408...oup/page12.asp

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q408...oup/page15.asp

Some of the recommended cameras are well within your price range and some are over. The Panasonic TZ5 is currently in your price range and sounds appropriate for some of your needs. Abe’s has it for $233 and free shipping. And reliable sellers on Ebay have it for around that price with an 8Gb memory card, case and mini-tripod. It has a 10X optical zoom that goes from wide angle to a decent telephoto. It would be great for outdoor daytime music festivals. It has all the bells and whistles and a dynamite 460k three inch LCD. Dpreview gave it a ‘highly recommended” rating and all of the reviews were positive. It isn’t sub-compact size but you can get it in jeans pockets.

Thanks for the response. I will definitely look into those links, but I would also like to refine my conditions a little. I realized that the original ones sort of stress some things that would be nice, but that aren't that important for my final decision.

Of primary concern is the ability to take good pictures outdoors in a variety of lighting conditions over a decent period of time. The size considerations are somewhat secondary and the indoor picture capabilities are of minimal concern, really. I think pretty much any camera worth its salt in the other categories will be more than sufficient for my indoor desires.

I'm also trying to get into photography more seriously, so something with control over the more technical aspects of photography (e.g. shutter/aperture priority) would be nice as well. This is probably of higher priority than the size.

Thanks for the advice so far, and if this clarification helps with any more suggestions, then great!

mizu wrote: Start with a superzoom, which include many of the technical features of digital SLR cameras, but without the size, weight, and cost. The cheap Kodak superzooms (I have 2 of them) are good starter cameras for the potentially serious photographer, but there are manymore upmarket ones as well. You may find that's all you need, and if you get something better later, you'll still have a small lightweight backup.

Good luck!