I got my pentax optio a few years ago and it's great! It cost me £160 but in the shops at the moment you can get the updated and better version for about £75!

I have a sony cybershot 5.1mega pixels and you get great pics with it.
I would reccomend any sony camera.

If you do decide on a known brand it is worth checking prices in the photo department at a bigger Asda, they are often well priced on their limited range and are a good choice for extra memory cards and prints.

If you're not bothered about having the "right" label and aren't in a rush, keep an eye on the weekly specials at Aldi. They do cameras every few months, my godson took one of theirs round Asia on a big student break tour and the photos came back very good considering the conditions he was using it in (and the condition he was in whilst using it!!). The catch is that they aren't regular stock and tend to sell out within a week or so. Another plus is that their returns policy means you can take it home, do some tests and if you're not happy take it back for a refund.

I've been very pleased with my Konica Minolta but they pulled out of the market soon after I bought it, I think the technology was bought by someone else (Panasonic?).

As for batteries, you really do need high powered rechargables. They may cost more to start with but you can see why. When I first got my digital camera I found that supermarket own brand "high energy" were lasting well less than a day, Duracell would last for a long day. I bought a Uniross Sprint charger with their 2300mAh batteries and they last for 2 or 3 days and can be recharged (in 2 hours with this charger) over and over. Don't forget a plug adapter if you're going abroad! My problem now is hotels where all power to the room is cut off when you take the key card out of the slot - you go out for dinner thinking they wil charge up whilst you're out and get back to find nothing happened!

I'm a huge fan of Fuji cameras, they don't "chew" your batteries like other cameras and the pictures are superb. I started out 5-ish years ago with a Fuji 2 megapixel (which was top of the range at the time) and I recently upgraded to a 9 megapixel. The old 2 megapixel model is still handy to have and takes far better pictures than most mobile phones with 2mp cameras and even better pictures than some other brand 4-5mp cameras. This xmas I got this lovely Fuji for my son for xmas, he's delighted with it

I bought THIS camera in June 2006 when it cost £300, as you can see it's now half that price!

It has 10 X optical zoom which is great.

Read reviews HERE and HERE.

Pippy

Have a look at the TZ3 on the same page. This is half the price it was 6 months ago as well. We have been very pleased with it. Pippy is quite right, that Leica 10x lens is wonderful and you can use it for wide angle if you wish.

I'm no good with stuff like that but did buy the kids a Fujifilm Finepix Z10 fd from Asda and they say the pics are good and it's easy to use.Was £129 before Xmas but I haven't checked if it's gone down at all since.

Thanks all so far for the replies. Am tempted so far by the Panasonic TZ3 and have also looked at the Canon IXUS 950 which is a good price on Amazon at the moment.

Any other suggestions would be most welcome. I think the more I look the more confused I get!!!

RP and Pippy

Have read on some review sites that the Panasonic isn't that great for macro close up shots, have you found this to be the case?

I've taken a few using the macro setting (bear in mind I'm a novice!), I'll go and find some...

Ok, I think THIS in macro mode.

Same with THIS, THIS, THIS, THIS, THIS and THIS.

As to whether or not they're any good, haven't got a clue! I was pleased with them though

Pippy

Pippy, many thanks for the photo examples. They look pretty good to me. Still umming and aahing though, have always been very indecisive. Still a choice between the Panasonic and the Canon. Will definately make a decision over the next couple of days...I think! Unless anyone else can put any other ideas forward just to confuse me a little more!

Thanks

Happy New Year

Nic

I bought this just before Christmas.

http://www.cameras.co.uk/reviews/canon-powershot-a720-is.cfm

Its gets good reviews and uses AA batteries, which you can buy anywhere if they run out.
Better still buy a charger with some spare batteries.

It as point and shoot or has many different settings you can try.

Steve, slightly but your problem with the hotel room electricity cutting out when the room is vacated can sometimes be cured by leaving your Tesco clubcard (or other similar non-valuable card) installed when you go out.

As I mentioned in another thread, THIS will be my next camera purchase. It's too expensive for me to consider at the moment but the price is coming down steadily. Currently on AMAZON for £256.

I'm watching and waiting!

Sony and Samsung make the best chips in digital camera's and most of the others use their chips. What I would recommend you don't get a small camera, camera shake will happen because there not much to hold onto, get a camera where you can get a good grip to hold the camera steady.

I would definately recommend a Sony Camera - quality in all areas

I spotted this vivitar recently and bought a couple.

Vivitar 5188

They seem to go through the AAAs (ordinary rechargeables) so I have just bought a set of 1000 s to see how they get on.

However if you couple the purchase from ebuyer with memory sticks or hdmi cables to reach the free delivery trigger, which you have to select as 5 day supersaver but is quite often in a couple of days, it means you get a digital camera for underwater use at less that £32

Thought it was worth bringing to your attention.

Fuji cameras are great- we have one and the still and 'video' are both really good quality. My parents who have professional level cameras are always impressed with the results that we get.

Pam