The number of pixels / megapixels / MP of current decent cameras are basically insignificant until you're doing wall size posters or very extreme cropping.

Type Make Model Price Dimensions (cm) ISO Notes Date
DSLR Canon 40D $1,383 14.6 x 10.8 x 7.4 = 1166.2cm^3 3200 (pushed 1600) I am a Canon whore. They make great stuff, but they're stingy about features, like water-proofing and ISOs. I tried really hard to go with another company. Everyone agrees Nikon has the best interfaces. I believe Pentax gives you the most with your dollar, but I had a couple concerns with the K10D. The K20D was announced on 1/24/08. These use CF cards. The Canon Digital Rebels are a less expensive excellent option. Above the 40D line gets very expensive. My journal posts on the subject:
Canon vs. Nikon vs. Pentax
Boston fireworks / I chose Canon over Pentax. (second half of post)
2008-01-24
Ultra-Compact Canon SD1000 $212 9.2 x 5.7 x 2.0=104.9cm^3 1600 I recommend the smallest line canon makes, in the latest model under $250 shipped.
Note the SDxxx line basically comes in two sizes, the larger of the two (SD700, SD800, SD900, etc.) are generally 1.3x larger and 1.4x more expensive without features to justify it. The SD1100 was announced on 1/24/08.
The Fujifilm F30 (below) is so much better in low light that I'm not sure it wouldn't be my first choice. (this may be out of date)
2008-01-24
Low Light (high ISO) Fujifilm FinePix F30 Zoom $250 9.3 x 5.7 x 2.8=148.4 3200 Not quite the quality or compactness of Canon but much better low light performance.
"...the F30 has a similar level of noise (and detail) at ISO 800 to the SD 700 IS at ISO 200. Very, very impressive." - dpreview.com
2007-01-10
Economy Canon A530 $137 9.0 x 6.4 x 4.3=247.6 800 Uses two AA batteries. Cheapest Canon I can find. It seems by the time the price of a Canon drops a lot it becomes unavailable. Still a great camera
Get whatever digital Canon you can for the least money, they're all great. The A530 is just the most likely.
2007-01-10


"Olympus FE-250 - boasts ISO 10,000" - January 2007
"Olympus SP-550 UZ: 18x ultra zoom" - January 2007
Pentax also announced 2 ISO 3200 compacts
GM brand cameras look like they will be interesting.

Note:
These cameras come with a uselessly small memory card. The Canons use Secure Digital (SD) memory cards. A 512mb SD card made by Kingston is available for $10 and will probably make most people very happy.

My Background:
I wore a Canon S200 almost every day for 9 months. A friend who was very impressed with it bought it from me. I replaced it with a Canon S45 which I never used because it was too bulky to keep on me. It broke when I moved, and I replaced it with a Canon SD450 which has been in my pocket almost every day since January 2006. I expect my next camera purchase to be the first Canon as small as the SD450 that does ISO 1600 (the SD800 and SD900 are larger). I am disappointed by how much Canon's ISO sensitivity has lagged behind, particularly their complete lack of reduced resolution very high ISO modes.
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Fri Dec 15 11:34:00 EST 2006