I'm looking for a new digital camera...please help?!?

I am looking for a digital camera that is going to be used for everyday use, for mostly 4x6, some 5x7 and rarely 8x10 pictures. Price range should not exceed $300, but preferably under $200. I like to be able to zoom as well, optical more than digital. Please help and feel free to ask me more preferences and/or questions. Thanks, 10 points to the best answer.

I have a Canon PowerShot A550 and it works VERY well. It only has 4X optical zoom, but for your price range you're going to have a hard time finding a camera that does better than 4X optical zoom. I want to say it's a 7.1 megapixel, so blow-ups to 8x10 would still be nice and clear. It's easy to use, it has a nice-sized display on the back for viewing, and I think I paid $175.00 for it. I would recommend any of Canon's PowerShot series, and I would recommend Canon over any other digital camera maker because Canon really jumped into digital photography early on, so their digital cameras are of much better quality than any other manufacturer (even Nikon).

Nikon CoolPix S7.

I like the Canon Power Shot line. You can get the SD1000 for a little over $200 on-line. It has 3x optical zoom and it's a 7 MP. That should be plenty for what you need. Plus it is ultra compact so it is easy to carry around. I would buy a LCD scratch protector for it, though.

Even though I currently own this ultracompact digital camera, I would still like to highly recommend the purchase of a Nikon Coolpix L10 for the following reasons:

1. Besides taking well-exposed hi-quality 5 megapixel pictures, it uses a standard set of rechargeable double AA batteries which last a very long time;
2. Has a 3x optical zoom;
3. The flash setting for "red-eye" correction is on the navigator wheel and not within a submenu;
4. It's very small and light;
5. Uses inexpensive SD memory cards;
6. The digital video feature takes wonderful "sound" videos which are noise free. It records the piano very well with it's built-in microphone;
7. It comes with a USB 2.0 transfer cable which you connect to your USB computer port;
8. Has tripod mount on bottom of camera;
9. And the price is a mere $99 [sold at Samy's Camera - www.samys.com, and Staples.com.]

Review(s) can be found at www.amazon.com [Query: "Nikon Coolpix L10" along with pictures provided by satisfied purchasers.]

Good luck!

The best camera for under $200 is the Canon A550

* 7.1 Megapixel
*4X Optical Zoom
* Very good photo quality, noise levels low through ISO 400 (in good light)
* Well built for the price
* Very good performance
* LCD visible in low light
* Some manual controls
* AF-assist lamp, good low light focusing
* Good movie and continuous shooting modes
* Impressive software bundle
* Uses AA batteries; great battery life
* USB 2.0 High Speed support