Opinions for a good digital camera?

I already have a Kodak 3.1 MP and 4x optical zoom. I am sending this to my husband while deployed. My big chance to move up. I like this easy share but some of my issues of this camera is lag time and picture clarity on the zoom feature. I don't want an SLR and my budget is 300 and under. I take a lot of pictures indoors so red eye and quality indoor pictures are important. If you have ideas on the zoom that would help for recitals, etc.
Thanks for the help!!

Just to clarify if you have good info about the zoom feature, I would love to hear it. It seems that you have 3x or 4x and then jump to 10x and up. I don't care so much about MP I know I want 5 or more but the zoom is important.

Hmmm...

I was thinking about options until you threw in recitals to the mix.

For recitals you need a longer zoom to get any significant pictures, and that combined with high ISO to be able to capture them without too much blur.

My suggestion would have to be Canon's S3IS, it's got a very long zoom (12X), it's stabilized (really so, not just in name like some cheap cameras) and has good high ISO performance.

Here's the review:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons3i...

And it's only $9 above your budget if you buy it from B&H (bhphotovideo.com). Not affiliated with them in any way, just a satisfied customer.

Hope this helps!

Ignacio

Go Sony, Canon or Fuji. A 5 mega-pix or up will be good!

i like canon's digital cameras. go to bestbuy online and they let you check as many as you want and then you can compare them, its very helpful. and right now they have a sale and free shipping online.

I have a Canon Powershot A540, I paid $200 for it, and it's great.

Here's a link about all it does -->http://reviews.cnet.com/Canon_PowerShot_...

It's a great point and shoot camera, I've taken some wonderful pics with it. They also recently released the A550, but the only differnece is it's I believe 8MP instead of 6MP, and the display screen is smaller. I prefer the 540, it has a large display, you can record videos on it, it offers plenty of manual settings, and various special settings like color accent and color swap. It has a great optical zoom, that takes clear pics, and it's really easy to use. I love this camera and recommend it to anyone looking for an easy to use camera with nice features.

The Fuji S6500 (I think it's the S6000 in the US) is worth a look. It's an SLR style camera, but it's got a 10x zoom and a flash that's powerful enough to illuminate your shot at a useful distance. The flash is a pop-up, so red eye's less of an issue, and it's got a flash / natural light option which takes 2 pictures at a time, one with and one without flash. There's also a face recognition system, though that works best if the subject's facing you.

For your specific needs, I will simply agree with Ignacio and say that you would be happy with the Canon S3-IS. My daughter has had her S2-IS for almost a year now and it is a wonderful camera. I also agree with him on B&H Photo as a good source. You can find them through Yahoo! Shopping.

Here's another review:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_revi...

Please come back and choose Ignacio as the best answer, because he gave you the information you needed first.

I'm going to place another vote for the Fuji S6500/S6000fd
here's a review
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilm...

It would be your best choice for indoor work, short of a DSLR, as it has the best high ISO performance (i.e. light sensitivity) of any of the cameras in this class. And- you can get it for $300 from a number of reputable on-line retailers.

Thank you so very much for saying something about your price range, features you're looking for, and your intended use!!! so many people just post "What's the best digital camera?"

I second the nominations for the Canon S3IS...fantastic camera: 6 megapixel, image stabilization, AND 12 optical zoom. Plus, hey, it's a Canon.

As a professional photographer, I'm considering buying one of these for my "grab shots" on vacation, so I don't have to lug my Canon DSLR with me, which my wife will appreciate. E-mail me if you have more specific questions or want more thoughts on this camera. I'll help you any way I can.