Simviation Forums

When I buy my cameras, I anticipate buying one for special outings (museum, airshow, anything where I anticipate a good, long photo series) and one to always have in my pocket for those unanticipated events.  And mind you I don't wear jeans, but pants (or trousers, before Foz starts laughing again).

I've already nailed the former as the Panasonic FZ7 (silver/black), but the latter is proving to be hard to research.    Right now I'm leaning a lot toward Canon, and the SD30 has got my eye at the moment.  I'm looking to spend 250-350 USD.  More than anything, and high on my list of priorities is a macro mode and no horrible compression.  So far my mixture of DPreview, CNet and Amazon has yeilded mixed results.  Any suggestions?

For more in-depth reviews, you can so to Steves

I've used his findings on many occasions for assistance in research......

DPreview (as you mentioned) helped me in getting my camera. It noted its strengths and weaknesses, and all those have turned out to be right. Seemed pretty accurate to me!

You might also check out e-pinions. They have consumer feedback, which can be a good source of non-biased opinions.
It could also be a bunch of morons complaining about products they don't know how to operate, your call.  ;D

I just got a Pentax Optio W10, and I really like it.  It's a small camera that is waterproof and dustproof, so it's alright if it gets rained on or in the dirt or something, it even takes pictures under-water.  Take a look at my BWCA shots for the quality (which I think is great for a $200 camera) HERE.  But I'm not sure if that's what you're looking for, but if it is, it's a great little camera.

Pentax Optio W10

Alas, Steve's Digicams was just the site I needed.  There were a lot of good cameras, but none of them gripped me my the cash and prizes and demanded to be bought.  The Sony DSCT5 changed all that.