Which Digital Camera?

[Green Moss]

I would appreciate some advice from anyone who knows about photography. I have a Kodak Easyshare digital camera which is about 5 years old but would like a smaller more compact one which is simple to use. I mainly take family/holiday photos & sometimes night shots without a flash (but they're usually blurred!)
I will pay up to about �150 - what's the best camera?

[Buenchico]

Unless you're planning on getting enlargements blown up to greater than A4 size, you can completely ignore the number of megapixels offered by various cameras. At normal print sizes, a 10MP camera doesn't provide you with anything a 5MP camera doesn't.

So what should you look for? I'd suggest that a decent optical zoom could be very useful to you. Unfortunately, cameras which offer, say, a 10x zoom aren't usually particularly compact. So you're restricted to an optical zoom of around 3x to 4x.

Next, consider the batteries. Some people prefer cameras with rechargeable Li-ion batteries. The problem is that spare batteries are very expensive and there's not much you can do if you run out of power just when you really need your camera. I prefer cameras which use AA batteries. You can use rechargeable ones (which are relatively cheap compared to Li-ion batteries) and, if you run out of power you just pop into any supermarket, garage, newsagent or corner shop and buy some ordinary AA (i.e. non-rechargeable) batteries.

Based upon your criteria (with my preference for AA batteries added on) this appears to be among the best bargains on offer at the moment:
http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servl et/Search?storeId=10001&catalogId=1500001501&l angId=-1&searchTerms=5591349&Submit=GO+%3E

Paying another �100, to take you to the top of your price range, would offer very little extra.

Chris

[natashahp]

Do you have an Iphone? If so there's a fantastic App - Which?Best Buys Digital Cameras which you can then refer to in the shops etc.
Natasha, Shopping Expert at The Handpicked Collection