I need a new digital camera, but I don't know what model to pick...

Nikon is a pretty good brand.

I like the Canon PowerShot series.

I love the PowerShot series. I have a PowerShot SD1100IS and it’s gorgeous, makes gorgeous shots, and is gorgeous to use. Highly recommend.

Just a note, if you care about zoom be sure not to be tricked by the term “optical zoom”. You want normal zoom, you should not care one bit about optical zoom or the number attributed to it (I disable it on every camera I use). The reason I say this is because true actual zoom is done by moving the camera parts, whereas optical zoom is the computer inside the camera “guessing” at what the data is. Using the optical zoom will give you a very low quality picture, whereas using your normal zoom will not degrade your picture quality at all.

Actually, the two types of “zooms” are Optical Zoom, which IS what you want. IT zooms by moving the lens parts. DIGITAL ZOOM is the one that’s a “fake” zoom. The quality of pictures taken with digital zoom is NOT good.

Canon Digital Rebel is a great starter!

@dynamicduo, I think you’ve got it backwards. Optical zoom is mechanical, digital merely zooms in on the image.

My mother has a Canon Powershot, and she loves it. She found it easy to use, and able to take great pictures. I think you’ll be very happy with your current choice.

The SX10 IS is a great camera with good optical zoom and even some decent movie capabilities. it is small enough to easily carry around. The only deficit is that you cannot use it to take RAW pictures.

The SX1 IS is also great, but more expensive. If you do not look to make HD movies, than you would better choose the SX 10. For the rest the SX 1 and SX 10 are virtually the same.

I have friends that have an SX10 and it makes great pictures. It has great optics for its size. I own a Rebel, but that camera is far more bulky and expensive.

Nikon makes great cameras as well, and you may want to check Panasonic.

Myself? I would buy the SX10 if I were you, I figure and you would buy the SX 1 if you were me. :-D

I have to admitt I am kinda hooked on the SX1 IS, but as @whitenoise said, it’s like $200 more for a camera with HD filming and RAW format and CMOS sensor (which I heard is good). But ultimately this summer’s financial situation will have to decide. I am off to China in a couple of weeks and I am keen on having a really good camera and it would be nice if it also had great filming capabilites.

http://www.cameralabs.com/buyers_guide/superzooms_and_premium_compacts/best_high_end_compact_camera.shtml

Thanks all for your tips!

What is the difference in the pixels? Is it good to have a higher number of pixels or a lower number?
I am looking to buy husband a camera and I don’t know the first thing about them….. Any help for someone as clueless as myself?
I use the camera on it iPhone, not very sophisticated I’m guessing

The amount of pixels needs to be related to the quality of those pixels. Many camera manufacturers have been pushing the amount of pixels at the same sensor size. These pixels are smaller and in order for these pixels to still work, the current has to be turned up and as a result of that noise gets into the picture.

More pixels may result in better pictures, but quite often the small cameras with many pictures deliver poor quality. 6 megapixels is enough for a letter size print. 10 Megapixels allow for a door poster.

However just pixels is not the right judgement. When you think a camera maybe your choice, then visit a good review site such ad http://www.dpreview.com. Alternatively see if you can fins some pictures taken with it under different lighting conditions.

Personally good optics, dynamic range and shutter lag are more important to me than 10 vs six megapixels.

Whitenoise
Thank you very much!

However, if you like to crop your photos, the more pixels in your camera, the clearer the enlargement of a small section of the photo you can make.