Can anyone suggest a decent point and shoot digi camera that takes good pics inside and out with minimum effort?
Don't ask,
Pat...
if you just want a cheapo tesco do a 3million with sd card slot for £35
Depends on what sort of money you have to spend but, as a rule, you should buy cameras off camera people. Olympus, Nikon, Fuji etc as opposed to
Hewlett Packard, Dell, other random unheard of stuff, etc...
Also look at the battery situation. A camera that takes AA batteries (or a battery pack the same size as AA) that can be recharged are a good idea
because you can use normal batteries if you run out. Don't forget, digi cameras eat batteries!
Then look at the memory cards and howmuch they are costing.
HTH...
About £150.
Started with a Fuji many years ago and it's been great.
Replaced it with a decent Fuji F10, but been very dissapointed with it's indoor shots on auto mode. Any else is too much faffing.
Looking at a Olmpus or a Cannon at the mo.
Pat...
I've got a Pentax Optio, 6.0 megapixels and submersible! Tried it out in Mexico, works a treat, even under water. Seems to take great photos,
and it's as simple to use as a stone hammer. Which is great for someone to whom a stone hammer was state-of-the-art when I started doing
stuff!
having a sony digi slr id say go with sony if theres a model in your budget, the lenses are outstanding quality and sony battery life is always the best. ive also got one of these and for pointing and shooting its really great, good battery life etc, picture quality cant go above a4 really, but you wont really get that for your budget.
I cant recommend a model, but as makes go, Pentax, Olympus and Minolta would get my vote...
When you do decide what you want the best place to buy from is these people:
http://www.warehouseexpress.com/
We have bought several cameras off them. Its a good idea to go to your local jessops and handle a few of the cameras and see which feels right, then
order one from warehouse express.
David 
I wanted something small, quick and with good battery life so I went for a casio EXZ55. [my previous digi camera was a Fuji which had such crap
battery life it was virtually unusable]
Picture quality is very good [but not the best], but it starts up in about 2 seconds and the battery lasts for ages.
I've taken 400 pics on holiday on one charge with loads of battery still left.
In comparison to my Canon EOS300D the pics aren't as good, but beacuse it is so small I've taken thousads of pics [and videos]with it
compared to a few hundred with the EOS.
Stu
I bought my wife a small Nikon - not expensive. Wht really annoys me is that it's a whole lot better than my Fuji! 
David
Hi there
Here are a couple of options:
http://www.jessops.com/Store/s34661/0/Digital-Compact-Cameras/Canon/Powershot-A530-Digital-Camera/details.aspx?&IsSearch=y&pageindex=1&Cat
Id=236&comp=y
or:
http://www.jessops.com/Store/s35127/0/Digital-Compact-Cameras/Nikon/Coolpix-L3-Digital-Camera-(Black)/details.aspx?&IsSearch=y&pageindex=1&
;CatId=236&comp=y
both 5Mega Pixel, so can easily print A4 Size. The Canon has a better zoom, but the nikon has a larger display.
Cheers
Ian
I went through loads of different cameras in the early digital days and finally settled on the Canon Powershot S45 which I have had for the last 3
years now - the quality is so good I don't feel the need to change it yet even though it may not have the highest spec when compared to
today's cameras. I can print full page A3 prints on my high spec HP printer with no noticeable pixelation 
I'm no photographer but just over a year ago I bought a Nikon Coolpix 4600 mainly because of the Nikon reputation and advice from Jessups.
Very disapointed when using it under poor light conditions as almost all the images become blurred, presumably because it adjusts to a very slow
speed.
I went back to Jessups who said I needed to adjust the effective ISO speed rating but then they realised it couldn't be done on this model.
Wouldn't buy another.
I'll second the vote for Canon cameras, I'm currently using a Powershot A700. Stunning pictures, I've never seen skin tones replicated as well on a digi.
I have just spent the last few weeks deciding on a new camera, and i finaly bought a Kodak p850.
Good reviews, lith-ion battery, 12x optical zoom .5.1 meg. Compares very well to cannon and sony but about £70 cheaper.
These are whats called a prosumer zoom compact , similar in design to an slr but with fixed lens. also can produce good quality video at 30fps.
Kodak is now one of the leaders in digi cameras and they have fantastic backup and accessories..
I have a pentax slr and the images from this are as good, dont pay through the nose for hype.
Check out the review web sites
Personally I swear by Canon powershot digital cameras. have played with quite a few in the £150 - £250 range and have found none that can match the
picture quality. Just lost my trusty A40 so I am buying an S3 to replace it.
HTH
# 12x optical zoom lens with IS
# 6.0 MP CCD
# Extensive movie functions
# DIGIC II, iSAPS, FlexiZone AF/AE
# 20 Shooting modes and My Colors
# ISO 800
# Widescreen recording
# 2.0" vari-angle LCD
[Edited on 12/10/06 by DaveFJ]
this is the one ask any pro
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BRAND-NEW-Fuji-Finepix-s5500-Digital-Camera-4MP-10X-SLR_W0QQitemZ130035166030QQihZ003QQcategoryZ31388QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Rescued attachment Copy of Dscf0118.jpg
sorry that was the wrong pic
Rescued attachment Copy of Shack.jpg
Quite sharp focus but the colour's a bit rubbish thunderace.
I have a Nikon Coolpix 5 megapixel and it's poor. Wouldn't recommend it.
My wife's a part time photographer and has the Samsung Pro815 which is brill, but is about £500. She's pointed a few people in the direction
of the Samsung Digimax that Argos were selling recently. It's 7 million megapixel and costs around £165. Might be worth a look! My mate has one
now and swears by it, inside and outside !
john p, your problem is that a camera adjusts the shutter speed for low light condition, why dont you just switch on the flash? otherwise you just
have to hold the camera steady, because you cannot get low light pictures perfect, even with my digi slr you have to adjust the iso setting, which
gives a lot of 'noise' (which basically looks like pixilation)
quote:
I have a pentax slr and the images from this are as good, dont pay through the nose for hype.
Buy the new canon power shot 710is!
6.0 megapx
6x optical zoom
steady shot
normal AA batteries
SD memory
around 290 Euro
Need decent SD memory card about 30 euro's
That's a handable camera
This Pentax seems to be a good option:
http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/356535/art/pentax/optio-m20.html?srcid=1034
Pat...