i want to buy a small point & shoot & am having a very difficult time deciding what to buy.

i'm looking for a point & shoot where i can control the settings & shoot manually, and also one with a nice optical zoom. this is just for everyday use where i cant bring my slr. would love something that does ok in the dark (i'm sure i'm looking for too much from a p&s but i'm hoping they've improved since the last one i bought).

does anyone have any suggestions?

do the IS features on the point & shoots really work & is it worth it? right now i have an old canon powershot a520, it was a hand me down that i just use to take silly videos of the dogs with. the photos from that camera are awful! lol

there are just so many to choose from & i would love some opinions from everyone here. i would like to keep the price under 300.

thanks,
liz

Nikon P6000 and the Canon G10 spring to mind, but only from what I've read / heard from others.

Liz:

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28 may be what you are looking for. It has 18X Zoom - 35mm equivalent of 27 to 486 mm - and shoots Raw & Raw+JPEG. In addition, features all the user controls normally featured on a good dSLR. Currently available from various sellers at Amazon.com for less than $300.- (See link below for detailed specs.)

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMC-FZ28...U/ref=de_a_smtd

I bought one for my wife as a gift about 4 months ago and she is pleased with it. The only downside is that it has an electronic viewfinder which takes some getting used to.

If you don't need so much reach or user control, your options increase dramatically, and the price drops as well.

Jim

Liz, I give the second vote to Jim's reccomendation. The Panasonic unit is pretty hard to beat. The Panasonic F-Z28 Or the Panasonic LX-3 would be my two choices if I were looking for a P&S today.

Roman

thanks for the suggestions. will look into them all

liz