My first fully digital camera was the Canon S330: 2MP, compact flash(CF). It was a rugged workhorse with a tough metal skin that took alot of bumping around. At this point, I was still using the camcorder as I transitioned back to still images. CF cards were still expensive at the time and I could not afford to use the space on both stills and moving images. Though it might have been considered heavy, I thought the weight felt good in my hand. I still have this camera.
Several years later, some very generous friends of mine purchased the Canon SD 500 as a gift for Christams. The jump to this model meant larger MP count, more zoom, bigger lcd screen, and a change to the SD format. I loved using this camera and it took alot of great pictures for me over the years. I loved to take night time and long exposure shots but my unsteady hands caused blurry images when a tripod was not handy. Still got this one.
I was looking for a camera with Image Stablization(IS) and upgraded to the Canon SD850 IS. The IS was a disappointment to me as it did not alleviate alot of the problems I was having from before. The other thing is that this and all the ones before did not have enough manual controls for my liking
So the serach continues for my very last digital camera, hopefully.
At this time, there is no camera that would meet all of my criteria but some are coming close. One that was in the running was the Panasonic Lumix LX3. This has gotten many favorable reviews and the samples I have seen from this shows some great results. Unfortunately, the price and scarcity have kept from landing in my hands. Another runner-up is a recent offering from Canon, S90. They have had other cameras that fit my criteria, G series, but the bodies have been somewhat larger. The S90 has had several favorable opninions as well. Lately, Ive heard of a Samsung camera that might give the S90 a run for the money.
