help! my wife wants a digital camera

[adrian tyler]

i know its not large format, but if i get one of these things for my wife, i know i'm going to end up using it, so i'd rather get a good one...

any suggestions for an excellent fixed lens compact digital camera would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

http://adriantyler.net/

ps. i've just paid 600$ processing and printing 35mm family snaps (backed up since summer) so budget is flexible.

[Amund BLix Aaeng]

Fuji F30

[julian]

I'm close to buying a sony r1...

[Struan Gray]

Buy her a slightly bigger handbag, and then a Pentax K100D or K110D and a pancake lens.

[Mark Carney]

Nikon S-10 or S-4

[Frank Petronio]

We had a few Nikon and Canon and Kodak minis in our family -- they were all impossible to decipher without study (although the Kodak is the easiest interface). But I really like the camera that Jack Flescher suggested -- a Panasonic Lumix FX07 or equivilant. The same camera that Leica rebadges for twice the price.

It is compact, simple, and well designed and built. The jpgs seem very nice.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Panasonic/

[Walter Calahan]

I like the little credit card cameras. I have a Nikon Coolpix S1, but they don't make that anymore. Good luck.

[Leonard Evens]

I would suggest either spending as little as possible or getting a low end DSLR. The Nikon D40, for example, looks like it won't cost any more than many consumer grade digital cameras. I used a consumer grade digital for several years, but I found it unsatisfying even for routine family pictures. Eventually I got a D70, which I'm happy with.

[adrian tyler]

struan, i already did the handbag thing...

she has a high end nikon digital slr in her restoration studio and outsorces all her 4x5 and 8x10 requirements to specialist painting photographers.

there is no way i'm getting out of this one!!!

thanks for the help so far

[John Kasaian]

Canon Elph. My Bride's SD-200 finally wore out its switch so it goes on video mode after each shot(after about 6 or 7 years of hard use), so I got her the new SB- 7-something or 800 (I think---its the one with the bigger screen) for her birthday (its already wrapped up--shhh!)