Get something you will use.
The best site for camera reviews is dpreview.com. However, their reviews are so in depth, that they can be overwhelming for a novice. Another great site for learning about digital photography is kenrockwell.com where you can find reviews and recommendations. The only caveat: Ken is a Nikon guy. He still reviews and likes Canons, but he loves his Nikons. (read his canon vs. nikon bit.)
I currently own 2 cameras:
- A Casio Exilim EX-S500, that i bought about 4 years ago which takes great movies, is very slim and is easy to carry everywhere.
- A Canon XTi digital SLR and 3 Canon lenses which is bulky, takes great pictures, but no movies.
I extensively researched both cameras. I chose the Casio mostly because at the time i bought it, it was the only camera that used MP4 video compression, which meant that i could shoot a 1 hour TV quality movie on a 1 GB memory card. Many cameras today have that feature. If i was going to buy a compact camera today I would look for a few things:
- NOT megapixels. Anything over 5 MP would be fine
- Optical image-stabilization. This is a real lens that moves to compensate for your hands moving.
- Wide angle. This is hard to find, but let's you take great landscapes.
- Wide aperture. This is also hard to find, but let's you take pictures in low light without a flash.
- Fast auto-focus and low shutter-lag. The worst thing about digicams is that sometimes you press the button, and by the time it goes click, you have lost your shot. This is the combination of 2 things: slow auto-focus & metering and the lag required to charge up the CCD and take the picture. Test out the camera to see how long it takes to take the picture once you push the button. Try it in high and low light. My casio had a setting called 'pan-focus' where it would try to put as much in focus as possible and turn off auto-focus, this made the camera much more functional in low light. That is something to look for.
The Lumix DMC-LX3 pretty much fits the bill. The main drawback is only 60mm at the most zoomed in. Meaning you can zoom too much. But with 10MP you can do some major cropping in iPhoto. And you do pay for the priviledge: $400.
If i was going to buy a DSLR today, i would go for the Canon XSi. It is the little brother to my camera and has a few really great new features.