I researched digital cameras for 3 months before making a decision and here are the results of my research. My research focused on cameras under $1,000, classified as "point-and-shoot". You can get much better cameras for many thousands of dollars in the Single Lens Reflex (SLR) class, but usually these are for professionals, and I did not review them:
1. Resolution is widely advertised as the biggest selling point, but after 4 megapixels, other camera features are more important than resolution. A resolution of 3 Megapixels is a minimum you should have. I recommend from 4 to 6 megapixels. Anything more than 6 megapixels is a waste, in my opinion.
2. Shutter Lag Time is a problem with digital cameras. Shutter lag is the time delay from when you press the button to when the picture is actually taken. Traditional "film" cameras have a lag of approximately 0.1 seconds (mechanical delays). Digital cameras have Shutter Lag delays ranging from 0.5 seconds to 2 seconds, with the average about 1.2 seconds. This is totally unacceptable if you plan on taking any pictures with action, or even subjects moving, like children playing. By the time the picture is captured, the subject has moved and you have missed the shot. This Shutter Lag data is rarely published because manufacturers don't want you to know how bad their camera is.
3. Cycle Time is a also a problem for digital cameras. Cycle time is the time delay from taking one picture until the camera is ready to take the next picture. Traditional "film" cameras have a cycle delay that is mechanical in nature (winding the film manually or using a power-winder) and can be as fast as you can wind the film, typically 0.3 seconds. Digital cameras need time to process the image for colour correction, then time for JPG compression and then time to store the image in the memory card. Digital camera Cycle Times range from 1 second to 4 seconds. This is totally unacceptable if you plan on taking pictures rapidly one after the other. Again with action events, you may get the first picture but you may miss the second picture because the camera is busy storing the image in the memory card. This Cycle Time data is rarely published because manufacturers don't want you to know how bad their camera is.
4. Picture Quality varies widely from one camera model to the next, even from the same manufacturer. The variation is evident in the colour of the pictures, not the pixel resolution. Some cameras have better colour processing software than others. Almost all digital cameras produce very "flat" and "boring" colour images, that look somewhat lifeless. If you want bright, rich colour images, then you need to make sure your camera will give you these results. I think there is no advantage in having a camera that produces poor quality colour, so Picture Quality is a very important consideration if you want pictures that look great. I found two cameras that give excellent colour and these two are my recommendations. The Picture Quality information is something that cannot be published by the manufacturer because there is really no way in which to measure it. The determination of picture quality is largely subjective and depends upon the viewer. Personally I like pictures that are "alive" and stand out whereas others may prefer "flat" pictures that I would consider "boring". Determining picture quality before choosing a camera is the best idea, otherwise you may find yourself buying then returning many cameras before you get the results you want. What would be really nice is a digital camera rental store that rents different models so you could "test-drive" them, but no such store exists. You have to find sample images and check the picture quality for yourself.
5. Optical Zoom is an important feature to have because digital zoom simply creates lower resolution pictures and is of little value. The vast majority of digital cameras provide 3x optical zoom (3 times magnification). A few cameras provide longer zoom lengths like 10x optical. If you need to zoom in on your subject, the 3x optical zoom will dissappoint you. You will not be disappointed with 10x optical zoom.
6. Low Light Performance is the ability of the camera to take good pictures in low light conditions, such as indoors. This feature is important as many fuctions, parties and social gatherings, happen indoors. The indoor performance of a digital camera is indicated by its range of "film" sensitivities. Most cameras provide equivalent "film" sensitivity ranging from ASA 50 through ASA 400. Exceptional indoor cameras provide "film" speeds up to ASA 1600.
RESULTS:
I was unable to find the perfect camera that had all the above qualifications. I was forced to divide my decision into two categories, and therefore I had to buy two cameras, one for indoors and general outdoor photography, and the second for specialized outdoor zoom photography.
1. The best General Purpose Camera, that I found, is the Fujifilm Finepix F700. This camera is the fastest digital camera I could find with a Shutter Lag time of 0.5 seconds and a Cycle Time of 1.0 seconds. It is amazingly fast. In addition to its fast operation, it is an excellent indoors camera with an ASA speed up to 1600. Also it has 6 megapixel resolution and can take 350 pictures on a 512 Mb memory card. Also the camera and its menu system is very easy to use, and physically it is so small that it fits nicely into a shirt pocket. In additon, the picture quality and colour saturation is excellent providing rich, dazzling pictures. Overall this is my favourite camera, with one exception - it only has 3x optical zoom so it will not be suitable for zooming in on far-away subjects. Why Fuji does not provide this camera with 10x optics is beyond me. They could corner the market with the "perfect" camera if they did.
2. The second best Outdoor Camera, that I found, is the Olympus C-750 Ultra Zoom. This camera provides an excellent quality 10x optical zoom that allows remarkable close ups. The camera has 4 megapixel resolution and has excellent picture quality and colour saturation (as good as if not better than the Fujifilm F700). It also handles backlight subjects better than most other cameras. For outdoors, still photography, this camera can't be beat. It is worth noting that the later Olympus Models C-765 and C-770 have a modified colour processor and the picture colour in the later models is inferior to the C-750. The first disadvantage of the C-750 is the ASA 400 limit making it verys slow to use indoors, that's why I recommend it as an outdoor camera only. The second disadvantage of the C-750 is the very slow Shutter Lag Time of 1.5 seconds and the Cycle Time of 3 seconds. You cannot take action pictures with this camera with these times, therefore it is best used for still photograhy and scenery. The slow response times of the C-750 make it frustrating to use but you have to remind yourself of the other features every time you take a picture so as to not become disappointed. The picture quality is well worth the delay in capturing the images.
There are two excellent web sites that provide camera reviews. The first site, Imaging Resource, I found to be most helpful, because the site is easy to navigate and find the camera specifications. The second site, Megapixel.net, I found had many sample images around Vancouver BC, taken with different cameras, and I was able to check the colour saturation and backlight capability, something not available on the first site. There are many other sites for camera reviews, but I liked these two the best.
SAMPLE IMAGES:
To see the full image, right-click the image then click "view image".
Here is a sample of the backlight performance of the C-750 (first image) compared to the same scene taken with a typical digital camera (second image):
Here is a sample of the 10x optical zoom, and backlight performance of the C-750:
Here is a sample fo the rich colour saturation of the C-750:
Here is a sample of the F700 indoor capability in a dark room without flash (hand held). This is unbelievable ASA 1600 performance. The room was basically dark with only the overhead lights. I used white-balance compensation for incandescent lighting and hand-held this as best as possible. There is a little camera shake visible but any other camera would have produced a very dark image (like 2 f-stops lower):
