New camera

[screaming]

Hey all,

  You guys gave me some great tips for a grill and building a new deck!  I eventually got a new grill (Kenmore, 4 burner, SS cover, side burner - it's pretty frickin sweet), but I need to take pictures of my deck.  ...And for that I need a new camera

  SO, what should I get?  There are about 5 billion different options out there and they're all so confusing!  Is anyone here into photography? 

  I've always liked to dabble in photography, and even though I've always bought a camera with that in mind, my pictures never come out as good as some of the ones on Flickr.  Then I realize that they're using $800+ cameras!!

  Sigh. I think the most I'll be able to go is 5MP.  Here is my list of important features.  I know that I won't be able to get them all, but if I can get most of them I'll be happy:

- 5MP
- SMALL
- Decent macro/nighttime shots (The Canon A95 has "noise reduction for slow shutter speeds. That's good)
- I prefer CompactFlash since I already have a bunch of those, but I'll switch to anything.

I don't really care too much about attachments or anything. 

I've been a big fan of Canon cameras, but a couple people I know have been happy with Olympus and Sony. I've been looking at the Canon SD400 and the S500.

  Any opinions out there?   What should I look for in particular?

-sab

[Shape D.]

I've got a canon powershot a95. Its the best $300 Ive spent in a while. takes great photos and is easy to use. battery life sucks though.

[screaming]

Yeah that camera dows look pretty dang sweet.  It looks pretty bulky though?  Can it fit comfortably in your pocket or do you have to wear it around your wrist all the time?

-sab

[Shape D.]

It probobly depends how tight your pants are. men should be able to put them in their pants pockets because they shouldn't be wearing pants any tighter than whats neccisary for it to go in your pocket. I had it in my pocket last night. It wouldn't fit in pants women usually wear as their pants are generally tighter, and have smaller pckets. It doesn't come with a case though so I had to spend an extra $10 on a leather carrying pouch for it.

[M3talhead]

I'll swear up and down about Sony's Cybershot series. I've owned 2, both a 3.2 and 5.1. Small size, excellent user interface, very intuitive. You really cant go wrong.

You can get a P-93 (5.1MP) for about $250 now.