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Recommendations

Recommendations:

• Now, which camera should you buy?  Any camera from Canon!  Seriously, with all the research and testing I've done, Canon comes out on top in all the different sizes and price ranges of cameras. I did look at many other brands, but I kept finding that Canon offered more / better features and particularly better picture quality. 
• For the best in a full featured, high end camera, take a look at Canon's G3.  It's an excellent camera and can be found at a pretty good price online now that its successor is available (the G5). The G5 adds one more megapixel (5 vs 4), but it also brings in a few more problems.  Don't get me wrong, the G5 is a great choice as well.  Keep in mind, this camera is pretty big brick.  If you want something smaller, look below.  Another good choice in this category is Sony's DSC-V1. 
• Take a slight step down and you have the mid-sized Canon S50 (or older Canon S45). In addition to the great picture quality of these cameras, I love the very durable build quality.  Once again, the newer Canons actually have some minor (usually unnoticeable) picture quality problems, but the 1 MegaPixel resolution difference may tip the scales in the S50's favor (5 for the S50, 4 for the S45).  Just consider whether that's important to you. You can't go wrong with either of these excellent cameras. Believe me, other brands have more serious problems!  I personally own and use the Canon S50.
• If you want an ultra-compact camera, look no further than the Canon S400.  This little guy takes pictures that are just about as good as his much bigger brothers, but in a much smaller package. It's also a 4 MegaPixel camera.  You can comfortably carry this camera in your pocket.  As I read online, the only camera worth having is the camera that you have with you.  This is one you could take wherever you go in your pants pocket.
• The cameras listed above are far from cheap. If you want something a little more affordable, Canon's A70 / A75 / A80 is a good all around choice (they're just newer versions of the same A70 camera). It's 3.2 MegaPixel (the A80 is 4.0 MegaPixel).  Even cheaper is Canon's A300, but it doesn't even have a zoom, so I wouldn't consider it a great choice.  These are both compact size.  If you want an ultra-compact at a lower cost than the S400, the S230 is a good 3.2 MegaPixel camera.

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What To Look For