[sterankin]

I am having trouble deciding on a new compact digital camera since my
pentax s4i had itself an accident I would very much appreciate some advice.

I would the like the camera to be compact/ultra compact.
The camera will be used only for holidays, parties, nights out, trips, events i.e. -
not serious or daily use.
Any digital camera I have used, I always used the 'auto' settings
(more due to lack of knowledge, and due to the fact that any photos I took were not planned in advance - I would like to learn though!)

Apart from the compact size, I would like the camera to have quick startup, and be quick to
take a picture. Good night/low light photos would be useful, I found my pentax seemed to produce blurry photos in low light conditions.


Battery life is important, I want one that can be recharged either by removing the battery or placing the camera in a cradle. Def lithium ion type battery.


minor requirements - optical zoom, video size and quality. I also liked the pentax because it appeared as an external hard drive when connected to my computer, I didnt have to install
any third party software. Use of SD cards is preferred as I have one from my Pentax, but not a major requirement since cards are cheap enough these days


Budget - is really no more than £150 (roughly $300).

Here are my considerations:

Fuji Finepix F30 - good reviews, but looked at it in the shop and it was quite big..supposed to be good for photos in darker environments? I like the idea of this camera, but I really think its too big...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...=1XAPAZS6RUYIV

sony cyber-shot w50 - good reviews, but does it take SD cards? Perhaps a w30 would suffice?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...=1XAPAZS6RUYIV

canon ixus i7 - looks like this is out of my price range
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...=1XAPAZS6RUYIV

Casio EXZ700 - not sure on this, looks nice, is the EX Z70SR a cheaper choice?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...=1XAPAZS6RUYIV

Casio EXZ70-SR
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...=1XAPAZS6RUYIV

Samsung digimax i6 - seems to have a lot of bells and whistles, but does the camera photo quality suffer?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...=1XAPAZS6RUYIV

Canon Ixus 60 - no nothing about this camera
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-IXUS-D...&s=electronics

Would you be able to help me narrow down these options?

If there are other suggestions that I have missed, please feel free to include these too.
Thanks for any opinions and suggestions.

Regards
Steve

[Strobe]

I have always gone for Canon Ixus point and shoots but I think thebetter ones will be out of your price range. Just wanted to bring a couple of things to your attention which may help in your decision :-
Jessops have a sale on at the moment ...
http://www.jessops.com/Products/Cate...stopnext=false
The F30 and the Casio you were considering are at the bottom of the page.
Also, check out www.dpreview.com for camera reviews.

[sterankin]

Thanks Strobe - I had seen those in Jessops on sale, at a similar price to that of amazon (I wonder do jessops price match still?).

Anyway, would the casio EX-Z70 provide a good enough quality camera?

another other suggestions?

Thanks!

[Inactive]

If you enter OOTD10 at Jessops, you will get a 10% discount at check out.