What should I get?

I get a lot of questions about what camera is "good", and suggestions for a new camera.  One of the hugest complaints I hear is how the owner's camera is slow - and hands down that was my complaint when I had a point and shoot - it seemed to take forever to start up - and then forever to take the photo - so slow that by the time the darn thing actually clicked, my child was no longer doing the adorable thing anymore. (honestly, the only solution I've seen so far is to upgrade to a dslr)

The upside to point and shoots are the low price and compactness, it's great to be able to just throw it in your purse or pocket and go - but the downside is the slowness, which is unfortunately is just what happens with point and shoots.

When choosing a new camera, there really is one thing to keep in mind when looking at the oodles of choices and tonnes of different numbers and jargon thrown at your way - mega pixels aren't everything.  Generally with photos from your point and shoot, you're going to print off 4x6's, maybe an 8x10 here and there.  I would go for a lesser mp in exchange for a faster start up time (usually listed on the specs), faster frames per second (fps) and a better lens.

Another thing to keep in mind is digital zoom & optical zoom. Optical zoom is the "good" zoom - it's the lens doing its thing, digital zoom - it's, well, in my opinion useless. It's almost the same thing as taking your photo and zooming in on the computer for the most part. (I actually turn it off on my point and shoot.)  The more optical zoom the better!

My very first camera was a 1.3 mp and I could easily make great looking 8x10's from it - megapixels really, when it all boils down, just means how large you can make a print. So having one camera with 6mp and another with 8mp - ignore the salesman trying to tell you the 8mp is automatically better - it means squat for the most part - unless you're planning on printing a huge 20x24 for your bedroom wall.

A great place to visit for researching a camera is:

DP Review

It's great - you can compare cameras side by side, see sample shots and every detail you'll ever need to know.  I strongly recommend heading there if you're in the market for a new camera.

so, for a short answer, what point & shoot camera would I recommend?  Well, I'm a die-hard Nikon fan, but in this category I really do recommend a Panasonic Lumix point and shoot - there are rave reviews out there and I have heard nothing but great things. A close second would be the Nikon Coolpix 5400.  

Now, if we're talking a DSLR, that's a whole other story! (and another post for another day!)