Someone is making an issue with this thread being a repeat of other point & shoot threads so I'm closing it. The discussion has drifted away from the two specific camera models and turned into a general "which p&s camera should I buy" discussion. Anyone searching for the P300 won't find any info about it in this thread.

bjrichus said:
You never know... she might want the cute pink one or she might want the Leica M9... At least then you'll know!

Actually, I showed her a picture of the Fuji x100 a few days back and it was love at first sight, lol!
For better or worse, looks do matter at her age and so, after much research, the Canons have been left aside. So right now the race is on between Samsung and Sony.

phosphoro said:
@ bj: appreciate the effort but I don't think my daughter is interested in any kind of editing.

[...]

The choice of cameras is driving me nuts! How can there me so many p&s cameras?!

There is an outstanding app for my Android phone, "Camera360" that applies affects, like HDR, B&W etc as you take the shot. You have seen the B&W effect (above), and it's just a swipe and touch gesture to apply it. No editing involved. My kid has a couple of apps on his iPhone for photos (old time effects mostly), that he uses once or twice for a laugh and then moves on. It's how an entire generation seems to be using imaging now, which is sad, but true.

For more serious non dSLR use (P&S), don't stress over it. Live of a P&S in the market place seems to be 6 months and and the IQ is fast approaching entry level dSLR. Yes; each brand and model within each brand has it's own emphasis on a unique factor and that means 100's of the darn things. Why don't you take your kid along to the local photo shop and do some window shopping? Get to see what she wants? You never know... she might want the cute pink one or she might want the Leica M9... At least then you'll know!

Mike Gunter said:
I'm getting much better response from my grandchildren

[...]

Of course the all have a supplier who keeps them up to date. And there are 'hand me downs' that get passed around, if things survive.

It sure does cost money to keep those little "end-users" going, doesn't it?

You'll know you have trouble when the grand kids start to pester you for that old D3 along with the "f1.8" that you've not used for no more than two days... "You don't want it anymore, do you grandpa?"

:-)

@ Tao: I just revised my budget downwards. Thanks :-D
@ bj: appreciate the effort but I don't think my daughter is interested in any kind of editing. Although I gave an HDR workshop two weeks ago I doubt she knows what that is. She's 15 and has better things to keep her busy. Note, my first camera was also passed down from my dad but I'm a guy.
@ Mike: lol about the 3 year-old! I've still got a few years before I can start thinking about grandchildren.

The choice of cameras is driving me nuts! How can there me so many p&s cameras?!

bjrichus said:
Mike,

You touch on a couple of very important issues... Dads love gear and would love to pass on our own love for this camera stuff to the kids... My first camera was a gift from my Dad too, so I understand :-)

I'm getting much better response from my grandchildren - all of whom seem to be wanting to follow in grandpa's footsteps. My brownies have their photo badges and the scout takes his camera to the track meets. My three-year-old hellion terrorizes the neighborhood with a Playskool camera on his trike. Like hair, it must skip a generation.

Of course the all have a supplier who keeps them up to date. And there are 'hand me downs' that get passed around, if things survive.

My best,

Mike

Mike Gunter said:
Hi BJ,

:-)

I think my children (who might well be the _market_ for phone imagery) would love it for the ability to do it on a phone.

Just suggesting, that before satisfying some jones I might have for gear to give, I might try to look to what the intended recipient would like to use and get a kick out of.

There could also be some selfishness involved - and I would wholeheartedly support - I also give cameras to my children so I can get pictures of my grandchildren. ;-)

My best,

Mike

Mike,

You touch on a couple of very important issues... Dads love gear and would love to pass on our own love for this camera stuff to the kids... My first camera was a gift from my Dad too, so I understand :-)

Hi BJ,

:-)

I think my children (who might well be the _market_ for phone imagery) would love it for the ability to do it on a phone.

Just suggesting, that before satisfying some jones I might have for gear to give, I might try to look to what the intended recipient would like to use and get a kick out of.

There could also be some selfishness involved - and I would wholeheartedly support - I also give cameras to my children so I can get pictures of my grandchildren. ;-)

My best,

Mike

Mike Gunter said:
you might ask her what see really wants. An upgraded phone might more sense, something that will upload to Facebook.

I have had an HTC phone for 2 days ... 8MP camera in it (very odd color balance - but I've not had a chance to play with it too much), with 720p movie. Change out of $100.

I am sure the IQ is poor, but then, you never know - mess about with it and anything is possible. Not even Coolpix quality I suppose, but if nothing else is at hand...

Ok... EDIT: 15 minutes latter and I have one sample shot! Resized down to 1024 on the vertical edge:

HORRIBLE!!!

But then it is foggy and dull here this morning and just look at that reflection highlight on the swide of the can. No direct sunshine at all! MAN!! I have to get the exposure down a bit LOL!

Edit #2...

Downloaded a free app (Camera360) and played about with it for 15 minutes...

MUCH, much better... no shake, exposure sorted out... B&W too... now to mess with the HDR effects... <SIGH>... never replace my Nikon gear, but if you look at the original image, for what is really nothing more than a recent camera phone, it's isn't too bad, really...

I agree as well- in general I'm not very impressed with Nikon's compact camera line (even though I like their SLRs) and I'd prefer compacts from Canon or Panasonic at any price range. If you insist on the Nikons, I doubt that there will be any real difference in image quality as they both use very small sized sensors with slow lenses. If you don't care about controls and just want a small camera, either one will be fine.

Hi,

I agree with Bythom comments on Coolpix, "Any Coolpix: Look elsewhere, nothing to see here".

Canon or Lumix make better cameras, you might ask her what see really wants. An upgraded phone might more sense, something that will upload to Facebook.

My best,

Mike

Well here is my .02¢... I have been searching for a camera since I decided to get back into photography. 1st I was hoping for a EVIL Nikon, then I saw the Nikon P7000 and there seemed to be to many things that I did not like about it. Enter the Nikon P300 nice size... liked the zoom 24-100mm (35mm equiv) Fast lens. I get GREAT results from my little P300. I think the only difference between the P300 and S9100 is the zoom and speed of the lens. I would say to get your daughter the Nikon P300.

Search the thread for Canon G10, G11, S90, S95. There are many discussions of these and others in the threads that cover the digi-cameras that are at the top. Not much has changed in the last year.

Personally I like Canon and Lumix series digi cams. For low light, the S90 is the closest to your budget. Canon is probably the company who's cameras handle low light the best.

Personally (and since I have much better gear that take my $) I don't spend more than $150 on a digi cam since you will probably want to replace it every 2-3 years. Unless you are willing to spend $400 every 2-3 years, know that you will never drop it, almost any digi-cam on the lower end will do. Than again, I do not have a daughter that I get to spoil as well. :)

The below thread covers all of the best ones out there now.
http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=63

Okay, so I have Nikon and Pentax gear and often shoot with Canon when doing film. Now my daughter wants a p&s camera for her birthday and I find I know absolutely nothing about those cameras, and there are hundreds of them!

So I gave myself a budget (max USD 350) and started researching and found these two Nikons fit squarely in it, together with Canon SX230 (too ugly), Fuji F300EXR and Lumix TZ10 (ZS7 in the US?).

It seems like p300 is better for low light and s9100 has a lot of zoom. The manual controls won't be of any interest. In terms of optical quality, build, functionality and ease of operation I couldn't really tell any difference. Can anyone advise? Any opinions?