swell_sailor wrote: 
My main objection to the nonstandard battery is the worry if not reality that I'll get stuck without charged batteries, and can't just pop into the 7-11 for some Rayovacs. In practice that rarely happens but I'm nervous that way. I myself want to get a G12 or s100 and the battery thing isn't going to change that. I just thought it would be important to point out.

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
Right. Eneloops are great. I'd recommend a good quality battery charger as well. This is not usually included with cameras that use AA batteries. 

So if we consider a high quality charger, Eneloops and spare Eneloops, a spare Litium Ion battery doesn't looks so expensive. However as you pointed out earlier, Eneloops will typically have a higher MAH rating as compared to the included Lithium Ion battery.

 swell_sailor wrote: 
Both true, altho a healthy set of NiMH rechargeables will hold a charge quite a while longer than 3 weeks. Note the caveat "healthy." 
 
We like the Sanyo Eneloop batteries which are NiMH but they come pre-charged and hold a charge for years. 

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
One disadvantage to most AA rechargeable batteries is that if you don't use your camera for three weeks, when you pick it up to use it the batteries are likely dead. Not true of lithium ion batteries. 

The included Canon batteries always look a little weak to me, but there are typically third party replacement batteries available with a higher MHA rating. 

I'm not recommending one battery type over another. Cameras that use AA batteries are also typically larger.

One other thing to consider when looking at a camera that uses AA batteries, is if they can also use CR-V3 type batteries. They aren't rechargeable, but they stay charged when sitting on the shelf, so they're great for a backup if you discover your batteries are dead from sitting too long. 

 steeler wrote: 
WARNING!

The ELPH 100 et al use a nonstandard battery. You will want a spare, and can't just pop into the gas station and pick up spares. I've used another Canon that takes a little battery pack and it lasted all day, even if I didn't turn the camera off very often. But still, that's a lot different from having a camera that's absolutely no-worries.
 
I'd look for one that takes AAs. The one we got our daughter uses 2 AA batteries, and our S3 uses 4. The battery packs last longer per charge, sometimes, but the one for the 100 you're looking at seems a little bit light (1200 mA? That's like one AA).

So back to the drawing board. I'd say just stop into a store you like and see what they have. You can easily blow a lot of time trying to choose the perfect camera. 

 steeler wrote: 
The Elph has image stabilization too, even though it's not in it's name, right? 

The Elph has just as bright a lens as the A3300. Not as much zoom but just as wide at the wide end. Fewer megapixels. (which might actually be a good thing)

Either would likely be a good choice.  

 Manbird wrote: 

Ok. Thanks!  

 swell_sailor wrote: 

I just read review (Steve's digicams) on the IS and it sounds very similar to the ELPH.  I'm not sure of the salient differences.  The review said it is smaller than deck of cards, and the review for the ELPH said it was about the size of a deck of cards????

They are both small enough.  Maybe the IS is better. .

Over-thinking.Over-thinking.Over-thinking.Over-thinking.Over-thinking.Over-thinking.Over-thinking.

 steeler wrote: 
If you want zoom, go for optical zoom as opposed to digital zoom. 

 steeler wrote: 
IS is pretty important, in my opinion, for what that's worth. You'll get a lot more keepers with IS. Ultra compact I'm not so fond of. Small buttons on small cameras are a pain. Something slightly bigger is still very small, and tends to feel better in my hands than a tiny elph-like camera.

I'm not real sure how much I would use the video, but I am assuming that most of the lower-end cameras come with that and if they don't have it,there also would be a dropoff in quality of photos —and not much benefit price-wise in dropping it?

The Canon PowerShot ELPH 100 HS 12.1 MP seems like it would work for me.  Seems like I should be able to get it for around $130.

The Canon PowerShot ELPH 300 HS 12.1 MP is thinner and has 5x zoom, compared to 4x zoom for the 100 HS, along with other upgrades, but reviews call the 100 roughtly comparable in a lot of areas.  The 300 HS would be around $190 or so. 

Just so many to choose from.  I want one that is easy to learn how to use in all aspects and is lightweight for travel. Most of my photos will be on vacations, and most would be outside, during the day. Would like ability, however, to take photos in low-light or at night.

Thanks for the help!

 steeler wrote: 
I've been looking for a budget point and shoot for my mother. The Canon A3300 IS is on my short list. It's the newer version of a camera that reviewed quite well awhile back. It's a good one for around $140. 

High ISO (ISO 3200, for example) on these small cameras is not a selling feature for me. They can go there, but image quality suffers considerably. In my opinion, most all current camera models allow for a higher ISO than what really should be used if image quality is a priority. 

 steeler wrote: 
Aw hell! Buy what you can afford and be done with it. Take the pitchers and post them. Join flickr too!

 steeler wrote: 
Go to dpreview (see Buzz' link) or steve's digicams and see what the latest version of this is. Because I just found the Canon PowerShotElph 300 blah blah blah and it's pretty similar. IS, 3200 ISO, HD video...

 steeler wrote: 
IS = image stabilization. It's terrific.

ISO = International Organization for Standardization and refers to "film" speed. You'll want to use a high ISO for indoor shooting w/o flash and/or nightime shooting. The caveat is that you'll really want to be steady with a higher ISO; that's where that GorillaPod would really, really help (besides being able to shoot a real "hands off" photo of you and yours standing in front of something. For conventional daylight, lower the ISO.

(When we used to use film, a typical outdoor setting would have been 100 on a sunny day; 400 was about as high as you could go at night or indoors.)

 steeler wrote: 
Do it! But maybe lean on them to see if they'll do an 8GB card. (It doesn't hurt to try.)

 buzz wrote: 

Ok. thanks!

One of the Canon models I posted here (in various colors) says in specs it has image stabilization, up to 3200, whatever that means. Another Canon model says it has "image stabilization, optical."  The first model does not say optical, but in some of the colors it makes reference to ISO.

 steeler wrote: 



IS = image stabilization
Spend a little extra for it. You wont regret it.

I'm at an event right now, but I will be happy to help out when I get home.

 jagdriver wrote: 

That's what I thought about the SLR.

The Canon PowerShot sounds good to me — but, then again, I have no idea what I'm talking about.