Buying a new camera?

Two different people have asked me lately about buying a point-and shoot camera, so I thought I'd post my response. Here is what I told my friend Karla, who is helping her aunt find one:

Point & Shoot Digital Cameras - Photoxels

The above link is a random site that I googled that has some reviews on point and shoot digital cameras. I would have her (or you) take a look here as a starting point, or go to Google and do a search for similar sites.

I understand that the Nikon Coolpix cameras are all very good, but they are all over the place in price and features, so it depends on what she is looking for. Something very small, or very easy to operate, or both, or maybe something with larger buttons. (I know my mom's camera is a joke because it is so hard to manipulate the tiny arrow keys.)

The next thing to do is to go into a store like Best Buy or Wolf Camera and actually hold it, see if it fits in your hand and feels good. Ask the store clerk what he recommends, and why. But don't buy one here!

Once you have narrowed down the search, then go to Cameta Camera.
This store sells Factory Demos through Ebay auctions. What this means is they sell the cameras that were display models at camera stores. They have been sent back to the manufacturer (Nikon, Canon, Olympus, etc.) to be completely inspected and repaired if needed, and then are sold at a huge discount WITH the manufactures warranty. The same warranty you would get if you bought it brand new. The camera MIGHT have a small imperfection on it, but it will work perfectly.

I have learned to buy all of my equipment through them, and they have all looked brand new. I just research the completed listings to see what they have been selling for, and then use E-snipe to win it. I bid on a couple of different ones to get my camera at the price I wanted, but with e-snipe it wasn't a problem because they delete the rest of the bids once you win one.

I wish I knew more about the different cameras, but the truth is that every six months, something better comes along, so it's hard to keep up. Maybe tomorrow I'll find out what the latest and greatest gizmo is.