Fujifilm FinePix F30

I don't usually plug products, but it seems this deal is worth mentioning. In short: the Fujifilm FinePix F30 is currently the best value in subcompact digital cameras, selling for approximately $265: $315 (including shipping), minus a $50 manufacturer's rebate that's good until July 15.

Karen and I have been using the Nikon Coolpix 5000 to take pictures. The camera, though considerably smaller than an SLR, is still a bit too bulky to carry around everywhere, and we find ourselves missing photo opportunities simply because we didn't want to trouble ourselves with carrying the camera.

It seems an ultracompact is in order. Other than size and price, the features most important to us were:

• Photo quality
• 6-8 megapixels (any more is overkill)
• 2.5" or greater LCD screen (so much of the fun of digital is showing others your pictures)
• Camera performance (e.g., startup, battery life and shutter lag)

The F30 stood out, mainly because of its low-light performance---it claims to be the first compact camera that features a 3200 ISO rating. This unique feature greatly increases the range of situations under which a photo can be captured. Thus, the camera is competitive with expensive ultracompacts which have features like more pixels and optical image stabilization like the Sony CyberShot DSC-T30 ($380) and the Canon PowerShot SD700 IS ($428). But its $265 price (after rebate) means it's priced similarly to cameras like the Casio Exilim EX-Z850 ($300) and HP Photosmart R927 ($265), and just a notch above budget ultracompacts like the Pentax Optio S6 ($200). The F30 also has aperture and shutter priority modes. In the end, dcresource.com's very positive review made it an easy choice for me.

A negative point is that the F30 uses xD memory cards, which currently max out at 1GB.

You can read the manual for the F30 here (6.2MB PDF file).