recommendations for a new camera please!

[mark2288]

sorry if this type of topic has been asked several times in this forum, but i've always relied on macrumors for mac help/tips and i'd figure the people checking the digital photography section know a thing or two about digi cams.

anyhow - i'm currently using a Canon Powershot SD450 - nothing great, but it's taken quite a beating in the past 2 years and it has some trouble focusing on shots/no image stabilization/ - basically i think it's time to upgrade!

i don't want to go full digital SLR - i mainly take photos when i'm in marching band so i don't want to buy anything that i would be afraid of taking with me on the field when we scramble and such. basically what i'm looking for is a camera that can:

-take a first photo rapidly (from powering on to being able to take the first shot)
-good red-eye reduction (my current pictures all suffer from red-eye)
-durable casing
-some form of image stabilization
-price under 300 preferably
-i don't need any crazy optical zoom, but a nice flash would be nice

i've looked at some of the canon powershot pro series (s3 in particular) which seem to fit most of what i'd want from the new camera i'm planning purchasing, but thought i'd get some input from MR members.

I've been looking at

 

[Westside guy]

I'm not sure you're going to find really good red-eye reduction in a point and shoot - or even a dSLR, for that matter, unless you invest in an external flash. But most software tools (e.g. Photoshop Elements) have good, easy-to-use fixes for red eye.

Before I got my Nikon dSLR I had a Canon point-and-shoot that I was quite happy with. But I've also read a lot of good things lately about the Panasonic Lumix cameras.

Are you shooting mostly outdoors, mostly indoors, ...? That will probably affect the decision on what's best for you. A lot of the new high-res point-and-shoots have absolutely abysmal indoor low-light performance. Here's a good article on the subject:

Compact Camera High ISO modes: Separating the facts from the hype

 

[M@lew]

Yeah have a look at the Canon S3 or S5. Also the G9 is just released. I'm not sure how good/bad it is but it's probably worth a look.