Whats the best point and shot digital for $300?

[APG85]

Looking for the best digital in the $300.00 range (the Canon 20D will come later....). Thanks.

[RyanShort1]

When shooting aircraft photos (or pictures from aircraft) it is nice to have a nice optical zoom, and based on my previous experience with their earlier version, I personally like the Konica Minolta Z series cameras. In fact when I again have room in the budget I'm hoping to get a DiMAGE Z6 Digital Camera to replace the previous one that just couldn't handle the drop I gave it!
I would check http://www.pricegrabber.com for a good idea of the best prices and specifications.

Ryan

[k5083]

$310 will buy you a used Canon D30 in excellent condition from KEH. Only 3.25 megapixels, less than a lot of point-and-shoots, but the versatility might make up for it and you can start buying lenses that you can later use on the 20D. Not what you asked for, I realize, but it's the way I'd go. Depending of course on the final product you want (web vs. large prints).

August

[Paul Krumrei]

Whatever it is DO NOT get anything with Digital Zoom...Go with the Optical zoom...Digital, only takes the pixals and zooms in, while the optical is a true zoom capability.

My 2 pennies.

[hairy]

I am by no means an expert so I only tell you what I have and I am EXTREMLY happy with it and that is the SONY DSC-H1 which has a 12x optical zoom and 5 megapixels, they are now up to the H5 so you could probably find a an old stock ( I am only talking about 6 months since it was superceded) one some where for about your budget.

For info on digital cameras this is a really good site..............
http://www.dpreview.com

SONY DSC-H1................
[/url]www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Sony/sony_dsch1.asp[/url]