I have a Nikon and I have been very happy with it, how about a Nikon Coolpix, I have looked at them and read a few reviews they seem very nice.. Good luck, sorry I don't know much to say on the Canons.

I've got a Canon PowerShot SX20IS that's about a year old (MrsRatbag has the same model that's about two years old), and we both like them. (This would be the Canon that's comparable to your Nikon P100, in the $375-400 range.) You can check out the quality of the camera by looking in our galleries. I'll warn you, though, we both do a lot of postwork, so the chances of you seeing a "clean" picture straight out of the camera won't be high! LOL! You'll be able to easily see the picture quality, though, as far as clarity goes. At first I wasn't happy with the picture quality, but what I've come to realize is that I need to use a tripod if the light is a little low. In "normal" light, the picture quality is great. Using a tripod, even in very low light, I get nice, clear pictures. Looking at head-to-head comparisons between brands in this style of camera (attached lens, nice zoom) they say the Canon picture quality is a lot better than the others. Aside from clarity, the thing I like about the SX20IS is the 20X optical zoom. My husband uses an Olympus E30, and he's always frowning about the zoom feature on my little Canon, because of course in order to get a picture I can get in two seconds by pushing a lever, he has to change to a long lens and fiddle around. The "auto" everything function on the Canon is crap ... I shoot everything in manual mode. The good news about shooting in manual is that you see everything in real time before you push the button! Whatever adjustments you make to your f-stop or aperture setting, you can SEE what sort of result you'll get in the window. The screen is on a swivel, btw, which is WAY cool. I use it all the time. I hope this helps! If you want to know more, feel free to drop me a site mail.

Mark, there's 2 things to remember, Different brands use different quality Optics, & YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!...Buy cheap, Get cheap! "Nuff said, HooRah Sazz

I have a nikon s570 its a cheaper model i don't expect more than it is capable of. As Auntietk says manual mode. And low ISO. I use mine for the grandkids pics and just to have for those times I didn't drag the D300 with me, you know those times you say ahhhh nuts I wish I had brought the camera. I can under right conditions and patience get some decent shots. Plus its small as a deck of cards.

This shot here, doing macro in what appears to be low light and getting sharp focus is tricky. If you can set focus to manual, that would be the way to go. Without a tripod and 2s timer set, shake will be an issue too. Anyhow... Going to DSLR, you might like the Nikon D5000. I think Nikon is much better at proper SLR cameras where you can change lenses, since the lenses are more dedicated to their focal range with better optics, aperture, etc. Much less of a kludge than trying to force such flexibility into one big lens. I'm liking mine at the moment, even though I'm still very new with it. It's one of the few SLRs that has a very-handy pivot screen like most point-n'-shoots. (The screen is hinged wrong for a tripod, but what can one say?) The caveat to using live-view it's about as slow as a P&S camera. (The good news is that is made up for when not using live-view. The AF is actually fast using the optical eyepiece.) I'm surprised at how many things they packed into it, even built in time-lapse (interval mode), etc. Auto, priority programmed modes, full manual, forced no-flash, and quick setup settings are on the dial. Also has a built in help guide so you can skip carrying the manual. Essentially it's a semi-pro DSLR that has been idiot-proofed for noobs. (I'm not that much of a photography noob, but having most explanations built in are nice touch considering every single thing they put into it.) The biggest major drawback is the kit was more expensive than the computer I rebuilt and upgraded (luckily came into some money for the holidays), but from my experience so far I think it may be worth it. Still when shopping DSLRs, don't rule out the Cannon, Olympus, and Pentax models in the comparable range. Every photographer has their own needs and preferences.