Want a new camera, need some tips and advice (info inside)!?

At the moment i have a sony cybershot dsc-w55, which i've had for a couple of months, it's been a perfect camera upto now, but I want a new camera now, to take to gigs and to do my photography portfolio with, I really want a Nikon Coolpix S550, but is it an improvement on the one i've already got!


It's 10 megapixel's, 5x optical zoom, :)! xoWant a new camera, need some tips and advice (info inside)!?
I would go for one of the Superzooms.





The tradeoff between versatility and picture quality results in most ones in the following:





a. Ability to take aceptable pictures in most situations.


b. Most accept AA sized batteries. Use rechargeable ones and bring one pack of duacells for emergencies.


c. Take high-quality video.


d. Most have accptable OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) in most circumstaces they will allow you to take pictures up to som 10x without a tripod. Some lucky shots at 12x or 15x are possible.





Disadvantages:


- Picture quality is ok, but not great.


- Most struggle with noise because of the small sensors.


- Bigger than a real compact.


- ';Hunting'; of focus in low light situations.





I have included a link to some DPReview reviews. They compare comparable camera's and have some sample-shots available on the site.


Do not hesitate to look in the foroms and se if you can find examples of what you want to use the camera for,Want a new camera, need some tips and advice (info inside)!?
There are problems with all compacts for gig use and for quality, one is a small sensor this makes low light photography difficult, another is shutter lag which makes 'capturing the moment' almost impossible, but the most important is you have little control over the picture taking.





Having control; means you have to know what your doing so there is a steep learning curve, but picture quality will improve with some tuition (if you don't already know) and practice.





A DSLR (not a pro-sumer which are a glorified compacts) addresses all these problems (and more), but has a price penalty and is not a camera you can 'sneak in' anywhere, but is definitely the way to go if you want quality in your portfolio.





Mp count just means one thing - you can print bigger. Or you can crop a lot of pixels away and still print a reasonable sized picture.





Chris
I have a canon power shot digtal camera I like it because you can pick the pictures you want and no film to get developed it also has a image stabilizer It`s 3.2 mega pixtals. also the kodak easy share cx7330 is 3.1 megal pixels I have the printer that goes with it or you can put it on the computer like the other camera but the easy share camera is smaller and will fit in your purse where the canon hangs around your neck. It really depends on how much you want to spend but consider cheaper isn`t always better.
Why not get a DSLR ??





Far superior to P%26amp;S.





http://www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk/2043/Pe鈥?/a>





and this additional lens,


http://www.jessops.com/online.store/cate鈥?/a>


meaning you can cover everything from 18-200mm for less than 拢300.


The lens alone is 拢160, and the camera retailed at about 拢350, so grab yourself a bargain, before they disappear.
Check out this website they have some really in depth video and text reviews as well as sample photos of many popular cameras.
Try the Canon Powershot SD1100IS its only $170 and its a great camera with superior quality images
Ditto