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Pentax Optio S4i. Fits in an altoids box and has 4 MP and 3x optical zoom.

if you remember, i had the Sony Cybershot DSC-S30 and just recently as two weeks ago upgraded to the DSC-W1. i like it so far and it's a lot more compact and carryable than my old DSC-S30.

konicaMinolta just released the dimage x50, which is 5 mega and thin like the DSC-T1. No clue if the photos are worth a damn.

As far as national networks, I hate to admit it, but Sprint has a pretty damned impressive network. I loathe Sprint and their customer service blows, but damned if they didn't build a good network. Driving up and down the east coast and west coast and southwest (even in remote areas), I almost always had service even when my cingular/att companions were "barless." But, Sprint is CDMA, which is why after 4 years, I left them for Cingular and GSM. go figure. Sprint finally has amazing phones and a solid network and I leave.

Also, the phone you have can really make a major difference in reception. Your GSM phone may just have a crappy antenna. A lot of early GSM phones, particularly Sony/Eri, came with antenna's designed for Europe, not the vast expanse known as the US.

All of those cameras look nice. Thanks for the tips. Who gets credit for the Pentax recommendation? Also, anyone know how the pics are on any of these?

As far as cell plans go, I'm willing to revisit GSM. It scares to me to think that might mean revisiting Cingular or renewing with ATT, but in either case, it's a fairly new network and should be somewhat cohesive. I just don't want to commit to 2 years of buyer's remorse and static.

Isn't the "new" ATT actually CDMA now that they are leasing space/lines on Sprint's network? I think they are calling themselves ATT Wireless PCS or some crap like that.

New ATT will be CDMA, I think. But that's still a ways off. The merger between old ATT and Cingular hasn't actually happened, as far as I can tell (since I'm an old ATT subscriber).

I'd get a Canon or a Nikon if I were you.

Megapixels, I think, are becoming a little less important now. A few years ago that was the limiting factor in how large a print you could make. These days they say any 5MP camera can make 8x10's - but if the lens blows (which most do) then you can see blurry edges and chroma and so on. Hence the Canon/Nikon rec. They know their lenses.

My advice is to check out Steve's Digicams and see what he thinks of the camera(s) you're thinking of buying. The site design is not so good but he posts pictures and exhaustive reviews.

No advice on phones except that bluetooth is kind of a neat gadget, probably more useful than the camera thing, unless you're on a Japanese subway.

:m

Yeah, I read some reviews of newer Sonys, and the comments about lens quality were discouraging. Plus, I remember a while back someone at Canon taking a dig at Sony, talking about how digital cameras are still cameras, so you should buy from someone who knows cameras, not someone who knows high tech gizmos. The comment always stuck with me, even though I like my Sony camera.

Same goes for Nikon, but the form factor of their ultracompact, the Coolpix SQ is a bit odd.

That Canon comment seems to favor Pentax as well, though they aren't a big name in the digicam market, and their SLRs are known for body rather than lens.

I've got a Canon SD100 that I love. Only 2x optical zoom though. Maybe the SD400, more bells and whistles, better optical. I'd recommend Canon or Nikon too - they will likely have better lens components. I know a few people who have the Pentax camera, and they really like it, but I think the controls are way too small. Maybe I've just got fat fingers.

Ben loves his Canon, I think it's an S40 or S45...he has opinions about the S50 too if you care to ask him about it.

I like the Canon Digital Elph. Compact, and takes some pretty good pictures.

The only advice I can offer is about cell phone carriers. Cingular is dreadful in the DC area. Sometimes I lose service for no good reason, I can be in my house sitting still and go from full signal to nothing. Verizon is the only carrier in the DC area that gets a signal on Metro when it is underground. I'm switching to Verizon for this reason when my contract expires. There is nothing more frustrating than being stuck on a train underground and having a phone that doesn't work.

jbl -- any idea what your friends think of the pentax pictures? I'm going to try to get my hands on one to see if the small controls are a problem.

Verizon.... yes, it works on the metro. That's been tempting me for two years. But how does it work everywhere else? Verizon is, I think, still on CDMA, which seems to be losing support.

Anyone know if TMobile's service is decent in D.C.? They have some decent deals.

Actually, check that, Sprint is also CDMA still (as noted above), not just Verizon. But every company that does any "upgrade" to their infrastructure seems to be switching over to GSM.

it seems like at&t is launching some full 3g networks in the US...but not in DC...came across this in engadget.com, i believe, or gizmodo...either way...tmobile has served me as well as any cell provider will...they all suck and have crappy networks...sprint pcs is notoriously bad in the DC area...go w/ a gsm phone...

Canon Powershot s500-light weight, 5 mp, amazing zoom, a bit pricey..but beautiful and excellent camera!! (:

If you live in DC defintely use Verizon for your service. While I'm not too knowledgable on the phones themselves, the Verizon connectivity in DC is much better than my previous service (Cingular) as well as any of my friends'.

I get perfect reception in Metro Tunnels even. Yes, that makes me annoying as I chatter on on the Red Line to Shady Grove, but wtf do I care? More importantly for you, wtf do you care?

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