Best Compact Camera for shots of my children

[BookwormPrincess]

Hi all,
I am looking to buy a new compact digital camera (budget £200) to mainly take pictures of my family (I have 2 children, a 2 1/2 yr old and a new baby). My current camera (Canon powershoyt A540) was a cheap replacement for a Nikon I bought in 2005 that was stolen 2 years later. I have not been happy with the Canon since my first son was born as I often miss photo opportunitys with the slow shutter lag, slow to focus and slow to start up speeds. It also doesn't take very sharp photos in some lights. It does the job but picture quality can be quite poor, although I have been lucky and got some beautiful pictures of my children. However, I am not prepared to put up with it anymore.

I have saved some money to buy a new camera and I really want to spend the money wisely as I won't be able to afford something like this agian for some time.

Please could anyone offer advice and direct me towards a good camera with fast shutter speeds, start up times and quick to focus with a high enough level of megapixels that will give excellent results when cropping and enlarging for digital scrapbooking. A good zoom would be preferable, but since most of my photos will be of my children close by it is not a necessity. I would also like to be able to take videos of my children on the camera as I don't own a camcorder, although I don't want this feature to compromise the picture quality in any way.

I am really a beginner when it comes to photography, but am keen to learn more and I used to like playing around with the manual settings on my Nikon. However, most of the time now that I have a family I need to be quick taking a photo to capture the moment so I don't want a camera where I need to be manually adjusting things to get the best results (also my husband is not so hot with cameras and really just points and shoots).

In terms of brands I prefer, I don't really have a preferance because I've only owned two, which is why I have joined this forum to get some advice from people who are in the know!

Thanks for taking the time to read my post. I am looking forward to any replies.

Natasha

[Matt]

From the sounds of it I'd recommend either the Sony WX1 (http://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/equipment/reviews/compactcameras/128173/1/sony-cybershot-wx1-review.html) or Fuji F70 EXR (http://whatdigitalcamera.co.uk/equipment/reviews/compactcameras/127819/1/fujifilm-f70exr-review.html). Both are superb cameras in thier own right, with some excellent features such as sweep panorama and HD video on the Sony and superb low light capabilities on the Fuji. Both are very simple and straightforward to use, and although it's at the top end of your budget I'd give the WX1 the edge.

[BookwormPrincess]

Thanks for your advice Matt,
funnily enough those were the exact two cameras I had circled to look at more closely in the WDC buying guide at the back of this month's magazine.

I am still finding it difficult to choose between the two now, but at least I have narrowed down my search. With the cybershot I'd have to buy new memory cards as I only have SD cards at present. Any tips on where to buy cheap ones?

[dannyhazy]

http://www.memorybits.co.uk/categories/sd/756

This site has cheap SD cards, but if your not willing to shop online some ASDA's have a deal on SD cards at the moment, Best idea is to shop around between good supermarkets, camera and electronic stores (Currys, Jessops etc)

Hope this helps!

[BookwormPrincess]

Hi,
I did buy the Cybershot WX1 and for the most part am very happy with it. The shutter lag speed is brilliant and very impressive.

However, all the indoor shots I have taken (actually all my shots are indoor so far) seem not to be very sharp, particualrly when you zoom in on the pc by not very high magnifications. I mainly use the intelligent auto mode. They are not all in low light, most of them are taken in the day.

Could you give me an idea how to improve on this? I feel like I must be doing something wrong.