Nov 25, 2011: Start by researching consumer magazines for their top ranked new digital cameras to see what "the experts" think is most important.  We list organization, current price range and recommendation.  We will look these over and add our opinoins in a "best Point & Shoot Compact Camera" article we'll publish later this year.  (We bought a Nikon Coolpix recently and love it.) From CNET (Nov. 25, 2011): Best consumer compact: $298-$339: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V (Black) Best prosumer compact: $289-$399: Canon PowerShot S95  Best interchangeable-lens compact: $599-$849: Olympus PEN E-PL3 black w/17mm lens Top 3 From Consumer Reports, best compact point and shoot digital camera (Nov. 25, 2011): #1 - $300 Nikon Coolpix P300 #2 - $300 Nikon Coolpix S8200 #3 - $180 Canon PowerShot SX130 IS

For lower priced digital cameras, see "Best Subcompact Point & Shoot Digital Camera"

Next check the most popular models:  Often there is  "wisdom in the masses" so you should check a list of the  to see what others decided to buy: Best Selling Digital Point & Shoot Cameras You may not always agree with all conclusions from "the masses" or the experts from "Consumer Reports", but at least we know neither is influenced by the need to sell advertising. Final Step to selecting your new camera  Do your own research in the store as your tastes will probably be somewhat different from "the masses" or "Consumer Reports." Whatever you decide, we STRONGLY recommend lenses with image stabilization and the biggest memory card the camera holds so you never run out and don't have to fuss around with changing out memory when the light as fading fast where every second is precious.  These days, you can buy a 16BG memory card for a tiny $20