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As a continuation of my blog earlier this week about picking out a digital camera this Christmas, I wanted to suggest a handful of specific model that seem to have made a positive impression upon consumers. Generally speaking, I won’t be discussing DSLR models which can provide wonderful results but are often avoided by amateurs because of some of their added complexity and greater cost. There’s not nearly enough space on this blog to discuss them all, so I’ll include some links to refer you to much more information.

Canon offers some of the best point and shoot digital cameras on the market. Their Powershot G10 is a 14.7 megapixel model that gives you 5x optical zoom for bringing distant subjects in closer, optical image stabilization to eliminate most of the blurriness that can occur due to small hand movements, and red eye correction. It has a 28mm wide angle lens and features a 3" LCD, face and motion detection to reduce blurring, and a face self timer. It offers 26 shooting modes and 17 special scene modes for those who don’t want to deal with manual settings but can also allow those who want to take more control, the option of doing so. For those striving for the best shots, it also provides an external hotshoe for an optional external flash, and gives users the ability to record JPEG and RAW images. It’s perfect for someone who is enthusiastic about moving their photography to the next level.

Probably the hottest picks this Christmas however, will be in the area of touch screen digital cameras. Touch screen controls can be very intuitive, making them easy to use for those individuals who love to operate touch screens anyway. Of course, they also make a camera very streamlined. The Panasonic Lumix DMX-FX580 has been well received. It’s a 12.1 megapixel model with a 3 inch LCD, 5x optical image stabilized zoom, 3x digital zoom, and a 25mm ultra wide angle lens. It also features face recognition technology and number of special modes including high speed burst mode which allows you to shoot 10 shots/second. For better low light shots, you can also boost ISO as high as 6400. This camera will also record 1280x720 HD video at 30 frames per second. Another popular touch screen model is the Sony Cybershot DSC-TX1 which has a 10.2 MP CMOS sensor and 3 inch touch screen LCD. It provides 4x optical zoom/optical image stabilization. In addition it has face detection, intelligent scene recognition, and motion detection technologies to get the right exposure and focus. It features a host of shooting modes such as portrait, landscape, backlight, macro, and close focus. It also allows users to shoot at speeds up to 10 frames per second or adjust up to ISO 3200 with the high sensitivity mode. It can also capture 720p HD video in MPEG4.

WiFi is a feature that consumers are now beginning to request. There are quite a number of WiFi digital cameras which allow you to transfer/download your photos without the cables. Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Sony and other well known manufacturers offer them. Nikon has the biggest selection with their Coolpix S52c, S51c, S610c, P1, and P2.