After my mom complained because she didn't have her own digital camera for use at home (I had taken the family camera to college), she and my dad told me start researching for a new camera for myself. After spending nearly a month trying to figure out which digital camera best suited me, I had narrowed down the search to two candidates, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W50 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX8. Here were the pros and cons:
Sony DSC-W50
Pros: Higher resolution (6.0 vs 5.0 on the Lumix), Cheaper, Longer battery life, Marginally smaller body
Cons: Never a big fan of Sony cameras, Lacks optical image stabilization, Uses Sony-only memory-stick
Panasonic DMC-FX8
Pros: Optical Image Stabilization, not a Sony camera, uses SD memory, faster image-to-image time, hi-speed memory support
Cons: Less megapixels, Less battery life, More expensive
It's been tough trying to pick one, but I ended up choosing the Lumix (in black). Basically, the Lumix corrected all the problems I had with my old Sony camera, the DSC-P72 (the one my mom now uses). The optical image stabilization fixed the blurry-shot problem that was prevalent on the P72, and that was the main feature that convinced me to buy the Lumix. And it apparently isn't just a gimmick; the review of the DMC-FX9 on Digital Camera Resource shows that it actually makes a difference. The Lumix also took less time to process each image, especially with the new hi-speed SD memory.
All in all, I'm very happy with the purchase. The total cost was $346, $270 for the camera at Circuit City, $56 for a hi-speed 512MB SD card, and $9 for a cheap case from Case Logic. I also have a $9 mail-in rebate for the SD card, so the total cost will be $337. It's a little more than I wanted to spend, but I really think that it was worth it in terms of value.
I'll be posting images I take with the Lumix in a few days, so you can judge for yourself how good the quality really is. I also have a Flickr page, so you'll see more of those images on there as well.
good, thanks