03-24-2006, 02:15 AM
…although it's a little out of your initial price range ($259) the value is outstanding. Takes CF cards, uses 4AAs. captures stills at 3.2MP and 640 x 480 video at 30FPS. The image stabilization feature and the 10x optical zoom are probably what pushes this past the other cameras mentioned here (which are all nice ones, by the way). You really have to work hard to take a "Bad Picture" …
The S1 IS is now succeeded by the S2 and very shortly the S3, so this could be a last opportunity to buy a new one.
Seems like it'd be perfect for a classroom with both still and video capture. Since it's a digital camera, the stills are perfect, even at "automatic". The video capability doesn't replace a digital video camera, but for "everyday events" that might just be played back on the computer or an attached screen, it's more than enough.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001G6...3?v=glance&n=502394
