Which camera to buy

[idanr84]

Hi,

I wanna buy a new camera and i'm thinking about one of these 3:

Canon PowerShot SX260

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-Digital-Stabilized-Wide-Angle/dp/B0075SUK14/ref=cm_cr_pr_produ...

Canon PowerShot SX500

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-Wide-Angle-Stabilized-3-0-Inch/dp/B00908BMVE/ref=cm_cr_pr_prod...

Nikon COOLPIX S9200

http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-COOLPIX-Digital-Camera-NIKKOR/dp/B009SE6KPI/ref=zg_bs_330405011_2

I'm not an advanced (not even a beginner) photographer, I want a solid camera, good zoom, good quality, hd video and light to carry around.

Plus,I want it to have enough advanced features having the possibility of using them in the near future.

The most important thing is quality of photos, day&night, and probably ease of use.

Other recommendation would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Skirball]

Surprisingly, the SX260 has better specs than the SX500 pretty much all around, and in a smaller package.  The one area where the SX500 looks to shine is macro - which is funny, because that's usually where point and shoots shine.  I'd say it's a fairly easy call between those two.

SX260 vs the Nikon looks a bit more complicated.  Looks like each is suited a bit more toward certain types of photography.  The Canon looks significantly better in video, the Nikon has a faster burst rate, smaller package and cheaper.  Sensors are going to be about the same.

More importantly, what is your budget, and how important is minimizing cost (i.e. would you select a camera with a few less features if it saved you $100?

[idanr84]

Yes, depend what features, but for 100$ the answer is probably yes. For instance, i don't really care about the GPS.

Actually my focus changed a bit, and now my choice is between the SX260 and the panasonic ZS20. Who'd you go for ?

[ErgoMan]

I would still go for the SX260. It received great reviews http://www.claritific.com/cameras/Canon_PowerShot_SX260_HS/ and I like the preset post processing of Canon. But then again I might be biased ;).

[cicopo]

According to the info at Imaging Resource the SX500 can't use an auxillary flash while the SX260 can and from what I read the built in flash (of either) isn't that powerful.