I remember just a few years ago this price range would only get you about six megapixels.

There are a lot of $200-$300 point and shoots on the market right now, and there's no way the test display at Best Buy is going to tell you which to buy. How is elbowing other shoppers while analyzing your hasty snapshots on a 3-inch, low-rez screen going to help you make an informed buying decision?

Instead, I put six of the most popular point-and-shoots on the market through some major testing. Then I decided on the one that you should buy without the hedging BS.

Meet our competitors
Each of these compact point and shoots features optical image stabilization and is priced around $250:

....

 

http://gizmodo.com/5101649/the-ultimate-250-camera-shoot+out

I went through this new camera dilemna in the summer. Ended up buying this thing...

 Sony's DSCH50B Cyber-shot

After battery/memory card I ended up burning about 400CDN. Sometimes I think I should have just got a cheap DSLR for the money I spent...  *shrug*

But it does serve it's purpose. Daytime shots look fine, and the settings give me a lot more exposure/shutter control than the cheaper P&Ss... although I wish the ISO wasnt so grainy at night.

Overall I dig that it still fits in my pocket...(jacket pocket)