Either that, or I'm finally learning how to do the fun stuff...
About two weeks back, I bought a Samsung S630. At $59 at Wolf Camera (it was a blowout sale item) it seemed a fair risk. I wanted something I could fiddle with, that seemed pretty sensitive, and would do video with audio. The little guy has a Samsung S530, and it's been holding out pretty well - I'd try the next model.
One thing that I wasn't quite aware of when I got this camera was how fast it'd go through batteries. Alkalines last maybe 20 shots. Lithiums seem to last about 40-50. The best bet seems to be using rechargable hi-amperage batteries - 2500 mAh or greater. From what I've read on the web, don't even bother with batteries under about 2200 mAh output - apparently the thing's got a heck of a current draw at times, and if the battery can't give it the current it'll shut itself off. (I'm going to see about getting some 2900mAh ones and test their life.)
Quality wise - I'm more likely to lose the camera than have it malfunction. It feels sturdy - 'massive' in the hand, though the size is small for a pocket camera. It doesn't FEEL cheap. And it takes standard SD cards, so capacity isn't a problem.
Image quality... is pretty darn good. The following three shots illustrate that.
The first is a shot of the moon through some trees.
Then, a snippet with 5 stars in it..
Not too shabby. I did use an editing program to cut the bits out and shrink them down to fit the column - but that was is.
Anyhow - if you're looking for an inexpensive, but not cheap, camera to carry around, you could do a lot worse than a Samsung S630.
J.