Which digital camera would you go with?

I'm looking to get my first digital camera and I do not know very much about them. My price range is $100-$150 and I plan on getting the best camera I can get for that range.

At Best Buy I played with the cameras in that range and out of all of them, I really liked the Sony DSC-W350.It took the best pictures, was very fast, took great HD video, and had a ton of features and settings.

My only problem is that I have been reading online and people have nothing but negative things to say about Sony. And they talk about Nikon and Canon as if they are the best. What is so bad about Sony? The Canon's I'm not interested in because they are too pricey and I have been told they are difficult to use. The Nikon's I played with felt cheap and took lousy pictures. Also, the sales rep at Best Buy said the Samsung cameras in that range are the best; but they were my least favorite.

So, tell me what is the best digital camera in my range? What do you think of Sony, Nikon, and Samsung? And more specifically, what do you think of the Sony DSC-W350 or the W330? Which one of those two would you go with?

At your pricepoint the differences are far from stellar. If you got a good feeling with that sony, go for it. Only thing is treat it with care, seems a tad fragile.

The best thing to do is research your choices because you are looking at one hundred dollars.

If you liked the Sony and it took good photos, then get the Sony. It doesn't matter what other people say… You're going to be using the camera, not them.

I just got the new Samsung PL100 for christmas!
Its amazing it is 12.2 mega pixels, easy to operate.
I have had the sony camera also I didn't like it because you had to give it battery's every time it was dead and with the new samsung it is a wall charger and charges fast and stays charged for long periods of time.

The sony camera I had was the cyber shot, it was nice but the pictures when printed weren't all that great and it didn't follow the correct commands. (:

Hope this helped

No Camera has everything BEST. There are some trade offs
<> Best Lens and Pictures: Sony ( Carl Zeiss Vario Lens ) or Panasonic ( Leica ) or Kodak ( some other similar company can't recollect ).
Some sony cons:
- Sony's can break fast and be hard to repair.
- It uses the stupid memory stick. Unless you buy an original Sony Mem stick, ( exp ) others may not work

<> Best longevity and hassle free Period: Samsung's really good here.
<> transfer ability and over-all looks: Kodak.
<> Flash and Night pics: Panasonic Canon
<> camera features: Fiju, Nikon Canon Olympus
If you want a good price to feature hit - get Fuji FinePix or Olympus. Both these are not too heavily priced and can take nice pics.
See the actual pics on Steve's camera.com

I would consider Canon PowerShot SX130IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera

Shoot 720p HD video with stereo sound while using the optical zoom
High-powered 12x wide-angle optical zoom with Optical Image Stabilizer
Scene modes like Miniature Effect for Movie and Fisheye Effect; Advanced Smart AUTO
DIGIC 4 Image Processor, with 12.1 megapixels; 3.0-inch wide LCD
Capture images to SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards (not included)