Netherless to say, a student consider a digital camera as a MUST. Not just by carving the memory in the pixels but also taking some "ngegeh" own potrait to be publish whether at Friendster or MySpace and I'm one of them. I want to buy a digital camera which just cost me RM500 below.
But the problem is there are so many options out there and I didn't know what to pick so I think you guys could help me.
I already narrow some to 3 choices.

BenQ DC C640 (has image stabilazation, face tracker and free 1GB SD card.)

Sony Cybershot S650 (I don't know what to say about this model cuz I hardly see the specs at the camera store. All I know is there is no free Sony Pro Duo card nor rechargeabble what so ever)

Canon A460 (people say it produce good quality picture. But all i'm sure is there's free 1GB SD card)

Hardly by seeing those, I also made my own homework by looking at some sight of it.
For example, Sony S650 only produce 320x240 video with sound while BenQ is 850x640 video with audio plus pause function when recording. Adding the Canon also produce a video with sound with its 640x480 video.
Plus, I red in a photography books that a 35mm film's picture is equivalent to a 6 MP penghasilan gambar.
But from all this camera, if you print the pictures, which pictures from which camera model is the best?
And also, when I set the setting 1600x1200, why the MP I see in my ACDSee said it's 1.92MP while the camera is 7.2MP? Tipu ka this camera?
Dowly, what is the meaning of 7.2 effective megapixel?
Image stabilazation? What's the function?
Cybershot? Pentax lens? ISO? Portrait mode?
What's all this stuff?
And if you have these model, could you please put the picture that it produce in this entry? Thank you very much!

P/S: Sorry if my question is to berat to be answer.....

Forget BenQ at all cost. It has no resell value and it sux.

I will have to ask for your budget before proceeding in answering your questions.

Your info are all over the place.

For a start, BENQ is only good in producing computers and parts.

So that narrows down your choices even further (considering you do not bother about other brands and their offering and wish to only stick to the 3 options), you now have the Sony and Canon.

Personally, and I am sure the rest would agree that Canon is a better choice over the Sony. The Sony has limited capabilities, and is the most expensive in the market class, and uses it's own MemoryStick instead of any other memory cards such as SD, XD, etc.

And you don't need a very high mega-pixel camera to take nice photos, the CCD/Sensor in the camera is what matters. Larger megapixel enables you to print in a larger size, if you are looking at only printing at a normal 4x6", then 3/4/5/6 is more than enough. And bear in mind, the larger the megapixel, the more space it is using.

So, I would recommend Canon. They are easy to use. That is all.

He needs a TON of help!! Like edgar said .... buy ANY Canon, you won't be wrong. Then fiddle around with it and post your pics here. We can then comment and advise you if needed.

** Any Canon SD ELPH series is a good performer, compact, durable & most of all, they're made in Japan.

Heh..heh..I agree with edgar...your info is all over the place..confusing. I also agree with him saying that you don't need a very high mega-pixel camera for a start. 3.1 MP can print a good 4R pics and you need less than that for image in websites. Most cameras in the market the minimum available is 5MP. All the other stuff like image stablization, type of lens..ie pentax, modes..i.e like potrait..all these are extra function that will help you to get better pictures. Unless if you are very serious in photography these things you need to look up...but be prepare to fork up more $$$. All camera now comes with auto mode which helps you to take good pics... so don't think too much.
Throw away benq and that leaves sony & canon. Both are ok and nearly the same price....but the advantage of sony S650 is 7.2MP, built in 24MB memory and higher speed USB2.0. the downside is that it has lower movie resolution, no red-eye reduction flash... and use memory stick (unless if you have other sony gadgets..like your car audio, VAIO etc..it will be useful).
Canon A460 has higher movie resolution, 4x zoom to play with, red-eye flash and use SD cards (SD cards is widely use in gadgets & it's cheap). The downside is that it has 5MP resolution (doesn't matter if you only use up to A4 print) , less 16MB memory (who cares..can use SD cards), lower USB1.1 (you can use SD card to transfer directly to your computer also).
I would prefer Canon A460 as it has good optics to give better pics (Sony S650 doesn't use the famous Carl Zeiss lens here) and use SD cards.
Sekian, terima kasih.

Canon all the way baby!

Out of your two options, I think the Canon has better functions and features. 5 Megapixel is more than enough for the casual photographer! You don't really need 7 Megapixel.

Thanx for the info. It does help me alot.
The reson i'm asking is just there's abunch of people out there said if you have a 7MP camera and you 'cuci' it, the pics would be look sooooo fantastic but now i know it all comes down the sensor.
Meaning by your comments, Canon has a good sensor.
But the Canon A460 looks kinda 'fat' not like the other camera that I've mention.
Okay, take it is way....

Two pictures that has been taken by Canon A460 and used the full resolution, 5MP and it's rivalry, BenQ DC 740i 7.2MP (also taking the picture with its full resolution).
The question is, when you 'cuci' it, which photo looks more beautiful and got quality?

P/S: And Webmaster, my budget is around RM500.

Rahman, what size u want to cuci? if you cuci both at 12R, Benq will comes out better.. but if u cuci to 8R u will notice not much of difference, but i bet pics with canon will turn out more beautiful.

canon for sure. functions and features are there. I'm born with it and now Nikon SLR. hahahhaha! But I would say the price are quite tedious for a 7MP. But what's more than a good invest for future? Re-think again...

Rahman,

There are certain aspects that you, and perhaps you friends need to understand.

In order to have a super-sharp super-clear photo when it is printed, you need a really good camera. As far as I am concerned, only Prosumer-level cameras, and SLR cameras can produce a super-sharp print.

Anyone will agree with me that any prints out of a consumer-level, compact / mini pocket camera WILL NOT produce a sharp and clear photo. They just have one purpose, and it is to take photos in the most basic form that is actually viewable.

I have said it many times before, but I will say it again to you and for the rest of the people here if they are reading:

Please don't be fooled by the super-crystal-clear LCD preview screen on these camera. I know many late model digital compact cameras have very attractive LCD preview screen.

But what you don't know is, you are actually being ripped off your money for paying super high premium for thousands of RM to purchase what the manufacturer invested, in nothing, more than the LCD screen.

They build the screen so perfectly in fact, you are being blinded by the quality of the actual photos taken. The photos can only look so good in the 3" preview screen, but when you transfer them into your computer, they are not as good as expected but even more disappointing when they are actually printed.

This is very true, and I speak from my experience. I've been through a lot of cameras over the years.

And I recently bought another new Canon Ixus 750 for my girlfriend (after our brand new Nikon S9 was stolen), the LCD screen was so unbelievable cool, but the despite all that fancy offerings, the picture quality is never going to be as good as any prosumer cameras, let alone SLR cameras.

But of ALL the compact cameras in the market, there is no better choice other than choosing the Canon, because of the user-friendly features and the ease of use when compared to other brands.

Let me know if you do find any easier-to-use cameras in the market. I don't care if other brands offer features such as face-detection (which most late models carry now, including the Canon Ixus 750) or shake-reduction etc etc, they are all the same thing. They produce the same level of photo quality.

A next step up is prosumer camera. If you want compactness with an average to good picture quality, then always get a prosumer camera. Even the most affordable prosumer camera, can still produce an even clearer and shaper photo than any digital compact mini pocket-sized camera.

Trust me.