Hi everyone, since my camera is becoming pretty old, I was wondering if you had some ideas for wich camera I should buy. I have no preferences (if kodak or nikon and so on..), since the camera I'm using now is the only I've ever had... The camera I'm using now is a samsung PL50 10,2 megapixels... Only thing I'd like it to have is the menu to choose between various settings such as colour and photo style because I don't use photo shop, and I'd like some good macroshooting too )

p.s I'm not english so I hope you understand what I've written ;)

thanks

You forgot the most important factor. What is your budget? ;)

Mark's point about budget is vital. High-end compacts and starter DSLRs are more or less in the same price range. Most people agree that the larger the sensor (not the more pixels, the larger the physical size of the sensor), the better the image quality.

To help you narrow your choices, here are my suggestions by price:

Compacts (small sensors):
Lumix LX5
Canon S100
Canon G12
Nikon Coolpix P7000

DSLRs (larger sensors)
Any of the starters from Canon, Nikon and Sony (not Olympus, they have more or less given up on the E- series and the new OM-D won't come out for a few months)

Don't buy:
Any hybrid, i.e., small sensor, mirror-less, inter-changeable lenses, e.g. Sony Nex 5/7, Nikon V1/J1, Panasonic / Olympus. This is just my bias. I'm sure they make good second cameras, but they have all of the problems of compacts, none of their qualities, are more expensive and add a few problems of their own.

One way to help you decide is to draw your own radar graph. The four axes I would choose are:
1. Image quality
2. Features
3. Size
4. Ergonomics

Rate each camera and plot the graph. The larger the surface area, the more suitable your choice. Factor the price as a percentage of the cheapest and re-plot your graph.

Example:

Camera 1 scores 3, 2, 3 and 4
Camera 2 scores 2, 1, 3 and 4
Camera 3 scores 2, 0, 2 and 1
Camera 4 scores 3, 3, 2 and 4

on each axis. Cameras 1 and 4 have the largest surface area. Camera 1 is 120% more expensive than Camera 4 and therefore is less suitable than Camera 4.

Sounds like a complicated way of choosing, but it can help. Remember to use the same scale for each model.

Hope my English is understandable.

Thank you so much! I'm sorry for not mentioning the price, but I Was in a hurry and I didn't have time to convert from euros to dollars (?) In any case, about 200/300€ would be enough also because I don't want it to become too expensive since I'm not a professional photographer... thanks again and don't worry about it. I Washington more concerned about you don't understanding me ))

*was... stupid autocorrect

I think you might like the Olympus XZ-1. It has good image quality for a compact camera and a lot of "art filters" you can add to the picture,