The similarities of the photographic equipment in many stores have been duly noted. Most of the differences stem from the price tag, and the brand label. Competitors begin price wars over products that are out at the same time, and attempt to win over the client base from the others without allowing the consumer to touch both and decide for themselves. When you are choosing, you need to be aware of the tactics used by store clerks in order to pull a sale, and you are well within your rights to refuse the models that appear complex and cluttered.
The similarities are not just the casing of the appliance. Although the outer shells can be symbolic of the way to say no to upgrading the machine that simply does not need fixing. The models are relatively small and thin, and have many colors to that are displayed reasonably well. However, there are some that are not performing to the best of the ability that would otherwise be associated with point and shoot devices such as this. Many of the customers take on these appliances and are then left with a shoddy piece of workmanship that can not be fixed enough to produce excellent quality work as they were intended.
There are exceptions to that ruling. You may have been able to overlook a few small features, but the simple fact that the device will not do exactly as it is intended to do is enough to put you off from purchasing it before you have fully explored the options. These options are generally not always intimidating to use, as many can show just how innovative the camera has become with the image quality of some of the shots. Regardless of the zoom functions, or flash, or even light exposure settings, the main issue is that you are able to understand the simple functions on the device and this is what you can pass on to other people.
At $500, you would ultimately expect some level of return for your money. It would appear that you need to end any purchase orders until you have truly looked around and selected a few to test out so that all the specifications you were displayed, and the users can be informed of which one suits them. Finding the correct camera that suits you now that you have selected a few should help you weed out the last few that tend to feel differently to the small and compact appliances, or the ones that feel much more in tune with what you need in terms of the perfect device.
The perfect device can sometimes be difficult to find, especially with the menu systems being what they are on the models. The speed can be relatively impressive, so you may wish to take some time with the menu bar to ensure that you are fully capable of using all the features. No one person should be the only one who should find the system intimidating.