? for STFCATFISH (you too Jonny Redhorse)

[colonel42]

I'm looking into purchasing a digital camera and have no clue when it comes to buying. I'm looking for something to use outdoors and can reach out and take decent pictures. I like to shoot pictures while I drive out to our hunting property. Sometimes see deer in the fields but when I take pictures I just get little dots that I have to explain to people that they are deer. Granted I'm not a photographer but just curious if there is a low priced camera that will take a decent picture with some zoom

[Steve Foss]

There are some point-and-shoot digitals that can reach out and touch someone with telephoto zoom, but I don't know much about the specifics of that category of digital. Jonny Redhorse uses one and gets really nice wildlife shots, so maybe he'll chime in here.

If you opt for a digital SLR, which is bigger, allows the swapping of lenses and has more features than a point-and-shoot, you're looking at more money.

Nikon's the cheapest DSLR alternative, with Canon a bit more expensive. If you go to canoga camera dot comm and look over the Nikon D50 and Canon Digital Rebel XT and XTi, those are their entry-level DSLRs. And you'll need a zoom lens that'll take you out to 300mm. Tamron or Sigma offer zooms around 70-300mm, and are less expensive than buying Canon or Nikon brand zooms. I think, with camera and lens combo, you're looking at $700 to $1,000.

But maybe a point-and-shoot will do you just fine. They're able to do a lot more than they were even a few years ago. And the good ones are a couple-three hundred dollars cheaper than DSLRs. Thoughts, Jonny?

[mcary]

Colonel42,

One option you may want to consider is the Canon Powershot S2IS. It is a point and shoot camera with full automatic and manual control options (in case you want to get a little more creative) and it has a 12x optical zoom. It also has built in image stabilization to steady the pictures that require using the full zoom capabilities. I owned the S1IS before upgrading to the Digital Rebel XT SLR. It functioned extremely well and did a nice job of zooming in on hard to reach subjects. I sold it to a colleague and he has been using it without any problems for the past year and a half. The only negative to this camera is that it has a tendency to eat up batteries due to the image stabilization so rechargeable batteries are a must. I found a retailer online that is offering the camera with a carrying case, additional memory card and rechargeable batteries (plus charger) for less than $400 dollars. If this is within your price range, I would recommend it based upon personal experience. The only reason I sold it and upgraded is because I wanted the instantaneous power-up and shutter release that SLR's offer and now that I own one I'm hooked (so to speak). Hope this helped.

[Dbl]

Quote:

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Nikon's the cheapest DSLR alternative, with Canon a bit more expensive.

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Don't forget the new Pentax K100 with anti-shake technology built into the camera body, which gives you image stabilization on ANY lens you mount on the camera. That is priced at $699 with kit lens (Same price as the Nikon D50). Just another option if you are looking for a DSLR. Add the $150 zooms Steve is talking about and it will get you in the $900 range with tax and or shipping. Good luck shopping, there are many good cameras and choices out there.

[jonny_redhorse]

sorry I answered so late here...... to be honest, I think the guys here have pretty well covered the basics allready..not one heck of alot to add.....the technology is changing so fast that even my fuji 9000 is outdated allready and just picked it up last march....I have noticed the "pixel count" on the newer models of the point and shoots are even greater then mine at 9 megs..panasonics lumix DMCfz50x..is a 10 megapixel..alot of camera for a point and shoot(12x optical zoom),(35-420mm lens) optical stabilization..and another is the samsung pro 815 at 8 megs with a 15x optical zoom (28-420mm lens)...list goes on and on..these cameras are about 700 bucks but the lens is built in already......but....I do add teleconverters to mine adding even more zoom......the trade off is blurryness at the high zoom...that's where the big gun cannons and nikons have me beat...better clarity at high zoom...just depends on how much a guy wants to spend I guess....I do get some pretty decent images from my "bridge camera" but one has to realize it never was designed to be "better" then the high end cannons or nikons..you get what you pay for......i get the most out of what my camera can do..if you want "best"....you pay more...right now I'm satisfied with the images I get but there's always tomorrow .....Colonel,it sounds like you may be needing a camera with some "zoom" to it from your post....the cameras I mentioned would certainly fit the bill...just shy of a thousand bucks.....but if you go up one notch......you'll be spending a thousand plus for the cannons and nikons but the end result will be more versatil and the photo quality will be better.....jonny