Best Digital Camera For The Buck For Coins

Not sure if anyone reads this far back in a post but has anyone tried typing in Camera Shows in places like Google? I go to camera shows frequently and have purchased all my camera equipment there. I know have 6 dgital cameras and never paid more than $50 for one. My best is a Fuji S7000 which takes up to 12 Megapixels. I just purchased a Vivitar 6150S for $25. Several others for even less. At most camera shows around here there are experts that will check out any used ones but so far I've purchased all mine brand new, in the box. No camera store, web site, discount store, department store could ever compete with a camera show.

Thanks, Frank! I have just acquired two 60W reveal bulbs that I can't wait to try out. I am getting close to having proper lighting :)

~Roman

Steve, I'll be in an excellent position to answer your question in detail in a while - I just took delivery of a Canon 350D (Rebel XT) tonight, and I already own an S2 IS, Canon's equivalent of the Panasonic.

My gut feeling is, the Panasonic will give you results that are much closer to the dSLR's than the price difference would indicate. My S2 IS is an enormously talented camera, just as good at the long end of the 12x zoom (due to the image stabilization) as it is at the macro end (where it'll focus on something touching the lens).

My reasons for buying the XT are more complex than just dissatisfaction with the S2; I'm perfectly happy with it. The only fault I can find in it is a slight problem with macro focus in really low light, and that wasn't annoying enough to want to replace it.

You certainly won't find a dSLR that will provide results, with one piece of glass, that will compare to the Panasonic. You're going to end up buying multiple lenses , and spend a bunch more money (the macro lens I bought for my XT cost much more than the complete S2 IS did), for results which won't be better until you get really serious about photography.

On the road, you will have a one-piece camera, not requiring lens changes and add-on flashes and a duffel bag to carry stuff.

So, unless you've got your heart set on a dSLR, I'd say get the Panasonic (or a Canon S3 IS), and spend the $500 you'll save on a coin to take pics of.

Stujoe has personally proven here that the Panasonic is more than capable of taking excellent coin pics.

OK, as if it wasn't a hard enough choice as it is, Olympus is about to dump an all-in-one on the market with 18x zoom and IS. Remember, these are the guys who started the long-zoom revolution with the C2100UZ (one I wish I'd never sold).

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/o.../index.shtml

http://www.beachcamera.com/shop/pro...u=PNDMCFZ50K

Wow! The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50K is an impressive camera, but at $463 would have been pushing my budget to its outer limits as specified in the original post, now almost 11 months old. My Canon S2-IS is everything I think I will ever need in a camera... at least for now. I bought it at $343, shipping included and now, naturally, they can be had for $279. In another month they'll be down to $200 and by the end of May, somebody will pay us to order them.

Of course, two months after buying any of these cameras, they've become obsolete with the introduction of the next model to come along. Such is the digital age.

Fred

Maybe April.