What Kind Of Camera?

Stephen420: read through the following thread, you can get some really good ideas. There is no "one" perfect camera. It is always a balance or trade-off between cost and performance. I'm happy with my Canon S3 IS, though the S5 IS is out now (there was no S4).

Best wishes...

https://goccf.com/t/4204

Stephen, I'll give you my two current favorites, although there are plenty of others. First, the Canon S* IS series, currently at the S5 IS. I own an S2, and it was fine on its' own. The $400 S5, with 8 megapixels, is capable of creating images that can compete with my other choice, the Canon Digital Rebel series, with a dedicated macro lens. I have an 8MP Rebel XT, with a Canon 100mm Macro lens, and it's still a better rig than my abilities can use completely. I've about $1100 in it, total, and that includes an 18-55 kit lens, the macro lens (itself more than the cost of an S5), an AC adaptor, backpack case, and CF memory. It has been superseded by the 10MP Rebel XTi, and is therefore available for about $100 less than I paid.

You can't go wrong either way. The S5 IS is a tremendous all-around camera, with a very long zoom, full manual control and great glass for a point-and-shoot. On the other hand, the XT is a dSLR, with a comprehensive range of adjustments and the finest selection of available lenses in photography. Frankly, if you're not interested in getting *really* serious about photography, the 5% you're losing with the S5 IS probably isn't worth worrying about. Heck, my S2 is as good an all-around camera as I probably need.

Look for zacharycash's "Turned another leaf" thread here for examples of what the S5 IS will do. He's getting pretty good with that thing, but I suspect he hasn't got the best from it yet. Look here for a couple samples of what the Rebel is capable of:

http://www.compucoin.com/gallery/ma...2_itemId=140

Click the images there for full size, and I hope you're not on dialup.

Thanks to everyone.

I'll, no doubt, keep you informed.