My daughter wants a better digital camera.We have no particular brand or model in mind just something a step colser to the pro models but in the 300-500 dollar range.Anyone have a recommendation?

 

If you watch for the sales, you can almost get into a digital SLR kit for $500....

We have a Nikon D-60 kit that we purchased about a year ago and have been very happy with it... Then as she wants to try different things, or expand the types of pictures she wants to take, she can invest in lens/filters etc over time...

go to froogle.com and search for Nikon D-60 or Nikon D-40....

My $.02 worth,

Bryan

 

Canon G10 is a nice camera. I have the G9 and EOS40D with a few nice lenses and I still end up taking pics a lot with the G9 because its just so much easier to carry around just for every day use. Kinda just depends on what and how you want to use it.

 

Take a look at the Olymbus with 20X optical zoom. The model is SP-570UZ. I have an earlier model of their ultra zooms and it has worked well for me. It is closer to the $300-350 range. If you want to spend a little more you are in Digital SLR range.

 

Thanks for the replies.

 

one more thing to consider now days, the bodies are always being upgraded every couple of years. I went in looking at the D40, if i upgraded to the D80, it allowed me the use of the full spectrum of Nikon lenses. Some of the lower priced bodies do not have the selection of lenses your daughter may want in the future. I know individuals who are on their fifth camera body, yet they still love their lens the purchased over 15 years ago!

You may spend a little more now for the camera body, but save money in the long run because you can re-use the lenses...

 

I would STRONGLY reccommend looking around for a used D-SLR, such as the previously mentioned D80 Nikon, as it will open up many more options for the future as she learns. Most camera/photography courses at community colleges still have folks learning on all manual film SLR's, as in the end it's not the camera that matters - it's the person's eye, and timing, light balance, etc.

Do NOT focus upon pixal count. The D40 & D50 with 6.1 mp are much more than adequate, and actually make handling photo files easier. Check out DPreview.com and nikond1.net for some more good information. Overall, I've found I prefer the handling and action of Nikon units over Canon, however they both make a quality product. I would reccommend against something like a used D200 (I have one currently) as the learning curve is much steeper for a beginner or even an advanced amature. find a good "service oriented" camera store in your area and they will help you learn, and often have traded-in cameras.

But if you're just shooting photos of the family, get a nice little point and shoot. Avoid brands that require proprietary memory devices or programs.

 

I can't be much help because I've always bought the digital camera to have, but most of the time their in for repair. I had to dig out my old NiconN80 film camera for my son's band concert last month just so I wouldn't miss it. I'm not buying another digital camera without an extended warranty, seems for me they only last about 300shots, or 1 1/2 yrs.. A $600 camera, that's $2 a picture, so digital isn't that cheap really. My Minolta,Nicon, and my Olympus all had issues. Now I'm using a cheap point and shoot, until my D80 comes back.

 

Canon DSLR REBEL XTI (10 Megapixels) is another one to consider. I have 4 Canons, they all still work. Only one I ever had trouble with was my Elph digital
4 M.Pixels. It was way out of warranty, called them to send it in. Guy said I could upgrade to a reconditioned one for about 140 Bucks, or fix mine for same. Had a couple issues. I said I wanted to keep my own camera, as I liked it and had always taken care of it. Anyway, one day a couple of weeks later, Fedex comes in with my camera,I look at bill - - - No charge, fixed as a courtesy, did not even charge me for shipping. Nikon is great too, I just know I have only had one issue with 1 Camera out of the 4 and they took great care of me with one phone call, free, and in a timely manner. I got mine new for tad under 500 over 1 year ago (DSLR), they have upgraded that model, so may be more now. Just remember, a good lens costs as much as the body, but it should come with a pretty good basic lens. I was going to get one of internet, but read some reviews of the stores that had the cheapest prices, and read bad things, like getting the camera without battery, or lens. So I found a good deal online at Cir City, but they had silver and I wanted black, axed B Buy if they would match it and they said yep.
Good luck. Hope this helps a little.

 

that's unfortunate to hear... We have had probably 10 different digital cameras since 1997 and I have only had problems with one of them... That was one that was damaged then repaired, and the repair had problems... Took a few interactions with Canon to get it right, but they eventually replaced it...

Bryan

 

I have a Olympus Stylus 790 SW for my personal camera and it works great. For work I have the same camera just a newer model, the 850 SW. They both are shockproof, waterproof, and dust resistant. My personal camera has been dropped in a bucket of waste diesel motor oil when on and it survived, I even cleaned it off quickly with brake cleaner and it did no damage.

 

http://www.dpreview.com/