Camera Shy

[308Lover]

Thanks for the replies guys! I'm getting great info and ideas. It all helps. Picking a camera is a tough job. Only people who have used them in the bush can judge the performance re;-wildlife.

[quadrakid]

you,re biggest question to answer is do you want a small lightweight point and shoot or do you want something slightly bigger that gives you the ability to zoom in on the critters your liable to see? there are plenty of nice cameras made by the big names in both categories. i bought a lumix with 18 power zoom,powered by lightweight lithium battery,i love it. olympus,canon nikon lumix,all good manufacturers.

[Tikka7mm]

I've got the Nikon D40 6.1mp and I absolutley love it. Takes awesome photos right out of the box. Unless you're planning on enlarging your photos beyond 11x14 then 6mp is enough. The reason I went with SLR is shutter lag and camera capabiliy. Typical point and shoots can only do so much where as SLR's are capable of doing so much more. The down side is they're a little bigger but they definitely take a better picture.

[Wolfman]

I have a little Sony Cybershot with a 3X zoom. Nothing fancy but its small, light and works pretty good.



Wolfman

[Bow Walker]

I'm right there with you on the Nikon D40. Great camera - and it's not that bulky that I worry about packing it with me.

[308Lover]

I'm starting to lean toward the SLR. I'll have to get to a good store and test them out.

[Tarp Man]

One thing to think about with the SLR is the weather. It deends how you see yourself using it. I have both a digital SLR and a digital point and shoot. I have a Canon Rebel TXi and a Pentax W30. The W30 is waterproof and dustproof. I have shot video footage underwater and taken many pictures with it. I really like it for in the pack quick pictures. for stuff where the weather it co-operating. Digital SLR's will be better for composing shots whereas the point and shoot is just that... point and shoot. It all boils down to your primary use.

[johnes50]

I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30 SLR camera and a Canon Powershot PowerShot A430 point and shoot camera. The Panasonic has 12X-18X optical zoom and up to 60X digital zoom. The Canon has 4X optical zoom.

If I want to take a pictures around the campfire or of my family and my dog I use the Canon.

If I feel artsy-fartsy and want to take fancy pictures and especially tele-photo pictures, then I take my Panasonic. Both cameras take good pictures.

I noticed the prices were coming down on all digital cameras lately so check out places like Future shop for deals.

[308Lover]

Thanks Johnes---I'll be looking around the Victoria area.

[jrjonesy]

Another vote for the Panasonic Lumix FZ18. It takes great pictures and also gives the ability to take "RAW" photos and have fun "developing" at home. I did a fair amount of research also before buying mine. dpreview.com is a good site for comparisons. These Superzoom's (Panasonic, Olympus, Canon) are just a step below the SLR's but give you point and shoot options. For a true compact, I've seen lots great pictures from the Canon Powershots.