what should I get?

[grumpy&princess]

I want to get a new camera soon. I have around $500 to spend on it. I take many pictures of things and people in motion and in full light and at night like scenery pictures at night. Most of my pictures are taken at places like WDW or other amusement parks at for candid shots of family at holidays and such. I am a novice at camera and dont really know what in the world all the buttons do or should be used for on a camera. I am tired of the usual digitals that stink when you zoom in to much or have poor quality of picture when you try to crop them too. Can anyone help me?

 

[garate55]

Well if you want something that takes good pictures but is still simple to use? Doesn't exist......no really, DSLR cameras are not hard to use and you don't have to fiddle with the settings if you don't want to, there is just no switch to zoom in and out.

I would recommend something like a Canon EOS XT(350D), Nikon D40 or Olympus E-Volt 410 or 510. I found all these cameras for just under $500 on Buydig.com (except the E-Volt 510 which was $549). These are the low end SLR cameras but should be fine, just choose something that you want to buy lenses for and stick with that. Hint* Canon lenses are a bit expensive. But Canons are the most popular camera.

I have a Nikon D40 6MP. The only drawback to DSLR's is that they are quite big and need space to transport other than that I wouldn't want to go back to a point and shoot.

 

[grumpy&princess]

I have looked at them but dont understand what the 18-55mm means. Sorry for questions. I am a beginner here and dont understand all of the info on these pages when trying to understand them. Do any of these come with the image stabilizer? I dont have the most steadiest hand in the world.

 

[npmommie]

The Pentax K100d super is $499 at B&H with a $100 rebate.......so ends up being $399.
Its an entry level dslr........I just ordered one........so I can't give a review yet.
worth checking out.
www.dpreview.com has good reviews of just about any camera

 

[garate55]

Check this lenschart out it might help explain somethings. If not somebody else might have a cross reference chart to explain the zooms ie: 3x= 135mm or something like that.
I'm just not certain about the exact measurements of the lenses and how much zoom they give.

 

[DVC Jen]

sounds like you really aren't in the dslr market. Have you thought about the Canon S5? There is a whole threat here with photos taken with either the Canon S3 or S5.

The photo quality will not be that of a dlsr - but you can still get great photos. We got our oldest DD a S3 for her graduation and she got some great shots with it.

 

[MICKEY88]

I have looked at them but dont understand what the 18-55mm means. Sorry for questions. I am a beginner here and dont understand all of the info on these pages when trying to understand them. Do any of these come with the image stabilizer? I dont have the most steadiest hand in the world.

the sony alpha 100 and the new a200 have image stabilization built into the camera

 

[grumpy&princess]

what do you think of Canon PowerShot A650 IS 12.1MP my sister told me about this one but dont know anything about it.