Im a bit confused. I have been doing photography for awhile (sorry i havent posted in awhile) and i have a digital camera which has produced pretty good pictures. Its a proto-type Fujifilm Digital Camera Finepix 2.0mega pixels ccd 6x optical zoom. Its not the best but it worked. I was curious what would be a good camera. i'm trying not to go over $500. I love taking pics of the beach and flowers mostly. Thanks.

Alexia

Originally Posted by ripitupalistyle Im a bit confused. I have been doing photography for awhile (sorry i havent posted in awhile) and i have a digital camera which has produced pretty good pictures. Its a proto-type Fujifilm Digital Camera Finepix 2.0mega pixels ccd 6x optical zoom. Its not the best but it worked. I was curious what would be a good camera. i'm trying not to go over $500. I love taking pics of the beach and flowers mostly. Thanks. Alexia

If you are looking for a nice snap & shoot, but also want the creative (manual) abilities...I'd go for a Canon A95 - I've been nothing but happy with it. They do have interchangeable lenses for macro, wide angle, and a small telefoto. It's 5MP and I've gotten some great 4x6 prints from it. My non-technical mother even loves it and she's beginning to play with the creative settings herself!

I shoot a lot of flowers with my A95 and they come out nice. There is a built in macro focus function, but also manual where you control the focus from 1cm to 100cm. It's pretty sweet for the little all-purpose camera.

My only beef with it is the lag between pushing the button and it actually taking the pic...but that's an annoyance with most digitals...you get used to it and compensate for it.

I also suggest getting rechargeable AA's and a charger - 2 sets so always have one charged...I believe I have Energizer's 2500mAmp set. Lasts a long time! The A95 doesn't come with an A/C adapter, so get one of those for downloading pics.

my 2 cents :-)
Adrienne

I'd normally agree with the A95, but I've grown frustrated with the shutter lag on it. I'd like to suggest a few cameras that have much better (or lack thereof) shutter lag.

Fuji S5100 and Fuji S7000 are strong. (and 450/550$CDN respectively)

A slightly bigger investment can get you a Sony F828 (used perhaps?), retail is 999$CDN, so I bet you could get it for cheaper.

Fuji E500/510/550 are also great alternatives to Canon A-series cameras. They're basically copies of the Canons, with a lower (100$ or so) pricetag. I like them and suggest them to creative point'n'shooters on a budget (full P/A/S/M control)

Canon S2IS is my next suggestion, and at 649.99$CDN, (500$USD or so), it fits into your pricerange. 5mp, 12xoptical IS zoom. Really *really* nice peice. (and this camera doesn't suffer the shutter lag that the A95 does, but allows the canon Teleconverter lenses (the adapter isn't out yet, but soon) )

Uhh, beyond that, I'm a fan of the Kodak Z740 (just dropped 70$ in price), and some of the upper-end Dimage (minolta) cameras. Z5, A2, etc...

Actually, on that note, every camera i've mentionned here is compatible with various teleconverters.

I hope this has helped... helping customers is easier in real life than trying to do the same online :-P

When you say shutter lag, are you pressing the button half way to let it focus first? I have an A80 which is pretty much the same as your A95 and there's not really any lag after I let the camera focus. It's certainly slower than my 20D, but there shouldn't be much lag at all if you keep the button half pressed to lock focus and then push it the rest of the way to actually take the picture.

I have an A80 and agree the A95 or any other AXX series canon camera.

Originally Posted by Red Bull When you say shutter lag, are you pressing the button half way to let it focus first? I have an A80 which is pretty much the same as your A95 and there's not really any lag after I let the camera focus. It's certainly slower than my 20D, but there shouldn't be much lag at all if you keep the button half pressed to lock focus and then push it the rest of the way to actually take the picture.

hiya - I do the "halfway focus thing" and wait for my shot - however...in fast action situations it sucks, you can't always push halfway to focus and wait. Sometimes, the A95 will NOT refocus, so things are out of focus if the subject moved. For example, trying to capture aerobatic cats in play is nearly impossible with the A95, yet I readily capture them with my SLR (Canon REbel 2000).

So, I think it's more of a slow-focus thing...I was only speaking briefly above when answering the other question.

Adrienne

(who is waiting ever so patiently saving cash to buy a 350D or 20D)

J: It's in the same class as the Canon S2 IS.

H: The 12x stabilized zoom brings a lot of capability to the table.

J: It has full manual controls, but also does very well in Auto modes.

H: And it does flowers. I have a gallery started Here: http://www.pbase.com/jekyll_and_hyde/sony_h1_gallery

There are so many good digitals in the sub $500 range these days. They've really come a long way since the days of slow focus and long shutter lag.

So, it depends on what you want- "Prosumer" such as the Sony 828, Nikon 8800/8700, Oly C8080 etc....

Superzoom IS/OS cameras such as Sony H1, Panasonic FZ5, FZ20, Canon IS2 etc....

Compact point and shoot with manual controls Sony P200, various Nikon, Canons etc....

Ultra compact slip in your pocket cameras, Canon Elf series, Fuji Z1, Sony T series etc.....

I have a Sony 828 and am very happy with its performance. Focus speed and shutter lag (or lack there of) are both very good. Shot to shot times even with flash are good.

I also have a Fuji Z1 and even it's focus speed and shutter lag are very good. Much better than a similar camera of a year or so ago.

Best thing is to decide on what type of camera you want, check them out in person if possible, read reviews both professional and personal.

Good luck in your decision.