Recommend me a good digital camera (experienced users)

[SirChadwick]

I've been through about 8 digicams in my life. Most of which have consisted of Canons... A40, A610, S400, etc. I've also owned a Sony DSC-V3 which was probably the nicest I've used for image stablization and clarity/quality of pics. My problem w/ the Canon pics is that they tend to look soft in dark lighting conditions. I have to take about 10 pics to get 1 that looks really clear. The main thing I take pictures of is masks/busts/entertainment memorablia. This is my hobby/part time job and what I spend the most time on. So it doesn't matter if it's small or huge - I just want a great cam at a good price that takes pics that look like these below... good low lighting conditions would be a plus!

http://i4.photobucket.com/albu...rustedowghocks/002.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/alb...tkissme90/DSC_0350.jpg

My budget is $500 or less. All suggestions/help is appreciated!

-Chad

 

[jpeyton]

Any decent DSLR kit will blow your digicams out of the water.

Under $500 will get you:

Pentax K100D Super Kit
Nikon D40 Kit

Check out Atlanta Craigslist if you still live in the area. Search the Photo/Video section for "nikon" and "canon". $500 should get you:

Nikon D70 or D70s
Nikon D50
Canon Rebel XT

 

[SirChadwick]

Thx for the suggestions. Will look into the DSLR side of the world... guess I need to really do some research. I've always been a P&S type guy, w/ very few changes for macro shots, etc. But I catch on quick.

Anyone else have input?

 

[corkyg]

The Canon S3 or S5 IS will do that very nicely for less than your stated price. It is a rather sophisticated P&S camera with SLR characteristics by virtue of an electronic TTL viewfinder - even the "optical" one sees the electronic image.

This summer when I temporarily lost my DSLR, I had to get a quick replacement on the road - the S3 IS did the job. This is not a mask, but it is a closeup with built in flash:

S3 IS

 

[SirChadwick]

Originally posted by: corkyg
The Canon S3 or S5 IS will do that very nicely for less than your stated price. It is a rather sophisticated P&S camera with SLR characteristics by virtue of an electronic TTL viewfinder - even the "optical" one sees the electronic image.

I've read the reviews on these cams and looked at the pics... and they don't look any better than my A610 to be honest. Maybe it just takes a lot of tweaking the settings... but at this point I think I'd rather fork out another $200 to get a sharp picture. It looks like I'll be saving up for a Pentax K100D super right about now. Especially w/ the $100 rebate offer.