Digital Camera Help?

Question

I use to own a Sony digital camera but I was not completely satisfied with it because it was so slow to snap picture on after another. I recently bought a Nikon L5 and that is slow as well especially if you have the flash on and some of the pictures are blurry.

What I want out of a camera is a fast shooting camera, so when you take a pic you don't have to wait a long time before you can shoot again. I want a fast camera, so when you turn it on you can start shooting. I'm looking for one with LONG battery life. With my Nikon I recently took it to a Red Wings game and went through 2 pairs of AA batteries! I also want a feature when you zoom in and out it's fast.

I like to take close up pictures and keep snapping. I like to print them out and hang them on the walls or put in picture frames. One that is small to carry in my purse would be great.

Any suggestions...really need the help. Thanks!

Answer 1

Canon's PowerShot S3IS would be my pick based on the information that you have provided. Of course if money were no object, then grab a dSLR and buy the Macro Lenses of your choice and go. The Canon's PowerShot S3IS is about $350, so look at it and see what you think.

Answer 2

You can't fit it in your purse, unless you carry one of those overnight bags, but you really have described a DSLR.

Get a Nikon D50. There is no delay between pictures at all and no delay between the time you press the button and the camera takes the picture. It has a few "consumer friendly" automatic modes that make it very easy to use, but still offers total photographic control when you are ready to take charge. The "kit" lens is a decent lens optically, but you might want to upgrade to the Nikkor AF-S 18-70 f/3.5-4.5G ED DX lens for a bit more range and a lot more durability. When you are ready to add lenses, the sky is the limit with Nikon. You can get pretty close with the lens I suggested, but you can get a macro lens and get close enough to see the dust on an eyelash, if you want to.

Get a 1 GB memory card, such as the Sandisk "Ultra" for decent write speed.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d50.htm

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Nikon/nikon_d50.asp

Circuit City has it for $700, with the lens.
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Nikon-D50-Digital-Camera/sem/rpsm/oid/127029/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Walmart has it for $660.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4058046

The memory card will cost $50-60 or so, depending on sales or rebates.

Answer 3

Have you looked into the Canon Digital Rebel XT? It's fast and lightweight. I even saw a review from a woman who said it was small and a nice, comfortable fit in her hands which of course are smaller than a man's. There's a review of it at this site... http://www.thedigitalbeat.com/cameras.html ... and a comparison to other cameras that might work for you. And you can take a test and have the site recommend a camera that might best meet your needs. Good luck!

Answer 4

What you need is a DSLR (Digital SLR). Look at Canon Rebel XTi + Canon EF 17-85mm IS USM as a lens: 5 x optical zoom, image stabilizer, very fast auto-focus (single shot, continuous focus or intelligent focus using ultasonic motor) + 3 frames / second + buffer for up to 20 frames in line before start to save on CF card, up to ISO 1600 (so you can have a very very small time exposure or no need of flash for indoor) and the battery is good for at least 250 shots !!!

for review: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_eos400d.asp

test I did with XTi: http://picasaweb.google.com/dand370/CanonXTiDSLR