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ccrotty
04-07-2006, 10:40 AM
Hello,

We are looking for a camera for my wife. She is getting heavily into digital scrapbooking and creating 12x12 or 11x17 images from her photos. I am looking for camera suggestions for this use based on the following info:

* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera?
We have budgeted up to $1000 for the camera

* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?
My wife is pretty small (5'2") so not a hulking SLR camera. She has seen the Rebel-XT and probably would not want to go much bigger than that).

* How many megapixels will suffice for you?
From her reading she thinks she needs around 8mp. But reading these forums, not sure if that is a hard requirement.

* What optical zoom will you need?
We will need some zoom capability - at least 3-4x.

* How important is “image quality” to you?
Image quality is one of our most important requirements since we are going to be printing large images. (10 out of 10)

* Do you care for manual controls?
She would like the ability to use manual controls as she becomes more proficient at it, but needs an automatic capability as well.

* What will you generally use the camera for?
Picture taking of kids, family, events.

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
Yes up to 11x17.

* Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
Yes.

* Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
Yes.

*Misc.
My wife feels it is very important to have a 'fast' camera. That is ready to take pictures quickly. We currently own an old 3mp Kodak and you can wait up to 6-7 seconds before the next picture is ready to be taken.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
Chris

bascom
04-08-2006, 01:27 PM
Some non SLR's that come to mind are the 7MP Canon A620 or Sony V3, and 8MP Canon S80. But I don't know much about them. They are much less than $1,000 so maybe you want an SLR instead.

Blob
04-08-2006, 09:03 PM
There are a number of excellent digital SLR kits available for under $1000. Check out this article for a recent review.

http://www.popphoto.com/article.asp?section_id=2&article_id=1924

Be aware, most of the digital SLR kits include a moderate zoom lens--18-55mm. Some, like the Nikon, have a long lens, 55-200mm available for a bit extra.

You will find lenses are where most of your money goes. These entry level lenses are much better than most point and shoot cameras like your Kodak but for some photographers only professional-quality glass is acceptable. That's where things get very expensive. Hopefully you and your wife will find a price/performance level you can live with. Just be aware there is a great temptation to upgrade your lens and explore the possibilities.
Regards,

Bob

timmciglobal
04-08-2006, 09:41 PM
The *ist DL and/or *ist DS might be a nice camera for you. As would the Nikon D50 or rebel XT.


Tim