Animal Shelter pictures - need a better camera

[whitk227]

I'm the only person taking pics of over 140 animals a week at a high kill animal shelter. They take in over 1400 animals a month with an adoption rate of about 50. The only chance any of these guys have is the 3 pics that get posted on petfinder. They have to be GOOD pics.
I end up taking thousands of pics trying to get decent ones. I never have enough time to get them all, much less get them all posted.
The number one problem is the lag time when I take the shot. In a split second the animal moves or looks away and it's ruined. My subjects have a very short attention span. I also have problems with indoor pics - red-eye, coat color being washed out or distorted, etc...
I would really appreciate any advise or suggestions for a better camera. I'm not very technically savvy so I want something that I can get results with quickly while I learn as I go.
As for a budget, once I know what I need, then I can work on getting donations for whatever amount is over and above what I can spend.
Thank you so much for your time and advice.
Karen

[tim11]

The best camera for indoors shot is Fuji FinePix F30. It has ISO up to 3200 - putting it on par with much more expensive DSLR cameras. High ISO capability means you can use it without flash - therefore no red-eye and its image quality is very crisp and clean. Also without the need to use flash means faster cycle time since the camera doesn't need to recharge the battery for the next flash power.
If you don't care for manual controls of F30, you should look at F20. It's a little cheaper.

[BonjiB]

I'll second that fuji f30. Being that your photographs are going to be posted rather than printed the noise structure found in a higher iso shot from this camera won't be distractingly visible in a downsized image (even at say iso 1600 or even 3200.) The higher iso abilities of this camera will allow you to attain shutter speeds that are suitable for a moving subject while still giving you the quality you need. I wish you luck in your search as well as your mission. Keep up the good work.

[Riley]

F30 from me makes it unaminous
good luck with your pursuit

Riley

[whitk227]

I went to my local camera store and they recommended a Pentax K100D. I know that the price is WAY more than the Finepix F30 but since some of the pics will be used for print purposes (nothing too fancy - photo gallery in the lobby, fundraising calendar etc...) I'm exploring my options. Actually, I'm hoping that you guys can explore my options :D
Thanks so much for your time and help - I really appreciate it.

[tim11]

Quoting from your original post.
. . . . I'm not very technically savvy so I want something that I can get results with quickly while I learn as I go. . . .

Pentax K100D will give you the best result; but will you have the wills and patience to master it?
I just hope the salesperson doesn't try to oversell you a camera.

....
....some of the pics will be used for print purposes (nothing too fancy - photo gallery in the lobby, fundraising calendar etc...) I'm exploring my options. .....
F30 image can easily make large prints 11x14".
If you want to take photos of animals without getting too close to them, therefore getting them unaware I'd also recommend Fuji S6000fd (aka S6500fd). It's can be described as F30 with longer zoom. It's still cheaper and user friendly than Pentax K100D; I believe.

[Riley]

whitk227 the guys in business to make money

i still think the F30 is the better option for you
given the learning curve behind dSLRs
and the convenience of always having a camera with you

factor in additional batteries

Riley

[whitk227]

Are the pictures nice and sharp? That's the one thing the guy said that made me really hesitate. I would love to learn how to use a SLR - kinda the same reason I prefer a stick to an automatic - but quite frankly don't have the luxury of time with the animals. He said he could show me enough to be taking great pic in 30 minutes but I have trouble believing that. The other thing is that some of my best pics, the ones where the animals are looking right at you, can only be achieved by making eye contact with the animal. It will be much more difficult to do that if I'm looking through the view finder.
On the flip side, the shake reduction would be really helpful while I'm snapping my fingers/shaking my car keys/waving my arms wildly or any other crazy thing to get the animals attention for that frozen split second that gets the best pics.

[whitk227]

I don't know if would be helpful or not, but here's the link to the petfinder page for the shelter if you want to get an idea of what I'm trying to do.

I really appreciate you guys taking the time to help me. :)

http://search.petfinder.com/shelterSearch/shelterSearch.cgi?animal=&breed=&age=&size=&specialNeeds=&declawedPets=&children=&status=&id=&internal=&contact=&name=&shelterid=LA32&sort=pet.Identifier&preview=1

[Riley]

im into time management too, and i shoot photos for a living
thats why sometimes a point and shoot can be a good solution
and can tip the balance in its favour.

being unused to an SLR can be a frustrating business. i would expect in the right hands the slr would produce better images that the F30, but at some level of inconvenience, foresaken training. having said that, point and shoots these days produve fine image quality, the edge that the dSLR has is its versatality, but you really need to know how to extract that capability.

posting the site was a good idea, because looking at the images on there, they are not particularly sharp to begin with. i think the F30 will better those results pretty well. and i see a combination of indoor and outdoor images done with the aid of a helper. i know it can be difficult to get a dog to look at the camera (which makes a more attractive image) and i think that further swings to a point and shoot because your face will be more visible to the dog, and less intimidating

Tim setup a link for F30 images to be posted some time ago, you may find a look around on there informative

http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24706

Riley

[Riley]

since Tim is probably a bit busy right now :)
i took the liberty to add a few review pieces of interest
the first being a closeup comparison of F30 and a dSLR that compares with the Pentax

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilmf30/page14.asp

and a pocket of images for review

http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/fujifinepixf30_samples/

two full reviews

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/fuji/finepix_f30-review/

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilmf30/

Riley

[tim11]

Thanks Riley. In fact, the baby was born last week.

whitk227, thanks for posting the link. F30 will certainly give better result than what you are used to. Get Pentax K100D only if you take enjoyment out of photography; otherwise it will be just a waste of your much needed fund and for other reasons that Riley and I stated already.

[whitk227]

I'm going with the F30 - I think it's exactly what I need. You have both been a huge help and I'm very grateful!
Congrats on the baby!

[cgl88]

Hope you like the F30. There was a thread either here or steve's forum that talked about taking pics of animals. I think the fact you have the F30 and won't use flash will be a BIG help to your photos. Also, be sure to explore the different ISO settings and to use the best one that fits your lighting.