help me pick a camera!

[onthegossipteam]

So I don't know very much about cameras, so be gentle, haha. What I really want in a camera is for the picture to take as soon as I hit the button. Point and shoot cameras take FOREVER for the picture to take (in my experience at least). I'll go to take the picture, and by the time it captures it, whatever I was taking a picture of has moved. I hate that :( So that's the one really important feature I would like to have.

Any help would be great, thanks guys!

Budget

* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.

No more than $700.

Size

* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?

Doesn't matter.

Features

* How many megapixels will suffice for you?

8 would be nice.

* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)

Standard.

* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)

9

*Do you care for manual controls?

I want to experiment with them, so if it has manual and automatic that would be awesome.

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for?

Action shots, family, friends, photoshoots.

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?

No bigger than 8in x 10in.

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

Yes.

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

Yes.

Miscellaneous

* Are there particular brands you like or hate?

I was looking for a Canon because I've heard they are really good, but anything you suggest is good too.

* Are there particular models you already have in mind?

Canon Rebel XTi, but who knows.

[raven15]

It would actually be easier if you were more demanding, since just about everything matches your criteria.

The following DSLR's and kit lenses will meet your requirements, mostly limited by budget:

Canon Xti
Sony A200
Nikon D40x, D60
Olympus E-410, E-420, E-510
Pentax K200

You would be very happy with any of them. I just got the Olympus E-410, which is probably most people's last choice, because of its size and price. I am very happy with it, it clearly blows my former point-and-shoot camera out of the water in every respect, except that it doesn't have image stabilization.

Try throwing in more specifics. Low light pictures? Image stabilization? Smaller is better? Waterproof? As cheap as possible? Or, even better, try them out in person.

[onthegossipteam]

Try throwing in more specifics. Low light pictures? Image stabilization? Smaller is better? Waterproof? As cheap as possible? Or, even better, try them out in person.

It's hard to be specific because I'm not really sure of the technical terms of everything, haha n00b.

[raven15]

In that case you should definitely find a store that carries at least three brands of DSLR and just see which one you are more comfortable using. All of them will give you what you are after.

[erichlund]

Keep in mind, if you get enamored of one particular brand/model, but you can't seem to find it anywhere, that too is important. You will have the same difficulty when you want to get accessories, say, on the spur of the moment.

There's a reason people buy lots of Canons and Nikons. They practically fall out of the sky. They are everywhere.

OTOH: if you find a good source for your desired brand, go with it.