Just need some thoughts and opinions

[MsRubi05]

I've read reviews and info until I"m now cross eyed. I honestly can't decide if an advanced point and shoot is what I need to stick with, or if I'm ready to move to a SLR.
I currently have a Sony DCS-H7. I'm happy with it. But I require poster size images that are about 20x30. The sites that sell poster size prints are telling me that I don't have a large enough resolution to print posters that size with my camera (which is 8MP).
I don't want to spend a grand for a camera. But I"m not limited to $300 or such. I like to take outdoor, nature type pictures. But I also require a camera that can work well indoors in low light. It will also need to be good at taking pictures of small objects close up. I'm also looking for a camera with an image stabilizer.
Size of the camera really isn't important to me. That I know of anyway lol.
Photo quality is pretty important though.
I really don't have experience with zooms. I've always had a camera that has been 10X and such. Which does help when your on the road and you see a great shot off in the distance.
I've been looking at the Canon Rebel, Canon Powershots and the Sony A350. Since I"m not really familiar what the different features do. I don't really know if I need them.
I don't plan on being a professional photographer. But I would like to take quality pictures. There is such an overload of information on cameras out there, it makes it really hard to decide. I would appreciate any advice or recommendation anyone might have.

[jekostas]

First question: Why do you *need* to have posters that large? Most printing places specify either 200 or 300 DPI for prints for best quality, which is far, far beyond the capability of consumer-grade cameras, and a lot of intro-level dSLRs as well.

Otherwise, you're definitely looking at dSLR territory for your other requirements, particularly the indoors, low-light shooting.

Pentax, Olympus, Nikon and Canon all have good intro or advanced dSLRs in this range that would suit your preferences, and each have their pluses and minuses. I can't for the life of me recommend Sony right now, since the lenses they sell with their cameras are of notoriously poor quality (yes, you can replace them, I'm aware, but that adds considerable extra cost to an initial purchase).

[John_Reed]

You might take a look at the Panasonic DMC-G1? It's an "EVIL" camera (Electronic Viewfinder, Interchangeable Lens) with a 12MP sensor (4000 X 3000) which MIGHT be enough for your resolution needs. There's a review of it here in Jeff's reviews, and here's a link to my SmugMug gallery (http://john-reed.smugmug.com/gallery/6619367_osP3f) of G1 shots. Here's a Duck in Flight shot I took recently, shot in RAW, slightly cropped from the original capture:

http://john-reed.smugmug.com/photos/504344263_9vuof-L.jpg

I'll add my opinion on your resolution needs: If you're trying to publish 20X30 printed posters, yes, you probably need 300 dpi resolution, since your printer will likely use a lithographic screen to enable your print to be reproduced. If you're talking about straight printing of your images, one-up, then I don't believe you need 300 dpi. I've read before in several places, and more or less proved it to myself, that the human eye cannot discern differences in details above about 150 dpi. In fact, for a large banner job I once performed, I used 72 dpi for my rendering, to keep the file size reasonable (it was a 5' X 14' banner). The printer scoffed when I brought him the image file, but when we printed a test strip, he was amazed at how visibly sharp it looked. I'm sure you'd want better than 72 dpi, but we printed that entire huge banner at that resolution, and it was very impressive. So play around a bit with your printing resources, and see what you really need to satisfy your goals, OK?

[Dark Cobra]

Hi MsRubi05! First let me welcome you to the site and the forum. I could sense the frustration between the lines as you are clearly in the zone of "information overload". LOL! I think a lot of us have been there before. You can indeed read and read and read and come away even more confused than when you started your quest for the right camera. Can I offer some advice?

First, relax. Second, if you learn anything at all know this . . . there is no such thing as the perfect single camera for anyone. There is no ring to rule all others. Many of us have accumulated several cameras in order to best accomplish a variety of shooting tasks. You are looking to make very large prints. I'm not exactly sure who told you an 8mp camera can't make large prints because they're full of it! Now if you're look for museum quality then you'll be wanting a medium format camera costing many thousands. But like many of us you just want nice large size prints.

You can buy a much higher megapixel camera but you are going to run into potential noise issues as well unless it's a DSLR with large sensor but you said you don't have a budget for that. A DSLR would be the best choice but you're being honest about your budget. If you can't spend a grand then the DSLR world is not for you yet as a decent camera with a good lens will definitely cost you close to that much before it's all said and done. You said you can spend around $300 or so as I understand it.

Maybe a 10-14 mp camera is right for you but don't worry too much about getting the highest mp you can find because you may not like the results. I think any of the Canon PowerShots mights suit you very well. The "A" Series usually have manual controls which are very helpful and they are ergonomic friendly to hold in most cases. The "SD" line are compact and will be with you at all times. The SD 990 comes to mind with high megapixels and a larger sensor which is really of benefit. There are other makers such as Pany, Fuji, etc. to consider as well.

Just remember that you are NOT limited to just one camera. Multiple missions usually require multiple cameras for specific tasks. You have a budget of much less than a grand. You should be able to get a couple of really nice cameras to cover most situations. Perhaps a wide angle oriented one and a telephoto oriented one. The PowerShot SX10 covers the full range of focal lengths and may work a single camera.

Finally, at some point you have to just stop reading and just pick a camera (or two) and start shooting and enjoying. You'll grow naturally into bigger and better equipment as your budget allows. Enjoy and do let us know what you decided!

PS: John Reed just gave you another fantastic alternative as well to consider!