[andrew_c]

Here is my Digital Rebel:

I love it, very nice. Going for the 20d soon though, once I use all the life out of the rebel. Awesome for biking photography on a budget, I highly reccomend it.

 

[JMAC]

I agree with BV in that a Sony 828, 717, Canon Pro1, Nikon 8800, 8700, 5700 may be a good fit for you. You get good optics that are very flexible and won't break the budget. I've had my 5700 for about 1.5 years and I'm comfortable and confident enough now that I'm saving for a 20D and small selection of glass. Try searching pbase.com for certain models and see what some people are accomplishing with the models I listed above. I think you'll be surprised at the quality of the images from these cameras.

I've been talking to a friend of mine who is damn near being a pro photographer. I now almost positive unless the store can convince me otherwise or u guys for that matter that I;m not getting a DLSR. The only one I can afford is teh digireb and I don;t feel like having to spend more money soon after getting it for more lenses. It is also bloody slow and I hate slow things. So I'm getting the Olympus c8080, they have a great deal on it at a store in montreal. It's the highest quilty 8mp camera made. The lens is the same quility as the ones on Olys top of the line SLR cameras. Making it the only 8mp cam with a lens designed just for it. It also uses a better sensor than all the other ones even canon pro 1. Only trouble is it only has a 5x zoom but it really does have much better picture quilty and it;s the fastest non DSLR. On top of all that it has the longest battery life ever tested on a digi cam.
So I think I;m set, I'll just learn alot more with this and in a few years when I can rationalize the money I'll get a nice up to date DSLR.

 

[JMAC]

Yeah I just can't find the money now to get lenses so I think I'll be happier not having to worry about getting money to buy lenses. I know a digireb in some ways would be better but only if I had the money for the good lenses.

 

[binary visions]

It's the highest quilty 8mp camera made.

That's simply an untrue statement, and that your making a statement like that right before dropping a grand on a camera is worrysome.

Don't get sucked into the marketing. Pick a camera based on features you want, not 'cause you read somewhere that it's the "highest quilty [SIC] 8mp camera made".

A few numbers right off the top of my head:

The Sony DSC-F828 has a lens that will shoot f/2.0 at full wide, and f/2.8 at full zoom (a zoom that is 50% more powerful than the 8080, mind you). The 8080 shoots f/2.4 at full wide, and stops all the way down to f/3.5 at full telephoto. That means that in low light situations, the 828 will have superior performance.

The 828 also has a significantly better macro mode, allowing you to shoot 2cm away from the object.

The 8080's continuous/burst modes are severely lacking when compared to the competition. Most of the high end "prosumer" camers shoot 2.5+ fps, whereas the 8080 shoots only a little more than half that.

Olympus zoom mechanisms also leave a lot to be desired. They don't have enough steps and generally are a pain to work with.

That said, I absolutely love their... err, I think it's a 5070? Anyhow, it's one of the 10x zoom models they've produced in the past couple years. Excellent camera. However, it's not for me - simply not fast enough.

I'm not trying to dissuade you from buying the 8080 - I'm sure you'd be very happy with it, as it's an excellent piece of hardware. Just understand that there is no "best camera" - only one that suits you. You'll be very unhappy with the "best camera made" if it turns out that what you really want is a powerful zoom lens, and a really great macro mode. Conversely, this may be the camera that suits you best - but if it is, it's only the best camera for you, not the best one made.

 

[JMAC]

Your right that was a rather rash statement. However it is the only 8mp camera that had a lens made specifically for it.

 

[qualude]

There are some drawbacks to the Oly 8080 though...
highest ISO rating-400
max shutter speed-1/4000
continuous high speed-1.6 frames/sec for 5 frames

 

[binary visions]

Your right that was a rather rash statement. However it is the only 8mp camera that had a lens made specifically for it.

Also wrong.

How can that even be? Do you think they take these lenses off other cameras? The Sony lens was designed specifically for their pro series cameras. Just because it was a great lens and they didn't have to make an entirely new one for their 8mp version doesn't mean a thing.

Besides, it doesn't make it better. I can make a set of crappy cranks specifically for my Imperial, and claim in marketing literature that they're "the only cranks made specifically for one hardtail" - that doesn't make them good.

It's a good lens. Leave it at that. The Sony and Canon both have really great lenses as well - all three cameras have a great piece of glass on the front. The CCD in these point and shoot cameras is small - that's much more of a limitation than the difference between the Canon, Sony, and Olympus glass.

 

[JMAC]

Anyways... I got my camera. I got a Nikon 8800, I tried all the different 8mp cams for 2 hours lol. Drove the guy almost crazy but I finally decided on this. Unfortunently he had a canon 10D for sale he was going to sell it to me 2nd hand by only a week for 1389 including a 55mm lens. After tax and everything I was up at 1700$ and I just don;t have the cash. Plus it was friggen huge and my nikon is like half the size. I know I'll end up getting dlsr but for now I;m happy. Thanks everyone for their help.