guys steer me in the right direction. i want to buy a digital camera that can zoom out to say 50-60 yards so i can photograph some deer. the wifes camera isnt cuttin it. any advice on a style camera i should be lookin for?
It all depends on what you want to spend. There are many good point and shoot cameras out there with plenty enough zoom to do what yo want and produce good quality pics. Google dpreviews and look at the camera section. Lots of good info on that site. Just beware of their forum though.
I'd say for a point&shoot that you want a 10x to 12x OPTICAL zoom - stay away from digital zoom. Image stabilization is a help... Often those are called super zooms, ultra zooms, maxi zooms or whatever...
There have been several threads on camera recommendations here in the last 8 to 9 months, but the only one I could find was a DSLR thread, not one of the P&S threads... I'll try again later...
Good luck with your choice, I know you will get some good advice from these folks!
Yep you are definitely looking at the super/ultra zoom P&S cameras. I had a point and shoot with 7X that did OK, but that really wasn't enough. There's a number of members on here that use them so hopefully, some will jump in with some recommendations.
I used a 10x olympus with great results for many years and have recently upgraded to a sony dhsc2 with 12x optical and image stabilization, turned out to be a great move.
in my opinion, 10-12x with image stabilization is a must especially when sitting in a stand and not normally having a quality rest. after that find something with that fits in your budget and fits in your hand
What are y'all's opinion of the Nikon Coolpix L100?
It appears to be a good choice but I am concerned about the 4 AA batteries....what kind of battery life can I expect?
KDarsey, the Coolpix is a good point & shoot camera...I bought my mother-in-law one for her birthday...she loves it!!
Not sure about the battery life, but I'm now hooked on recharables. Batteries ain't cheap and with 2 sets of recharables, you wouldn't have to buy any batteries for possibly up to 2 years!
I did a lot of research before I bought mine about 18 months ago....I have been VERY happy and impressed with the picture quality, ease of use, speed, and zoom... This one fits most of my needs, but I am thinking about stepping up to a DSLR....
Check out DPREVIEW.com's buyers guide...good start there.
Now days current super zoom P&S cameras are around 18x to 24x optical zoom ranges. Should be able to get into a good one for less than $500 total...camera, card reader, couple memory cards & case.
Stick w/ CF or SD memory cards.
batteries can be either AA's=relatively short life or rechargeable-my preference.
My vote would go for the Canon SX120is. Very high quality chip, long lens with Image Stabilization. Large viewing screen. Only drawback is no viewfinder like a regular 35mm or one of our Pro bodies.
Right now I'm using a Canon S5 IS. 12x optical, 8MP. It does a decent job. If I were buying today I'd get the Canon SX20 IS, 20x optical zoom.
As to batteries. I prefer P&S cameras that take AA's. I have a couple of sets of rechargeable AA's that I use most of the time. But it is nice to know that you can walk into any store and pick up a set of batteries, anywhere. I've forgotten to take my charger along on several trips. Having a camera that will use AA's keeps you shooting.
Canon SX20IS
My 17 year old son has one and takes excellent photos.
Great zoom, clarity, almost all the features of a DSLR, without the cost and extra accessories required.
The batteries last a long time and you can buy them any where as well as not have to worry about the charge going bad while on a trip.
Example: we did a high country day hike in Colorado and simply put fresh batteries in it....