I'm an amature photographer, at best, and I'm looking to buy a new digital camera in the next six months. I want to get a higher Megapixel quality. I want a camera that will allow me to change lenses like a traditional camera. It would be great if it could take pictures quickly without a lag time as then I could photograph sporting events.

So, if you have any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks!

I'm an amature photographer, at best, and I'm looking to buy a new digital camera in the next six months. I want to get a higher Megapixel quality. I want a camera that will allow me to change lenses like a traditional camera. It would be great if it could take pictures quickly without a lag time as then I could photograph sporting events.

So, if you have any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks!Are you SURE you want Digital SLR? Unless you have some really nice lenses already, it's likely to be an expensive proposition. Their are some drawbacks to digital SLR's: The size of the lens is NOT what the chip inside the camera uses, It's less. So an 18mm wide angle lens (which is a very expensive lens to buy) would only give you a 24mm equivilent on your digital slr. Also, the better all-in-one digital cameras give you the ability to flip up, down and rotate the LCD screen for those difficult shots where the camera is above your head or down at your ankles... Digital SLRs do not have them. Also if you want to have the digital video capability as an option for those times when you suddenly want to take some video and you don't have your video camera with you, Digital SLRs do not have this capability. Also from what I've heard, there is still a power on lag time and a shutter lag time with digital SLRs. (I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong on any of these points... but at the time I bought my point-and-shoot, these were all holding true).

I do see some incredible low-light shots made with digital SLR's though... spending another $500 on a good lens with a very low f-stop makes that possible. So if you're interested in plunking down $1300 minimum, go for it.

I am obviously biased toward my own camera, the Olympus 8080, which you can find online now between $400 and $500 dollars. I can also recommend the Nikon coolpix 8400 (for supreme wide angle shots like what I take with the 8080) and the coolpix 8800 (telephoto)

Remember this... the bigger the glass on the lens, typically the better quality shot you're going to get. An 8mp camera with a 1/4" glass lens is going to SMELL in comparison to a 4MP camera with a good quality lens on the front. This doesn't hold true for Sony though as they don't seem to put as much work into getting the most out of their own chips.

I HIGHLY recommend this website:

http://www.dpreview.com

It has the most incredible reviews and you can choose multitudes of models and compare them side by side. You can also do extensive searches for cameras by features you want. An incredible digital photographic website.

You might check out my weekly photo updates on http://www.visionsfantastic.com - they are almost all taken with the olympus 8080.

feel free to PM any questions, or email me at daddyb@visionsfantastic.com (mailto:daddyb@visionsfantastic.com)