LonghornMomma

One more thing about RAW. Once I used it, I would NEVER use jpg again! When first starting with a SLR there is a major learning curve, unless you are going to be shooting in green box mode, your pictures may not look as great as your ultra fancy P&S. It takes time! With Raw though you can go into a program like Digital Photo Professional (included with Canon DSLRS) and apply the amount of sharpening, color saturation, things like that. You can do that in PhotoShop with .jpgs, but in my experience, I get better results with doing it on RAWS. Also you can "save" shots that you might have messed up with under or over exposure better than in .jpg format. When you shoot in .jpg the camera processes the image it it's specifications, with RAW you can do it to yours. To me, that made a HUGE difference.

I really don't think there is going to be a good deal on one. Canon doesn't generally budge on the pricing until the next model comes out. Since the 40D has only been out since Sept. It's not going to happen anytime soon. Sadly, the Canon rebates were kind of a joke this year too.

LOL... that's the 400D not the 40D. I about had a heart attack!

WHAT?????!!!! No way!

If you decide to go the used 30D route, let me know. I have an extra 30D I might be looking to unload. :)

How cute is that???? Too bad it only goes to 5X7.

I went back and added the B&H prices.

That is the XTi. The choice will drive you nuts!!!

Oops. That's about what you would pay at B&H right now, but you would get a 2gb card also. Of course you have to weigh in shipping vs. your time in the store. B&H: XTi plus 18-55 plus 2gb card $709.95 75-300mm $149.95

Yeah, I'm getting one for my Mom to have at work. Her desk is entirely too cluttered with frames so maybe this will help cut down on that.

I"ll have to go look but, the camera doesn't determine how many pics it can hold, that's the memory card. The bigger the memory card, the more pics. A 2gb card will probably hold about a 1000 jpgs coming off of a 7 mega pixel camera.

Here ya go! http://forums.gottadeal.com/showthread.php?t=82464

I'm saving for those exact same reasons also! Isolated mountains are great but the dial up sucks!

I think the last thing I would ever give up on is the high optical zoom. Nothing better for trips to the zoo, or kids on the playground. All P&S are going to have a fair amount of shutter lag, some better than others, but I've never heard IS blamed for that though? IS has to do with the lens itself and not the processor. One thing to help decrease your lag by a small amount is to turn off your review shot option. Really though it's going to depend on the processor in the end. If you were to go ahead with the S5 or S3 even, you would be able to have alot of available shooting modes, TV, AV and M. Most times you can fine tune these settings to help you get better shots that what you will be getting in "green box" mose. That would help with your dark long distance shots.

That is great! Love the "man down" scenario. LOL. So what is the prize you are going to garner for this winning entry?

Not fair at all. If they are in stock, they should sell them.

That is exactly what I was going to recommend! One of the amazing things about the S5 is you can add a hot shoe flash if you decide you ever need some extra power for your lighting!

That uses the older bigger SmartMedia cards. Take a look at that Canon A560 that Sears has right now. it's $119.00 but worth the jump. Has newer technology and you'll notice a big jump in the image quality of your shots!

I'll try to help you as much as I can. Feel free to PM me with what lenses you have. You say they are with a Canon SLR, are they EF and EF-S lenses?

Right. I'm also wondering, do you lose any f/stops with the adapters on the Nikons? Also, need to take into account you will be using the lens on a crop body which will change the reach on the lenses. Good on the long end, bad on the short end. If a person is already in possesion of a stock pile of good lenses that are compatible with a certain brand, then I highly recommend sticking with that brand. :)

I do alot of shopping before then, things I know are must haves, I'll get ahead of time. BF is mostly for big ticket items that the family needs (read: wants).

It is! I've read great things about it. I was just trying to suggest the IS for the problems the poster was talking about. :) But that lower price point on the A570IS really makes that tempting!

Hi! I'm not sure how much price is a factor in this. You say you have a problem with blurry shots, I understand that! For $70 bucks more, you could move up the A570 IS which adds image stabalization. This comes in great for indoor low light shots and night sports. http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00353439000P?filter=Brand%7CCanon&vName=Computers+%26+Electronics&cName=Cameras+%26+Camcorders&sName=Digital+Cameras+%26+Bundles

You might want to check your "best selling" facts. http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/3904/top-5-digital-slrs-for-january.html You are comparing a 4500.00 camera! For 4500.00 Nikon better be able to produce an image with acceptable noise at 1600. Test it against the MkIII if you want to be fair. I wish I could post links here to show the horrible noise in the Nikon compared to that of a similar level Canon. Oh look! I can! Canon 400D/XTi. ISO 1600 http://www.dcviews.com/reviews/Canon-Rebel-XTi-Nikon-D80/samples_canon400D/05_400D-ISO1600.JPG Nikon D80. ISO 1600 (even with on camera noise reduction enabled.) http://www.dcviews.com/reviews/Canon-Rebel-XTi-Nikon-D80/samples_nikonD80/05_D80-ISO1600NR1.JPG

Haha! I was taken aback when I saw your screen name! I had to think if I was on Bartlesville.net for a second!