Off Topic Help, I need a new camera.

[MILgymFAM]

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Taken with my canon (sx40) on auto. I am a canon fan. I bought it for long range nature shots, but it serves at meets ok. If I knew how to use it on manual I am guessing it would be even better. My iphone always seems to catch blur.

Use it *well* on manual, it should say. One word makes all the difference. Ha ha ha!

 

[Faith]

Check out Olympus. I got sick of the lag on point and shoots, even the expensive ones- yes canon power shot, you.

I got an Olympus e420 dslr, smaller, and less expensive than the canon, with all the advantages of a dslr. If you want to shoot meets you can get yourself the correct lens.

 

[COz]

Interesting. Olympus has way less shutter lag (about a third of the duration), but Canon has continuous shooting at about 3 times the amount of the Olympus.
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[Faith]

The 420's a really old model now, fairly sure it's had a few re-incarnations since I bought mine.

They've started doing some interesting looking hybrid thing too, not a PAS, not a DSLR. ~I'm quite happy with mine though so I haven't looked at cameras in the last few years.

 

[refugee]

They've started doing some interesting looking hybrid thing too, not a PAS, not a DSLR.

You're thinking of mirrorless systems, which have interchangeable lenses like DSLRs but (usually) are smaller due to smaller sensors (so the lenses can be smaller). Nikon, Sony, Olympus and others have offerings, but I don't think any of these are going to hit a $200 budget.

 

[l.c.o]

No specific camera recommendation here, but have you checked out Link Removed I swear I have no affiliation with them, but when I took some photography classes, they were a recommended source.

I picked up a warrantied, factory-refurbished Nikon D7000 there for a very reasonable price a little over a year ago. If you purchase their membership, you even get a free warranty extension. Plus, depending on the item, you can also earn rewards.

They occasionally have special sales (overstocks, open packages, daily deals) - I knew that, and knowing specifically which camera body I wanted, I patiently waited. They even have a section where you can shop used. And reviews! Lots of customer reviews.

I also follow this blog: http://kenrockwell.com. Lots of good camera reviews/recs there.

Good luck!

 

[Muddlethru]

Update on the Lumix I recommended above. At the time of posting, i just purchased the Lumix. Having used it for about a month now, I'd give it a 3 stars. It is ok. It can take photos under low light conditions and the photos come out ok. The video is also good. I'd say for the $250 i paid for, it is good. The quality of the photos are ok not as crisp as I'd like but I also don't expect it to produce same quality as my high quality nikon. I like the iphone 6 for the slow motion effects. I don't know if I'd highly recommend it.

 

[wnl256]

Another good source of camera/lens reviews and help is: http://www.dpreview.com/