questions

[sxgt]

Ive been using a digital Kodak c875 8.0 MP for all my pictures and for the price i have been very happy with the camera and its quality, Now i am getting serious about photography. I was looking at some fancy Nikkons and notice the price was up there in the 500$ area and they are only 5 MP or so. Is a lense really that much better on those cameras?

 

[GacAttack]

The lens is only one factor in "fancy" cameras. I'm going to assume you're talking about moving into digital SLRs.

With your c875, the biggest disadvantages compared to dSLRs is that they have a very small image sensor, lower-quality optics (probably), and it is not designed for advanced exposure control, even though it may have controls for it. Let's look at these in detail:

Small Image Sensor
The image sensor is the part of the camera that actually records the light. It is the "film" of the digital camera (the memory card is more like the roll that the film goes into). Megapixels are the rating of how many points of data are recorded by the image sensor. It is not a measure of how well the image sensor records that data, just how much it records. Although there is a correlation between megapixels and final quality, the image sensor of even an entry-level dSLR like the Canon Rebel XT (approx 7MP) will greatly exceed the quality of your 8MP c875 because the image sensor on the dSLR is bigger and of a higher quality than the c875. It is the same reason why a medium-format camera is higher quality than a 35mm-- the surface recording the light is bigger on the medium-format.

Optics
The c875 is designed for the consumer. It is light weight and designed to be user friendly and affordable. Image quality is important, bu usability is more important to that market. Because of that, manufactureres can get away with mediocre optics on their consumer cameras. DSRLs are more often used by advanced amatuers and professionals. That market is familiar enough with camera operations to demand the highest possible optical quality. That is why SLR lenses are more expensive and more diverse. You will be able to find any lens you want for your DSLR, weather it be a good all-around zoom lens or a serries of outstanding prime lenses. Yes, the optics available are substantially better for DSLRs.

Controls
You will very quickly learn that a DSLR will have a few settings for easy point-and-shoot operation, but more of its controls will be focused on maximizing the photographers ability to create exactly the exposure he or she wants to achieve. If you are going to move to DSLRs, then you must be willing to understand all the elements of exposure in more intimate detail. Of course, with a digital camera, you can experiment as much as you want with little addition cost. Equipment is expensive, but the incremental costs are very low.

In short: yes, yes they are much better.

 

[sxgt]

I see. I paid about 200ish for this Kodak , I suggest me an entry lv camera/lens for a starting armature in the $500 area.