Hello, I am not completely new to photography, but I'm not a pro either. I'm leaving on a cross-country trip next week and I'm looking for a digital cam that's pretty versatile, while in the cheaper price range (in case it gets stolen, lost, or damaged). I'm open to P&S or DSLR, but I know the cheapest DSLR will probably be out of price range. (Looking to keep it below $400 if at all possible). What I'm looking for: 10x optical zoom or better fast shutter speed (for catching moving animals) good picture quality (>6mp) ability to manual focus and auto I'm not even sure if a camera exists that meets this criteria, but I hope someone can help me out. TIA!
Take a look at http://www.dpreview.com/ Maybe this is what your looking for? http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons3is/
Optical zoom is a function of the lens, not the individual camera body. This isnt obvious on a P&S because the lens and the camera body are one unit. I would say most dSLR's and P&S's have shutter speed to accomplish this. The fastest I've seen is 1/8000. If you've got something that can make faster than that, then you're just out of luck. But I would say that 1/4000 should be somewhere in the norm for these cameras. Again, you'll be well served with any choice in this regard. You're going to get A LOT of debate on mega-pixels and how it translates to "picture quality". I'm going to go in the camp that suggests anything between 6 and 10 isn't going to offer earth shattering differences for the amateur photog looking to make 4X6 prints of their work. And finally, manual versus auto focus - completely up to you on a good dSLR. If you're looking to buy used, I would suggest a G or A powershot series from Canon for a P&S, or a D50/D70 used dSLR from Nikon. Both can certainly be had on the cheap if you know how to haggle and do your research. Good luck.
