could you help me find a possibly fictional camera, please?

[840quadra]

Images are not working..

On a side note... This is one main reason that I prefer DPreview over DCresource. Dpreview does allow outside image linking.

 

[freebooter]

Fuji or Canon for compacts--

both of these have excellent reviews, and I have and love 'em.
-the new Fuji F31fd has been tweaked, improving the already great F30 (which I gave to a sister). very sharp lens, excellent in low-light/high iso
-the Canon A640 gives you more manual control, has a great lens, nice outdoor color/exposure (a little warmer than the Fuji) and has a very useful flip-twist lcd--sux at high iso, though, compared to the Fuji, Get the G7 if you want more zoom and i.s., but don't mind the price and size (and lack of flip/twist lcd and RAW). Personally, I think the A640 is a much better deal.
Panasonic? Never! They are way too noisy, which is too bad because the lx-1 or 2 look like sweet little units otherwise.

Full-size all-in-one: Sony DSC R1, a better lens/camera combo cannot be found to rival it under $2-3,000 . good in low-light (but dslr's are better), downside: kinda big for everyday use.
I have it and really love it. the lcd (top mounted, swivel) is great for candids and for getting shots at interesting angles.

DSLR: ? Nikon D80, Pentax K10d, Canon 5d or the soon-to-be-released Fuji S5? I don't own them but I'm currently considering these choices, hoping Canon releases an updated 5d in feb. The Nikon D40 is supposed to take great shots but is lacking some of the features of the D80.



But, don't rush. Maybe stop reading reviews and asking for advice for a week or two. The info will be better digested and the choice will become clearer. And consider in the meantime what kind of pictures you'll want to make.

 

[nms]

You guys.....are amazing.

Really.


And i think i'm heading towards that Fuji S6000fd, but it's one more megapixel than my current camera, and the test shots still look slightly noisy so i'm struggling to justify the expense to myself. Is there anything else like it? There's that panasonic FZ50, but everyone hates that and the sony H series just seems a little over-hyped/extravagant/extortionate...

 

[coldrain]

You guys.....are amazing.

Really.


And i think i'm heading towards that Fuji S6000fd, but it's one more megapixel than my current camera, and the test shots still look slightly noisy so i'm struggling to justify the expense to myself. Is there anything else like it? There's that panasonic FZ50, but everyone hates that and the sony H series just seems a little over-hyped/extravagant/extortionate...

The Sony H series and especially the FZ50 are a LOT more noisy. And more expensive.

So, noisewise... it is either the S6000fd (or F31fd) or you have to look at DSLRs. And that will be a lot more expensive. A DSLR with very good tele lens will cost you around 1500$ at least (XTi + 70-300mm IS USM).

You can cut corners and get a Pentax K100D with a Sigma 70-300 DG APO macro telezoom lens and the Pentax kitlens though, this will give you image stabilization, quite some reach, decent optical quality, DSLR level noise performance and a 1:2 macro mode on the 70-300. So... this just might be a nice option for you, on a tight budget, but no movie mode and no LCD preview anymore.