Camera

[CaptSam]

I have the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ 35, it is a great mid sized camera, known as a bridge camera (between the DLSR and point and shoot). I had a FZ18 (great camera too), prior to the 35, it is a 8 mb camera with 18x zoom and the 35 is 12mb. I selected this LUMIX camera because it is compact and shoots real similar to the DSLR's. It is the only model in this camera style I found that has the option of recording RAW format, so you can post process like a DSLR. I bought both cameras for under $300 from Amazon.com. I upgraded from the 18 to 35 because the 35 can zoom in and out while video mode and it is HD. The optical zoom of 18x is equivalent to 486mm lens, best part is not packing around extra lens. These compact cameras don't always take great pictures in low light conditions, but if you learn to use the manual settings, you can take some great pictures. There are some fine camera products out there, but after a LOT of research, I picked this camera for the RAW capability, nice feel for larger hands, and records to SD card fast.

 

I hope this helps in your camera selection.