I want a really nice camera!

Nikon or cannon are the leaders right now. Get the best digital slr you can with full manual control. Lense wise, i would start with a middle lense. focal length( i think that's the term) of something that spans from 15-80.

thats what i would do.

haha i assumed digital camera, i didnt even think of the others. 

Nikon D80

Nikon or canon have the best SLR but they don't fit a lot of people. And if you don't know what you are going you are just throwing money away.
My parents got a canon G7 (they have new models now) and I really like it. At first i thought he was foolish for not going with an SLR but i think that was the right choice.

If it was me I would go with a Canon G7 which is on the bigger size then a small on too. Then just an SLR but SLR are nice.

Originally posted by shreddog_123 yeah i'm looking for a digital. i was looking at the D80. what do you think about that one?

The D80 is a really nice camera. I have a friend that used it professionally.  Before Costco had a good price on that camera 

take a look at the canon rebel xti

I hate to say it but Canon. They've been in digital imaging forever with copiers. After being a Nikon SLR fanboy for many years in print, I was disappointed in their digital offerings. I know Nikon makes popular cameras now but according to my cousin who's an engineer for Samsung in digital imaging and is doing research with MIT, Canon is still numero uno in digital imaging. Canon's CMOS and image stabilization is still on top. In that budget, I'm with ichiban...the XSi.

I have the Canon Powershot SD900

Originally posted by shreddog_123 Originally posted by Timmay_650 ] Originally posted by shreddog_123 The D80 is a really nice camera. I have a friend that used it professionally.  Before Costco had a good price on that camera    what was the camera that he got from costco? is the reble xs a good one? one of my friends has it.

It was one of the D's either D60 or D80. I like the Rebel it is the camera i grew up on but film. 

I have a Canon HV30. The thing is a god. I swear i love the thing to death. The HD that comes out of the camera is amazing. It shoots in 24p too. Sweet quality for a cheaper price

See here's the thing...everyone is going to talk to you about what camera body to get but in reality most cameras created since 2006 are going to be rather similar aside from basic factors which really don't even matter (megapixels, frame rate, lcd size, body composition, etc). The only major difference between more recent cameras and those a year or two old is the recent addition of video in certain models. While I don't view this as a necessity it is a nice added bonus.

Now if I had to recommend you a package for around $900 then I'd have to go for something like the Nikon D60 with a Nikon 18-135 f/3.5-5.6 lens. Although the apertures are exactly ideal it'll give you a nice focal range to play around with as most kit lenses are just 18-55mm. You should really look into buying some gear used from http://www.keh.com. Since digital cameras have a limited amount of shutter actuations(pictures taken on it) before they go bad you can talk to a rep there before purchasing but I def recommend buying used.

As a few others have mentioned it's really the lens that makes the picture POP. I used to work for a handful of newspapers and the lenses that I was using ran about $1700 whereas my camera body only was $800. So if you get serious about it think about saving a little bit more for a nice multi-purpose lens.

Although I personally prefer Canon products, I am a supporter of Nikon also as they are more user friendly especially for those just starting in the hobby. Let me know if you have any questions.

Edit: if you're looking to stay away from digital slrs and instead have a point and shoot camera I'd recommend the Canon G10. At about only $379 the G10 offers many of the same features as a digital camera in a more compact body without sacrificing much on the quality side.

^^honestly i think canons are much more user friendly. its opinion though when it comes down to it.

the canons are much smaller which is always a plus

i'm no pro but i like my nikon   just do your research and hopefully you can find what fits best for you...

What I can i help you fix this thread? pm meed to do and everyone else did too is what are you going to be using things for? Are you just going to take the photo or are you going to photoshop them after. Are you using it for snow or just family picture are you carrying it around?

Originally posted by shreddog_123 i really want a camera that can do it all. night photos, day photos, snow photos, beach photos, everything. it would be nice if it could take good vids too. and yes this is going to be my first real camera

I have a Panasonic Lumix DCM-TZ1 its a few years old now, but now you get a TZ5 I think. Well worth checking out coz mine is the really good, everything I could have asked for just a bit big in size, even my mates who use it comment on what a high tech camera it is.

Nikon D5000 for $850 coming late April

hmmm. so is a 10.1 mp camera good? i really don't know that much about cameras. is a point and shoot camera digital?

I know quite a bit about cameras...  i was in your boat not to long ago and decided got get a canon 40D for around $600.

yeah i really like the rebel but i haven't really tried out any other ones. where would i find one and an ok lens to go with?

buy this, its beautiful and such a good deal, if i had the money i would have bought it.

http://www.jr.com/nikon/pe/NKN_D90KIT_hy_RB/?JRSource=linkshare&SiteID=lw9MynSeamY-bTlr2BQxf7OjSfCqYSRDSQ

deal may not last that long. jump!

You should get one of these...http://www.red.com/store Typical high-end HD camcorders have 2.1M pixel sensors and record with 3:1:1 color sub-sampled video at up to 30fps. RED offers the Mysterium ™ Super 35mm cine sized (24.4×13.7mm) sensor, which provides 4K (up to 30 fps), 3K (up to 60 fps) and 2K (up to 120 fps) capture, and all this with wide dynamic range and color space in 12 bit native RAW. At 4K, that’s more than 5 times the amount of information available every second and a vastly superior recording quality. In addition, you get the same breathtaking Depth of Field and selective focus as found in film cameras using equivalent 35mm P/L mount lenses. Mysterium ™ boasts greater than 66db Dynamic Range thanks to its large 29 sq. micron pixels. And 12,065,000 pixels deliver resolution that can only be called Ultra High Definition.

yeah....the new one they're developing will supposedly be better than Cinematic Film...a Better HD than IMAX is the goal i've read...

oh yeah i have a little nikon camera but i wanted to step it up ya know.

yeah. i'm pretty sure i'll try and save up for either the d40 or the canon rebel xs