Camera recommendations?

[Aggie_Ama]

My P&S is a Kodak Easyshare because my mom wanted me to have a purple case and image stability for my shaky hands. Too bad I didn't tell her waterproof! So I love the photo quality and the price in case I break it but it is lacking features.

[GLC1968]

Thanks so much for all your well thought out responses! I really, really appreciate it. You guys have given me many things to think about.

It looks like we will be shopping locally on Tuesday (birthday shopping, birthday lunch and then Avatar in IMAX 3D...all the day BEFORE my birthday!), so I have a few days to do some more research.

I had no idea that there were adapters for the lenses, so that is a huge plus. It opens up a whole world of possibilities for me! I really need to think about when my camera will get the most use to help me determine which type to get first (I agree that I'll eventually have to have both!). Most of my photo ops are occurring around our farm or on the bike. Since most of my biking is pretty casual, I could easily get away with carrying a DSLR with a 50mm lens in a handlebar bag and be covered. And of course, around home, size doesn't matter at all. I never go on vacation or travel (or rarely, anyway), so that's not really something I should worry about right now. Water resistance is probably somewhat of a concern, but I can work around it.

And yeah, I think POS was a slip of the keys! But perhaps an appropriate one!

[roguedog]

I kinda fell in love with the Olympus EP-1 cuz of it's old school looks but if I were to spend the cash, I'd probably go for the Panasonic GF-1 or GF-2.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/PanasonicGF1/

I just love the old school looks with all the modern tech.

[Zen]

I would never carry my good camera attached to the bike but I would carry it attached to me.
The bike gets too much vibration.

[Tony]

I hope I am not too late here!

In terms of a point and shoot or something cheap you can kinda throw around, there are plenty of choices. What is great is that nowadays most point and shoots can take great pictures, and it is really up to your skill rather then how much money your camera is. Two consistently solid lines are the

Canon Powershot: http://www.cameta.com/Canon-PowerSho...ange-40902.cfm

Nikon Coolpix: http://www.cameta.com/Nikon-Coolpix-...lack-43249.cfm

Both are feature laden, sturdy and come in various priced varieties from $100 to $300

[GLC1968]

So we visited a bunch of camera shops and talked to a bunch of people. I came to the conclusion that I really just don't have the time or energy to devote to getting back into photography. I like to dable in it, but there is absolutely no point in my investing lots of money into something that will never truly be more than an 'accessory' to the rest of my life.

With that in mind, I opted for a 'super zoom' camera instead of a DSLR. It's a point and shoot with many manual features. The only thing it doesn't do that and SLR would is let me switch out lenses and really, I don't want to be carrying around extra lenses anyway. I opted for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35. It's amazingly light, takes great photos, takes HD video, has an 18x zoom and it has many, many manual and programmable custom settings. It was also a great deal! Now that I have a new camera, I'll have to start writing in my blog again so that I have a place to post all my gorgeous photos.

Thanks so much to everyone for all your help...I really appreciate it!

[Cataboo]

That looks like a great choice. I've got an earlier version of that (fz20) from several years back that still takes beautiful pictures.

[Zen]

Would that fit in a bento box?
Where did you buy it?

eta-http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-came...-33765520.htmlNever mind about the fit. That lens look huge. I would still like to know where you bought it, though.

[zoom-zoom]

That is very cool! And you are right...being able to swap out lenses isn't necessarily that big a selling point. I have one favorite zoom lens on my DSLR...I could probably sell my other 2 primes and not miss them. The Lumix looks cool!