new camera

[terryb]

Can you please advise me & my son about camera to buy he would like to photo wildlife ie birds in the wild and also animals on trips to zoos he has looked at cannon S350 SLR and buying a additional lens ie 200mm what we would like to know is would in be advisable to buythis setup or a compact digital camera with a x 12 zoom lens
sorry yes it was a EOS 350D he has £400- £500 as a inital budget
my son is 16 he has had a Sony digital cybershot camera 5m pixel but this has now broken, he has used this for bird photos,with some success he would like to buy the new camera that will be good for a few years and also develop his all round photo skills and also get him more involved with cameras & photoography
hope this is of more help

[Mr. Pickles]

Don't know if it is just for him to use or not. And if so, how old is he? And, how much money you got (roughly)?

There is no Canon S350 SLR. Canon makes the "compact" ones with lone range zooms, or they make the DSLR with inter-changeable lenses. Most "birders" think 200mm is too short, and in the wild it might be true. At a zoo it isn't, but maybe depends on the zoo.

So, if 200mm is too short, then you need a longer lens. And longer in DSLR world means more money. If you got it, then look at a 300mm, 400mm, or the 100-400mm zoom.

If the birds are moving, then a DSLR is certain'y much better than a "compact" camera.

Otherwise, I'd say you can get a nice 10x or 12x "compact" and plant the "bug" of photography, and help build photographic techniques. Once those gotten or mastered, move into DSLR-land...

[Latinbob]

Maybe terryb meant EOS 350D, Mr. Pickles.

Depends on how much you want to spend, and how old your son is and his level of experience. A DSLR is more expandable and has more potential, but is more expensive too. We need more details to be able to answer this question better.

[Mr. Pickles]

Maybe...

[Nikonfreak]

Why don't you take a look at the new Sony 7.2 megapixel compact digicam with the 12X smart zoom.

For a kid it's a nice cross between quality and functionality and a 12X zoom is going to get you there. It even has vibration reduction in the camera.

I forgot the model number, but I believe it should be out by now.

I believe it runs in the $400 range.

Julio