ra to comI need a good low light cameplement my Canon SD600

[bigredhdl]

I'm looking for a camera to pick up where my SD600 falls short and be a more high end camera. Specifically low light conditions. It doesn't need to be compact at all, in fact I would opt for more zoom rather than compact. I was hoping to spend around $250, but could stretch up to $400. I have been wanting a SLR camera for a long time, but my budget barely reaches that range. Thoughts?

Sorry for the scrambled subject, I don't know how I managed that, but I can't edit it now.

[Photo-John]

That subject line is pretty wacky. Caught my attention, though! I thought it was probably a spammer

Your SD600 is pretty old now. So any current camera is going to be better. One of the current Canon compacts with image stabilization would have less noise at higher ISO settings and the IS would allow you shoot at slower shutter speeds. Those two things combined will make a noticable improvement.

However, if you've had your eye on a digital SLR, how about a used one? Any digital SLR from the past couple of years is going to blow away any compact digital camera. Take a look around for a used Canon XTi or Nikon D40x. You should be able to get a great price on one of those cameras. The low light performance will blow you away and you'll have your start on a digital SLR system.

[bigredhdl]

Thanks for the input. What would you think of the Olympus E520? Seems like a decent camera and very affordable right now.

[Photo-John]

Thanks for the input. What would you think of the Olympus E520? Seems like a decent camera and very affordable right now.

I'm a big fan of the Olympus digital SLRs because they're so small. You can read my Olympus E-520 pro review here:

Olympus E-520 Pro Review >>

The Olympus Four Thirds sensor is smaller than the sensor in Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc. digital SLRs. That allows Olympus to make smaller camera bodies and lenses. They also have image stabilization built into the camera body so you don't have to buy special lenses. No matter what lens you use it will be image stabilized. The tradeoff is that the smaller sensor is a bit of an image quality compromise. It's still far better than a P&S camera, though. I love the Olympus DSLRs for outdoor photography because they're so small and light. I own Canon cameras with way better image quality. But most of the time I use the Olympus cameras for mountain bike and ski photos because they're so much easier to carry.

And yeah, Olympus also prices them very competitively. And since they've come out with two new DSLRs since the E-520 (E-30 and E-620), the E-520 should be a really good deal right now.