Best Camera for my Purpose

Hi,
This is my first thread which I am posting as a novice to wildlife photography.
I have a Canon 20D with 100 - 400 lens also a macro lens.

I am looking for a compact digital to have with me at all times so that I do not miss the unexpected shot.

Which digital is recommened G9 or S51S or any other that you feel will do the job. I like taking photographs of insects and birds if that help with your recommendation.

To give some idea of what I try and do please see "Margaret the Novice" + flickr It might help you understand my question.

Thank you,
Margaret

Margaret-
Sounds like you want to stick with Canon. If that's the case, and you want to take pictures of birds, then I think the S5 IS is your best bet. It has more reach, which you need for birds, plus image stabilization. Actually the G9 has IS, too. But it doesn't have nearly the reach of the S5 IS. You might also want to look at the Panasonic Lumix FZ18 and the Olympus SP-560 UZ. Both of those cameras are superzooms with 18x image stabilized optical zoom lenses.

You might also consider buying a Rebel XT or XTi with the kit lens. A compact digital camera means making a noticable image quality compromise. Having two digital SLRs ready to go is the best possible setup.

I searched Flickr for "Margaret the Novice" and didn't find an account with that name. Maybe you could give us a link?

I found it, and there are some damned good pictures there.
Camera suggestion?
What P-J said :)

Expensive, but you'll need more than one lens on a DSLR to match the zoom and macro range of the Panasonic or Olympus.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Photo-John

Margaret-
Sounds like you want to stick with Canon. If that's the case, and you want to take pictures of birds, then I think the S5 IS is your best bet. It has more reach, which you need for birds, plus image stabilization. Actually the G9 has IS, too. But it doesn't have nearly the reach of the S5 IS. You might also want to look at the Panasonic Lumix FZ18 and the Olympus SP-560 UZ. Both of those cameras are superzooms with 18x image stabilized optical zoom lenses.

You might also consider buying a Rebel XT or XTi with the kit lens. A compact digital camera means making a noticable image quality compromise. Having two digital SLRs ready to go is the best possible setup.

I searched Flickr for "Margaret the Novice" and didn't find an account with that name. Maybe you could give us a link?

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Margaret says:-

Thank you so much for your detailed and helpful reply which I will now consider in some depth . I understood that the panasonic had shortcomings when the lens was fully extended.
I really want the camera for general use but insects in particular as you would see if you can access my flickr site.
I do not pretend to understand computers but everyone has managed to access by typing in "Margaret the Novice" + flickr exactly as shown here. I do hope you gain access next time you try.
Thanks again. Margaret the Novice.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SmartWombat

I found it, and there are some damned good pictures there.
Camera suggestion?
What P-J said :)

Expensive, but you'll need more than one lens on a DSLR to match the zoom and macro range of the Panasonic or Olympus.

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Margaret says:-

Thank you for your kind comments upon my attempts but I have only had my camera for about two years so the technology and terms used are still anathoma to me.

I have two Canon D20 bodies one with lenses 100 - 400 and the other a Sigma macro which I use for insects but all I feel I need in addition is a compact camera to have with me 'at all times' to take wildlife photographs in general should I have neither of the other camera's with me. I elected for two Canon bodies as I was for ever getting dust on the sensor and it was costing a lot to get it cleaned.

I hope I have clarified my need. Thank you for your interest.
Margaret the Novice.