I am thinking about shelling out for a digital camera. I have done some research and like the look of the Fuji s602 or the Minolta Dimage5. Does anybody know if these are a good choice, or can you suggest another model I should look at? :O)

Have you thought about the olympus E-10 or E-20, I think that they whould be my next secondhand buy. The reson is my oly C-2500L is a great camera, I have learnt a lot from it, but I have found some limitations with it. So I have gone the other way to you, and brought a secondhand EOS-5 SLR body, a new 28-105mm lens to learn the ropes with. If you look at the faq there is a great link to digital camera reveiw site. Phew my longest reply ever!!!!

I'm using the oly c4040z and I love it.... I've only had it a couple of months so I'm still learning what the heck it can do but so far I like it a lot...

I have an Olympus 700UZ...2.1 mp...10x optical zoom....had it for a few months now! Finally getting somewhat of a grasp of its many features AND its limitations as well. Great intro-cam in my book!!!! Some good internet deals on this one! L8r!

Thanks azy I started with a Pentax ME Super great little camera. If I remember it had center spot metering, AP and manual modes, I am looking to move to digital now but am not sure what to get. will check out the link thanks :O) Cheers Jack I will look up the c4040z and check it out. :O)

Jack how do you get on with only having a 35-105 lens? L8ters this looks good like the 35 to 380 mm lens, how do you get on with only having 2.1 million pixels?

Don't get me started on how much I love my Fuji..... lol I'm onto my second - my first point & click one is now being used by my mom - it's been dropped recently, battery cover is held on with sellotape now coz it hit so hard, and it still works!!! lol I think the one you're looking at there is the one my Dad has just bought - yeah, I converted him too.... DPREVIEW.COM is that site, well worth a look, it's how I made my final decision. (",)

Thanks Jordy, Thats a bigg vote for the Fuji then. . Lol. Will check out the webby are you going to try the negs onto cd at Bonusprint?

I would suggest you carefully evauate the type of work you plan to do and base your camera purchase on that criteria. I know that sounds a bit like a cop out, but some cameras are better at some things than others. When I go serious, I can shoot 100 images a day for several days before coming back home. I bought accordingly. I also wanted full control etc. Perhaps infrared is important to you. Anyhow, research and buy what best fits your shooting style and what you want to say. Good luck.

My god its a minefield, LOL. I have been through the reviews and the Fuji comes out on top I was attracted by the longer lens on the Minolta but I see you can get a times converter taking the Fuji out to 300 mm, this is nice. Ddm you are right I think I will make a list of features and see which camera meets them. Good luck! I think I will need it. :O)

mysnapz, the oly c4040 does ok for the kind of stuff I'm doing. When I get ready to go Ansel Adams, I'll buy something bigger/better/more ooomph! But first things first, it's a decent mid-range camera to learn how to shoot pics with. When I'm really comfortable with knowing how to use what I've got, then I can be ready to step up to a camera with all the whistles and bells, (plus price has a lot to do with it). I just didn't have the $1300 or so the E-20 cost around here....

my digi is a fuji DX-10 and it's decent but it doesn't zoom which is frustrating and trying to figure out exactly where to place it for macros is impossible. also the image on the preview screen is invisible when outside. i would NOT buy another fuji if i needed to replace it.

For now the C-700uz suits me fine. I'm having lots of fun takin pix with my Olympus....yeah, I know its not the highest in megapixels...But, I like the 10x zoom and it has all the modes of some of the higher up models...you can go automatic or fully manual if ya want. Some of the newer cams have some awesome features!!! One of em that's peaked my interest is the CANON G2....maybe someday...but when I ready there will probably be a newer model...oh well! L8r!

There are 3 of us here who have Minolta's Dimage...I have the D7 and love it to death... My objective when buying a digi was to get as close as possible to the functionality of a SLR with out paying the ridiculous prices that you find on digi slr's. The D7 is a ZLR and has all the bells and whistles of any slr you will find out there today as well as being 5.2 MP camera. There are drawbacks to this camera: Shutter delay (which may be true for other digi's as well), difficulty in focusing manually (which can be done, but it's a pain in the ass)....those are about the only 2 things that I can think of that annoy or irritate otherwise it's quite nice. Some will say that it is notorious for eating batteries. I have found otherwise. And if you keep 3 sets of rechargable batteries you will find you will never run out of power when you need it.

I just replied to my previous post, basically much as Michelle say's, if you want to look it is down the list Quinn

A bigg thank you all of you for your help here. Its not an easy decision to make especially when they dont come cheap. Top of my list is the Fuji 602s It has more than enough features and a nice focal range the only unsure part is, will 3 mill pixels be enough and will it be big enough for my big hands and sausage like fingers. Bigg Jeff is off to the shops this weekend to find out. thanks again :O)

Took some time out today to check out the Fuji s602 down the shop. I will not be shelling out for one, liked the size of it and the feel, all the controls fell to hand. But when I put it to my eye my god! the view finder is digital what a difference, the resolution is not very good and there is a time lag as you pan and Zoom really didnt like it. Just going to have to wait till them digital SLRs get down in price.