hello everyone i got such great help for my swan picture thread... thank you everyone :) but what i wanted to ask this time is advice about digital cameras... i haven't had much experience with photography but i really enjoy it and would like to get into it some more as a hobby as well as for work. at my college i worked with a digital camera that had manual focus as well as auto, but the manual focus was on the lens part (so it was much like a normal camera's focusing) is that type of focusing available for good quality digital cameras... (the one i used at school was a older camera.) i wish i knew some more about cameras to explain myself.. but i don't really know the 1st thing about picking a good digital camera... i'm asking my teachers too... but i'd like multiple veiws on different cameras so i can make up my mind thanks for any help!

I imagine all DSLR's have manual focus on the lens. Don't know how they do it on others though. My crappy digital doesn't even have manual focus :(

I'm not absolutely sure I really understand your question, but the best place I've found for comparing various digital cameras is at www.dpreview.com A digital camera would be a wonderful way to learn about photography, as you can see the results of experiments very soon, without the cost of film or processing. IMO, getting one with the ability to over-ride the automatic features, such as manually focusing, is important in learning how to use the machine creatively. Unfortunately, many of the affordable digital cameras are very consumer oriented, and may not offer the versatility you would really like. Sometimes then a used film camera can be a better choice.

I have the Minolta Dimage 7hi myself... it's a great camera with a manual focus ring on the fixed lens. It's a Elec. D-SLR (not a true SLR... but the viewfinder is a miniature LCD screen so it appears like it's a SLR). Most of the photos in my gallery were done using that camera. It's very advanced for a prosumer... and really is on the edge between upper prosumer and professional.

Attached Link: dpreview.com

I have a Canon G5, which has auto-focus or a manual focus option...along with other manual options such as being able to set shutter speeds, aperture and/or shutter speed or aperture priority settings etc etc...I would imagine the Digital SLR's would have the most flexibility though... check out dpreview.com for a very in depth breakdown of the specs of most digitals out there...good luck and have fun!

my fuji 602z has manual focus manual shutter and aperrature too if needed so i think its a nice one for you to go after its also not expensive look in my gallery for pics i took with it as a bonus it can record sound and movies for as long as memory permits good luck with your choise an other point why i choose this cam was color quality.

thank you everyone at least now i have a place to start looking... i think manual options as well as auto will be the best for me.. it might be alot to learn but i enjoy a challenge :) and i would like this camera to last a while.